Spraying and Backbrushing

[Dan Stapleton 14]

For you guys that spray decks, do you back pad the whole deck or just areas that puddle? Thanks in advance.

[Brian Keating 14]

It's best to back brush/pad the whole desk. It helps to push the stain into the wood. You get better penetration that way

[RPetry 564]

Dan,

I think it depends on the wood species, condition, and stain you are using. With a new customer with Ready Seal on softwoods, the first application goes down straight out of the Pump Tec sprayer. The second application gets backbrushed if the wood is cedar, otherwise only where necessary with pressure treated wood. Same procedure with mahogany.

Maintenance only gets one application of RS, and is quickly backbrushed in. True hardwoods get rubbed in using lambswool pads.

[Dan Stapleton 14]

Thanks guys. I've cleaned plenty of wood over the years and just decided to add wood restoration. I'm doing my first deck with ESI's Woodrich. It's PT Pine, pretty old. I plan on spraying(Pump-up and splash board.....we'll see) and back brushing (Pad). I've studied the subject here for about a year but until I do it I'm a little apprehensive. It's a simple little deck, 300 sq. ft. no rails. There was some Thompson's gold something rather on it and was a b***h to strip.

I'll post the results soon. Thanks again.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

The whole deck.

Beth

[PressurePros 248]

Whole deck here as well. Good luck with the pump up. (you'll do that one time)

[Dan Stapleton 14]

Thats what I figured Ken. I'm prepared to set it down and do it by hand if the pump-up does'nt function. I considered buying a Wagner Fine Coat but I really don't know when my next deck will be. If I start getting more deck work I will procure the proper tools, for sure.

[PressurePros 248]

Thats what I figured Ken. I'm prepared to set it down and do it by hand if the pump-up does'nt function. I considered buying a Wagner Fine Coat but I really don't know when my next deck will be. If I start getting more deck work I will procure the proper tools, for sure.

You know where to find them Dan if you decide you need one ;-)

[Dan Stapleton 14]

That's my plan. I'll eat the shipping to help a fellow PW out.

[jnoden 15]

Let me see if I understand correctly. If you guys spray the deck and rails you go back and brush every sq inch of the deck? I remove all puddles and drips but what is the benefit of back brushing every square inch of the deck?

[Celeste 341]

See post #2 :)

Celeste

[PressurePros 248]

Let me see if I understand correctly. If you guys spray the deck and rails you go back and brush every sq inch of the deck? I remove all puddles and drips but what is the benefit of back brushing every square inch of the deck?

Depending on the size of the deck I have one guy brushing for every guy spraying. As soon as one section of rail system is sprayed the next guy comes behind and backbrushes. I think it also depends upon the product you are using. One advantage of a product like Ready Seal is that you probably don't have to backbrush. Back brushing allows the product to penetrate more quickly and evenly so you can see any problem spots and address them right away.

[Deck Guy 14]

Let me see if I understand correctly. If you guys spray the deck and rails you go back and brush every sq inch of the deck? I remove all puddles and drips but what is the benefit of back brushing every square inch of the deck?

What product are you using, James? And how about a signature?

You make it sound a lot harder than it is, particularly on the deck he is describing. When using Deckscapes, I shoot one section of the rail at a time, then go back with a pad on a pole and hit it. Takes about 2-3 minutes per section. On the floor, after cutting in near the house, I usually shoot three boards, then pad those three, then three more, and so on...

On his deck (300 s.f.) with no rails, I could finish it in less than an hour working alone. Of course when you work with a helper, it doesn't add any time since he just works behind you.

I guess it depends on what you're using, but there is no choice but to backbrush with Deckscapes, it evens the color out, promotes penetration, and can allow a one-coat finish on certain jobs.

I'm not dogging any method of spraying, and haven't used the Wagner, but I can't imagine filling and refilling 32 oz. cup repeatedly to finish a deck. My airless draws straight from a fiver most of the time. I pause occaisionally to give it a quick stir, but that's about it.

[PressurePros 248]

Larry its like anything else, you adapt to techniques that speed things up. I have pretty much switched over to using these small HVLP's exclusively. At first they were for doing lattice or other detail work while I was using the pump/hose/wand. I found with using certain products like Wood Tux clean up of lines was a major time killer (You use water borner products right?) I'd have to send so much spirits through the lines then there is the factor of disposal of all that wasted mineral spirits..

Two guys on a deck using the smaller HVLP goes as follows. 4 cups are filled and laid on a tarp. One guy sprays the other back brushes. Exchanges are quick (30 seconds?) When the "sprayer" gets on his last cup, the helper refills the others and then goes back to brushing. It flows very smoothly and quickly. With an HVLP no sealer goes through the line and overspray is very minimum. Cleanup is filling the cup up with half spirits, shaking it up and spraying into can for 30 seconds. Wipe down nozle and cups. Total time maybe 3 minutes. Hose gets stored in bottom of unit, sprayer gets tucked into the unit and take up maybe 1.5 square feet of shelf space.

The downside of course is the floor. For that, there is no comparison to using a higher flow pump. It still goes pretty quick though.

[Greg R 82]

We back pad everything ordinarily - even with the ready seal it helps to even everything out a bit.

With regard to spraying its shurflo's with Ready Seal and airless for most other products in the line up (TimberStain UV or Wolman)

Greg

[Deck Guy 14]

Ken,

I generally use oil-based products. I get only a few (2 this year, I think)water-borne each year, and they do make clean-up harder when it comes to the airless. I now use Pump Saver to clean up after water-borne, but no matter how I clean, I seem to get gummy crap around the piston o-rings eventually. I hate using water-borne though, so you may see more posts from me at those times since I need to vent!

I have a 50 foot hose on my airless, and I find I can use about a quart of mineral spirits for clean-up each time. I work alone about 50% of the time, so the helper filling the cups is no option for me when I'm a one-man show.

[Jarrod 22]

Use an airless and you will minimise back brushing by 90%

[jnoden 15]

Its not a big time saver Ken but I have used the sprayer for the floor. You need to bend over but you can spray an entire width of a board if you have the right setting. You need to make sure that the tube from the gun in to the can is facing forward. It is the best way to get between the boards without brushing. I lay it on fairly heavy then have my guy follow with a 4inch thick nap roller on a pole. works great.