Vermy

I have a smoked (cigarette) stained ceiling to spray and I can't use anything oil based because of the smell and fumes (customers request). I'v never used any water based stain blockers. But i'm looking at the zinsser products. Anybody here have any experience with water-based stain blockers? do they actually work? and are they really odourless?

Humble Abode

Zinsser has a great oderless stain-blocking primer called... Oderless.

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=123

What are you washing the stains with prior to priming them?

__________________
Just because some of us can read and write and do a little math, that doesn't mean we deserve to conquer the Universe. Kurt Vonnegut, (1922 - 2007) from the Novel 'Hocus Pocus'
The NAPP
Milwaukee Painting Contractor

SSP1

Zinnsser does work well I have also used SW Pro-Block and have had
great success with both. Clean the best you can (it's hard to do much of anything with cigarette tar though)

DeanV

Remember that the Zinnsser odorless is not an alkyd or oil product, if you read the label it is an acrylic that uses mineral spirits as the solvent. This may do the over watersoluble stains as the mineral spirits might keep it from bleeding through the primer while it drys but if you feel a true oil is needed, this is not the product (and I do not know what is a better option though). For some people I have found that the odor from shellac is not as objectionable, but what I like is that the alcohol fumes seem to dissapate quicker than the fumes from an oil primer.

painterofeveryt

also please remember that with any stain blocking primer,most want you to wait 24 hours before topcoating to ensure proper holdout ! thanks

Vermy

Thanks for your help guys. I'm probably gonna give that "oderless" stain blocker a try. I still don't have much confidence in water-based stain blockers but in this situation I dont have much of a choice.

Brushslingers

The old time fix is a lot simpler than washing stains... and it's not oil. Shellac based primers are waterborne, and will cover ciggie tar as well as fire damage in one shot without much of a "fume".

DeanV

I have never seen a shellac that uses water as the carrier, I thought they all used alcohol, and therefore are not waterborne by definition. If there is a way to dissolve the shellac into pure water, that would be great and I would have the sanding sealer I am looking for for waterborne finishes.

Brushslingers

Most Shellac primers/sanding sealers... are cleaned with water and ammonia, which is not exactly waterborne, but... We have used Shellac based primers for 40 years in fire damaged homes, over glossed doors and cabinets, etc. I use Shellac based sanding sealer for ALL wood, reguardless of oil or latex finish simply for the durability.

Brushslingers

Sorry, it's late and I wasn't thinking. Zinnser, Bull's eye. Spray or roll it on, clean it up with water and ammonia, 2 parts water to 1, DO NOT GET sudsy.