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Sales: 1-888-900-4857 • Subscribe Shop Education Expert’s Corner Bob Flexner Carl Duguay Scott Burt Glen Huey Charles Neil Tip-Top Contest Contact Blog The Front Door – This is one of the hallmarks of curb appeal. Posted on July 16th, 2016 By Scott Burt No comments This is one of the hallmarks of curb appeal. Nothing pops on the front of your home like a freshly painted front door. And this is another case where brushing is just not so much fun. To tackle this one, carefully pop the hinge pins, and remove the door from the opening. Hang some plastic over the opening just to keep bugs out of the house. Take the door out to the garage and lay it out on sawhorses. Once again, a quick scuff and vac, and you are ready to fire up the HVLP. As above, select a good waterborne exterior paint. It is best to pick a higher sheen, semi-gloss or gloss, for appearance and durability. And, have fun with color. The front door is a great place to put a little punch of color. If you do this in the morning, you can have the door back in the opening by the end of the day. Then, crack a cold beverage and gloat. front door photo Remember, always take a good 20-30 minutes to break down your gun and clean thoroughly. I usually run a bit of warm water through it upon reassembly. Taking that time to pay homage to the gun that just gained you so much free time is good karma for next time you pull the trigger. Share and Enjoy: Experts Corner , Scott Burt front door painting TIP: Use Wood Conditioner to Reduce Blotching in Softwoods Posted on July 12th, 2016 By Bob Flexner No comments Products sold as wood conditioner are washcoats usually made from varnish, though I have seen at least one that is an oil/varnish blend. A washcoat is a finish thinned to five-to-ten percent solids with the appropriate thinner. (Finishes are generally supplied with 20-to-30 percent solids.) In industry, the finish used is usually lacquer thinned with lacquer thinner. Wood conditioners can be fairly effective on softwoods like the pine shown in the accompanying picture. They aren’t as effective on hardwoods such as cherry. The purpose of the thinned-finish conditioner is to partially seal the wood, which means to partially stop up the pores so the stain, which can cause a blotchy appearance, can’t penetrate as deeply in those areas that will get darker. Wood Conditioner on the Left To use a wood conditioner effectively, it’s important to understand that the directions supplied by almost all brands won’t produce good results. These directions say to apply the stain within two hours, which is before a varnish or oil/varnish blend has time to dry. So the stain mixes with the uncured wood conditioner and still blotches. To use a wood conditioner effectively you have to give it time to completely dry so the stain can’t penetrate. With lacquer this is 30 minutes or so. But with varnish and oil/varnish blend this is overnight, or at least 6 to 8 hours. To significantly reduce blotching, apply the wood conditioner wet to the surface of the wood and let it completely dry. Then apply the stain and wipe off the excess. But notice from the example that with less stain penetration, the resulting color is also lighter. I have no idea why manufacturers give directions that don’t work. The only explanation I can think of is that they believe you want to totally complete a project on a Saturday afternoon, and waiting overnight for the wood conditioner to dry won’t accomplish this. Share and Enjoy: Bob Flexner , Tips The Twist of Variables Posted on June 15th, 2016 By Scott Burt No comments If you engage in the act of finishing at any kind of level, even if just a few meaningful times a year, then you definitely understand that the proof is in the pudding when it comes to creating good finishes. When you get really good at finishing, it almost doesn’t matter whether you are spraying, rolling, brushing, or any combination thereof, the application method is just the medium – the thing standing between you and the result you are after in the finish. The goal is to be able to use whatever means at hand to get the desired result. Renaissance men in literature were revered for being skilled in all ways of contending,” and the romantic in me holds the art of finishing to that same standard. I am lucky to be able to work on all types of interior and exterior finishes and see how they fail, and more importantly, figure out how to fix them. Working on exterior surfaces in the summer gives me the bulldozer” perspective on finishing. Exterior finishes have to hold up to the elements, which is no small feat. While interior finishes are more Porsche than bulldozer. The sequencing of prep and finishing for exterior trim is not all that different from interior, just different products. But, of course, product drives process. So while similar, everything is different. Professionally, I am generally either taking finish off or putting it on. Each process comes with a sequence of steps. What is a finish failure? On exterior surfaces, it is a finish that literally does not remain intact on the surface. Think flaking or peeling paint. Interior finishes fail in different ways, and it is usually not the fault of the product, but rather the application process. Dramatic interior failures are rare, and more subjective. If you take finishing seriously enough to continue chasing the dragon of perfection, then you might at times feel like anything short of perfection was a failure, particularly in sprayed finishes. Number One Cause of Finish Failure… Without doubt, the biggest way that people create finish failure is by over applying finish: putting too much on at once. It is counterintuitive, I know, and almost like some stubborn vestige of good old fashioned common sense. More paint will hold up better, right? In the old days of old products, sure. And again, it doesn’t matter your particular finishing discipline or interest, the same truths seem to hold. As products continue to move toward EPA compliance, less is definitely more in the application of finish. Creating thinner layers can really help with adhesion. But can make the glassy lay down you are looking for more elusive – regardless of application tool. In spraying, we refer to the thin coat build technique as tack coats”. It is easier to get a thin coat of finish to adhere (hold) to a thin layer of itself than to get a heavy coat of the same finish to hang on verticals or edges. Where Finishes Fail the Most The number one biggest failure I see in the entire range of paint jobs that failed is the user tendency to apply way too much on the edges of wood surfaces. It is not a conscious decision, it just sort of comes with the lack of control of the application tool and the finish. It is the eye” for finishing that I talk so much about. We call them fat lips” or fat edges”. On sprayed surfaces, they show up on large surfaces (such as the edges of table tops) as well as narrow surfaces (face frames). They happen both vertically and horizontally. Side Stepping Failure Let’s face it, most people don’t really enjoy sanding, and consider finishing a necessary evil at best. I have written in the past in this newsletter about how to trick yourself into learning to love the things you hate about your projects. It is a mind game. The hate of certain aspects of a project is usually rooted in fear. Mastery creates the confidence that eliminates fear. You are probably expecting me to reveal some esoteric finishing tricks or tips, like some Zen don’t be there” when failure approaches, but it is really the most incredibly basic practices that create success. Easy to say, harder to do. Basically, finishing is different every time. And you have to make it the same, by being regimented in everything from your basic habits, to workshop environment and processes. The best finishers I know are highly ritualized, almost instinctual. If something does not look or feel right, they will NOT proceed. Keep in...