I'm looking at shortcuts to meet a deadline & I know most "short" cuts cost more then they save... but I have two sandblasted redwood signs that just got blasted today. It's about 7:30 PM & I'm about to offload them from my lumber rack & get the compressor out to blow all the dust away.
I have only done about 5 other sandblasted wood signs & I've usually painted them with a brush. getting in all the low spots take time & I wondered about spraying. I'm not set up for spraying with a compressor & paint gun, but just for the primer I wondered about getting a few cans of aresol primer?
Tomorrow I will be painting them with a custom mixed color out of 1-shot.
I could just brush on the primer, but saw a possible time savings if it won't have adverse consequences.
Any opinions available here at this late hour? (I'll check back after getting them prepped)
Posted by Dusty Campbell (Member # 4601) on :
My only experience with primer in aerosol cans has been Kilz brand. It comes out with a speckly texture. Huge chunks of pigment. Relatively speaking. I wouldn't use it to prime a sign. But that's a really heavy primer.
[ June 26, 2004, 02:28 AM: Message edited by: Dusty Campbell ]
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
guess I'll do it properly. not wanting to risk 3k worth of signs on un-proven ideas just to save an hours work. Figured it was worth asking in case people do that. Stopped in chat... consensus against spray can. Thank you as well for the reply Dusty.
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Doug, I've never found anything in an aerosol can to last as well as out of a paint can, and on wood, I'd capitalise that statement. But that's just me. I've not used redwood, nor your primer. Some areosol cheapy primers can't be overcoated too quickly with enamels either.
good luck!
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
what a dumb idea... I should rename this post "signs of sleep deprivation" sometimes feeling too tired to do things right may be an indication I should take a night off.
anyway, I brushed on a nice thick coat of primer on the first 2'x 10' & took less then an hour. So as soon as I figure out where to fit the other one in my shop I'll be an hour away from going home. Dang shop/office remodel job still has the whole place in dissarray. Hopefully this weekend I can put things back together somewhat now that construction is done.
Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :
Doug, spray can.... no way. When I had a whole lot of signs to stain once I tried a regular spray gun. I was using oil base stain (no priming necessary). The spray gun does not get the paint or stain down in all the grooves. It did save me some time on the huge job. What I had to do though was spray and then brush it all in to get complete coverage. I did save the time it takes to dip the brush a thousand times.
I have always stained my redwood background with oil. Sign Life stain is a good quality stain but has limited colors. I've also had great results with True Value oil stain and they can mix that in many colors.
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
Dave, that oil based no-prime-needed stain does sound like a time saver. I got some good advice via email & decided to go with 100% acrylic latex paint instead of 1-shot for the finish coats. I was confident that I was getting advice based on experience & decided to follow it. I'll let you know in 5 or 10 years if it lives up to expectations Posted by Tom Bahr (Member # 2925) on :
Doug, I do alot of redwood & cedar signs & I'm always looking for quicker ways to get them done, (while not to compromise quality). One of these tricks is to apply your background stain or paint or primer with a brush, but instead of being very careful & conservative, slop it on in excess. I mean rally use extra. Let it pool. it should take less than 1/4 the time & it gets in the fins much better this way. Then when done, vacuum with the shop vac. You'll have to have a separate hose for this. Very little or no paint ever reaches the vacuum tank, it all gets stuck to the sides of the hose. Then just hang the hose above a garbage or drip pan overnight. This will suck up all the excess & give it very good coverage. It's a real timesaver for me.
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