I'd start out with some denatured alcohol and see if that'll touch it first. You'd be amazed at what that stuff will clean up.
Woodworkers Thread
- Thread starter AgronAlum
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What is your technique for sanding between quotes? Sand, vacuum, wipe with damp cloth? What grit sandpaper do you use?
What I normally do is put a thin coat on, wait atleast an hour. LIGHTLY sand with 220 grit. And then wipe off with a clean DRY cloth. This has worked well for both oil and water based stains. It’s the brush that I go back and forth on what is most efficient, best to use.
Thanks! I have tried both brushes and personally prefer a sponge brush. I don't like how bristle brushes spread the poly but maybe I just had a crappy brush?
I’m thinking it would work well with a good bristle brush but that stuff drys and cakes so bad on the brush between coatings and I don’t want to dump mineral spirits on it between coatings and use the same brush and have it screw up my poly. And I’m too cheap to buy multiple nice brushes I’m gonna maybe use for limited times.
Good quality brushes make a big difference but it can be a pain to clean them. I don't mind foam brushes. It's that first coat that can tear up the foam brushes, especially end grain.
I use 220 sandpaper as well, just a few quick strokes and then wipe it off. The first time you ever try it you will think you have ruined the finish because it gets hazy and might even leave small scratch marks in the poly, but as long as you don't go heavy the next coat of poly will make it disappear. You will also notice the next coats going on smoother which helps make the foam brushes last longer.
This. I about lost my **** the first time I did this because it looks so terrible and you think you just completely ruined your project. It’s crazy how the next coat just fills right in perfectly.
Team foam brush here for finishes. Where you get those brushes makes a difference I think. I always have better luck with the ones at Home Depot vs Menards. I have no idea why either, they look like the same brand but for whatever reason the Menards ones won't stay in one piece.
Foam brush for OB finishes where I’m brushing it. I’ve got a good bristle brush for water based. I always end up with the Jen foam brushes from Ace. No real reason other than that’s where I’ve been when I needed some and I know they hold up.
Ive been using General Finishes Arm R Seal lately and wiping it on, so no brush at all. You can cut other poly to a wiping finish too.
Ive been using General Finishes Arm R Seal lately and wiping it on, so no brush at all. You can cut other poly to a wiping finish too.
IMO, sanding after the first coat of varnish is most important. Also, use a tag rag (available most anywhere that sells paint) as it picks up more sanding dust than a regular rag. Continue between coats of varnish.
Right or wrong, I use a purple scotchbrite pad between coats of poly - just how I was taught in high school. It works great, and keeps me from putting too much pressure in a particular spot like can happen when using sandpaper. Tack cloth afterwards, then it's ready for the next coat.
I used to be scared of spraying topcoats, but I will never go back to using a brush (bristle or foam). A cheap harbor freight HVLP will do a great job and its 100X faster and does a nicer job. Interior corners are the toughest, but doable with practice. Worth a try to anyone that has a compressor and might be interested. My 2 cents.
https://www.amazon.com/7447-Scotch-...ocphy=9017964&hvtargid=pla-670375505913&psc=1
Link to make sure it doesn't get confused with a scour pad.
I used to be scared of spraying topcoats, but I will never go back to using a brush (bristle or foam). A cheap harbor freight HVLP will do a great job and its 100X faster and does a nicer job. Interior corners are the toughest, but doable with practice. Worth a try to anyone that has a compressor and might be interested. My 2 cents.
https://www.amazon.com/7447-Scotch-...ocphy=9017964&hvtargid=pla-670375505913&psc=1
Link to make sure it doesn't get confused with a scour pad.
Do you have to put a dryer on the air line to spray finish? I’ve never done it before.
Are they a pain to clean when using OB finishes? How do the different tips work? Is it one for paint and one for almost everything else? Do you strain the finishes before loading up the gun?
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So I don't use a dryer/filter, but I am typically doing most of my woodworking over the winter when I have more free time, so I benefit from the dry wintertime air. I have not had a problem, but most people recommend using one, so I am sure I will add one at some point.
I generally use water based finishes (big fan of General Finishes High Performance), but have used oil based in the past - not too terrible to clean up - they come apart easily, and go back together easily. Much quicker than cleaning an airless unit. For the tip, the cheap HF one comes with only one tip, but it's pretty easy to get it to work with the stains/top coats. I recommend filling with water and spraying a large piece of cardboard to learn how the adjustments work, and learn how much overlap is required, how much speed is required, etc.
I don't use the HVLP for spraying latex, you might need a nicer gun for that. If I am spraying latex, I use my Titan airless sprayer with fine finish tips.
I always strain all finishes. HF sells a cheap little stand that works well with the HVLP gun.
What kind of compressor are you using with the HVLP gun? I always assumed my small compressor wouldn't work well. Although I guess if the piece is small enough with short runs of the trigger it would give the motor time to keep up.
Really interested to see the answer to this as well. The HVLP gun from harbor freight says 1-3 HP. I’ve been using a pancake compressor at .8 HP. I’m always looking for an upgrade but space is an issue. I don’t want a large compressor unless I need it.
My FIL/MIL bought a house with an old school compressor mounted to a hard line above the third stall. I could probably take that and rebuild.
Figured I should participate in this thread by showing some of my pandemic projects. Moved into home needing some work late November of 2019. First area I worked on was the kitchen. Old layout had a peninsula setup with a breakfast nook beyond that made the space feel closed off and dark. The breakfast nook also didn’t make sense since there’s a dining room right off of it where a table naturally should go. Pics don’t do justice how bad the condition was on everything.
I removed the peninsula and built kitchen island with three large cabinets on one side, seating on opposite side. Did away with old doors and built new throughout to match the new island.
Not a great pic but you can get the idea. Perspective is from the kitchen sink towards island on the after pic.
I removed the peninsula and built kitchen island with three large cabinets on one side, seating on opposite side. Did away with old doors and built new throughout to match the new island.
Not a great pic but you can get the idea. Perspective is from the kitchen sink towards island on the after pic.
After the kitchen from my last post I completely gutted two bathrooms with the same layouts, but opposite sides. Built the vanities and tried my hand at pouring concrete countertops. Not perfect but a vast improvement from the dingy old bathrooms. Also did the tiling which has been fun since I’ve not done much of it in the past. Feel much more confident about doing more tile work in the future now.
I won’t show both bathrooms but they’re basically identical now but opposite layouts. Did herringbone tile in other shower.
I’m a novice when it comes to cabinet building compared to others in here but it’s been fun! Can really tell I’ve improved at it in all aspects from one project to the next. As you can see I’m a messy builder
I won’t show both bathrooms but they’re basically identical now but opposite layouts. Did herringbone tile in other shower.
I’m a novice when it comes to cabinet building compared to others in here but it’s been fun! Can really tell I’ve improved at it in all aspects from one project to the next. As you can see I’m a messy builder
Yeah the gun is rated for "average air supply of 6 CFM @ 40 psi" and my pancake compressor is rated for 3.5 CFM @ 40psi. I'm guessing it would be just fine for short bursts but definitely not sustainable for a bigger project.
I could be WAY off on my math, but I estimate about 6 cubic feet of available compressed air in a 6 gallon tank if you drop in pressure from 150psi to 40 psi. Which means that with no motor running you'd have about 1 minute of use time from a pancake compressor.
Math:
6 gallon tank = .802086 cubic feet
150 PSI = 10.2069 ATM
40 PSI = 2.72184 ATM (I'm assuming that the gun will not work bellow 40 PSI so we are regulating the pressure at 150 PSI but are able to drain it until we hit 40 PSI)
This leaves 7.48506 usable ATM of air in the tank
So .802086 x 7.48506 = 6 CF of available air in tank before it hits 40 psi?
Great question. I have a 30 gallon, 6 HP Craftsman compressor that will go up to 150 psi. I fill that tank at 150 PSI, and then regulate down to what the HVLP manual says to run at (maybe 35 psi). I can spray for a couple minutes before I need to stop to let the compressor catch back up. This works for my woodworking because I can spray one face of a project, then let it catch back up. If you were doing a huge kitchen table, I would not recommend any less than what I have, and more would be ideal to keep a nice wet edge.
I started spraying when I finished my basement and made my own oak baseboard and door/window trim. The oak was 3/4" x 8" and probably 12' long, and my compresssor could easily handle those.
It really all depends on storage. You can use a smaller compressor if you have a ton of tank storage capacity, but most people don't have that. a .8 HP pancake compressor does not seem suitable in my mind - that's a good mobile solution for a trim nailer, but not really suitable for an HVLP application.
Do you get a lot of overspray or mist hanging in the air that settles down on stuff in the room?
