Demo Night 7/8/08
So if you missed Demo Night last night, you missed A LOT! I started by discussing polyurethane durability and glue shelf life and showed some interesting examples of both. I then gave a little feature review of the Festool Kapex. And finally, I showed off the sweet lumber I just received for the upcoming Gadget Station. I then got into a discussion about mail order lumber and the company I have been working with lately, Bell Forest Products. And this is just a small sample of the session that ran about 2 hours and hosted nearly 100 people.
And please excuse the camera work. I pretty much did the best I could by myself. You should notice much improved video and audio though, so that’s a good thing. If you want to attend future Demo Nights, just check the Calendar periodically for updates.
A Better Way to Apply Spar Urethane?- Question of the Week
This week’s question comes from Jeff. He writes:
“I am using Helmsman Spar Urethane to refinish the front door of our house. It’s a one piece flat door — no recessed panels. I am applying it with a quality brush but I still get brush marks and hi-low points, also tried a sponge brush with same results. I know it’s barely noticeable but I absolutely abhor brush marks. After 4 coats, I have managed to sand it down fairly flat. Is it possible to thin Helmsman and spray it with an HVLP gun? There is a Helmsman spray can available but I have so much Urethane left over. To thin or not to thin?”
And here is my reply: Hello Jeff. You can absolutely thin your urethane. In fact, you might have been better off thinning from the beginning. Thinning about 20-50% with paint thinner or mineral spirits (my preference) allows the finish to self-level a little better which helps avoid brush marks. The only disadvantage is you need to apply more coats to get the finish you are after. But if the payoff is a smooth finish with no brush strokes, who cares, right?
Now when you thin, bubbles are going to be your worst enemy. So take special care when mixing. If it were me, I would abandon the brushes all together. I would thin the urethane 50% and wipe the material on with a soft cloth. Just remember you will need to apply twice as many coats to get enough urethane on the surface. But since the solution is thinned out, you could easily get away with applying one coat in the morning, and another at night (if the weather is cooperating). And remember when wiping on a urethane, you aren’t really flooding on a thick layer. You are just coating the surface.
Now if your surface is sanded flat and you are ready for what will hopefully be your last coat, then I say wipe on your last coat. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the results. And to directly answer your question: yes you can thin and spray urethane. But the real question is whether you should. If the door is flat and you have a reasonably dust free environment, I see no reason why you couldn’t spray a coat on. But due to the simplicity of the wipe-on method, i never bother spraying oil-based finishes.
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