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Thread: Stain a lot of fence boards efficiently

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
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    Winnipeg, MB
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    Stain a lot of fence boards efficiently

    Hi, I'm looking for tips on how to finish a lot of boards efficiently.

    I'm staining my cedar fence boards before I install the fence in the spring....

    I've tried spraying but find that I have to touch up each board with a brush after (probably because I'm not very good with the sprayer). So I'm left with brushing on the finish but I have trouble getting the edges nice and I can only do one side at a time. My process is like this:

    - sand a bunch of boards
    - apply stain to one face and 2 edges, and put the board on a drying rack I've made. Repeat until all boards have one face and 2 edges done
    - after they dry, do the other side.
    - repeat.

    I have about another 200 boards to go - so any tips on efficiently finishing large quantities of boards would be helpful, and very appreciated.

    I'm afraid I just have to suck it up and keep on going but I'd like to hear what others do

  2. #2
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    Mar 2016
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    Coppell, TX
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    Make a trough and dip them maybe?

  3. #3
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    Apr 2016
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    Set up 2 temporary rails on trestles. Space out your fence boards about4 inches from each other. Spray the top face and edges from both sides of your set up so that you get good wet coverage. Let dry and turn and do the same. If you partly drive a row of nails on each temporary rail so the boards sit on spikes, you can turn them wet. It's a good job to practice your spraying. Cheers

  4. #4
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    Oct 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Lomman View Post
    Set up 2 temporary rails on trestles. Space out your fence boards about4 inches from each other. Spray the top face and edges from both sides of your set up so that you get good wet coverage. Let dry and turn and do the same. If you partly drive a row of nails on each temporary rail so the boards sit on spikes, you can turn them wet. It's a good job to practice your spraying. Cheers
    Thanks - I'll try this.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    Pueblo, CO
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    I've had good luck using the tack strips they sell for holding the edges of carpet instead of a row of nails. You can usually pick them up by the piece at the big box stores for <$1 each. Very tiny points on the tacks.

  6. #6
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    Feb 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Kiely View Post
    I've tried spraying but find that I have to touch up each board with a brush after (probably because I'm not very good with the sprayer).
    Is this with a pump sprayer or a power sprayer? I used a power sprayer to paint about 75 sheets of 4x8 OSB and it didn't take long. I sprayed some leaning and some flat on a graveled area.

    For fence boards I like the dipping idea. You could make a trough from lumber and some plastic sheet.

    JKJ

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
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    Lawrence, KS
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    Tack strips are a great way to quickly make "nail boards" for supporting work. Add to that the inexpensive folding plastic sawhorses and maybe a cheap tarp and you are off to the races.
    Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

  8. #8
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    Sep 2004
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    York Co, PA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andy Giddings View Post
    Make a trough and dip them maybe?
    Years ago, I made a PT fence and dipped the pickets in stain. We used two flower boxes with one end cut out and caulked/screwed together for the trough. We nailed up the wet 1x6 & 1x4 pickets w/ pneumatic nailer as they came out of dipping.

    We also went through a few pairs of latex gloves since the stain eventually ate the gloves. It was a little messy, but the "drying rack" (fence) worked great.

    IIRC, it was roughly 200' of 4' high fence.

    -Mike

  9. #9
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    Oct 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Young View Post
    Tack strips are a great way to quickly make "nail boards" for supporting work. Add to that the inexpensive folding plastic sawhorses and maybe a cheap tarp and you are off to the races.
    Good idea with the tack strips. Thanks gentlemen.

  10. #10
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    Oct 2015
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    This is with a power sprayer. I recently got a fuji HVLP system as my first sprayer. Right now I'm on the steep part of the learning curve

  11. #11
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    If this is opaque or semi-opaque stain, you will likely get better spray results with an airless type sprayer rather than an HPLV setup. That kind of product isn't that far from "paint" in consistency sometimes...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #12
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    Apr 2016
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    Tasmania
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    The carpet tack strips are a great idea! Cheets

  13. #13
    FWIW, if spraying them doesnt work out, you could try a coarse roller. Beats brushing them.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  14. #14
    Join Date
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    Your first mistake is thinking you can spray an exterior item without touching it. Most exterior surfaces that get sprayed with paint or stain need to be back-brushed or back-rolled. The exception is something like aluminum siding. Spraying is done to speed application, and the previous comment about using an airless sprayer was spot-on. While an HVLP will typically handle up to the body of a semi-transparent stain, it won't be fast, so it's pointless to use. Exterior stains are meant to be flooded on and worked in.
    Jason

    "Don't get stuck on stupid." --Lt. Gen. Russel Honore


  15. #15
    You’ll need to brush the stain into the boards to obtain a uniform coat.

    I prefer to install the boards first and then use a garden pump sprayer to apply the stain and then brush it out with a long-handled round brush for leverage and ease of application. (natural-bristle brush for oil stains and a synthetic-bristle brush for latex stains)

    A brush similar to this but with another threaded hole to mount the handle from the side:
    Attached Images Attached Images


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