Pros: Do you finish your stuff yourself?

[Matt Hutchinson]

I am hoping that by next summer I will have a part time woodworking business started. I know there are major regulations about spray finishing, with proper booths, ventilation, etc... Is there a way to spray finish your work legally without having this expensive setup? Do any of you hand finish or send your work to professional finishing shops? Thanks.

Hutch

P.S. Oops! I just realized there is a separate forum for finishing. I feel a move coming on....

[George Bregar]

Finish myself. Don't know of any reg issues, however these days mostly use water based stuff.

[Frank Drew]

Matt,

I think if you use water-based and HVLP you'll eliminate many of the issues associated with conventional spraying. And for vertical surfaces that don't need water/alcohol resistance, some of the better oil finishes, such as Mohawk Tung Oil, provide a nice, bright, durable finish.

[Matt Hutchinson]

Maybe the regs are only if you have employees. If I decide to put only myself "at risk" with no spray booth, then maybe it doesn't matter.

Hutch

[David G Baker]

Don't know about Michigan regulations but if you spray anything that may have the slightest chance of being a hazard to anyone or anything and get caught there are some potential serious consequences in California.
As has been written water based materials should not be a problem if you use the safety equipment designed for the spray.

[Steve Clardy]

I do all my own finish.

No regulations here with no employees. I'm too far out in the sticks for them to find me anyway.

[Dave Lehnert]

It has been some time but I remember reading regulations were not a concern unless you had something like 20 or 25 employees. My want to check into it before you spend big $$$ on equipment you may or may not need. I have no idea what area this info was from or how accurate it was or is.

[Peter Quinn]

Here in CT they are moving to low to no VOC regulations within a year or two my paint supplier tells me. I've been doing mostly paint grade stuff or things that go out unfinished. I'm setting up to spray water based Target coatings, should be there by the end of this summer. My shop is in my home in a tight residential neighborhood, so no spraying traditional solvent based stuff for me. I've done some tung oil/wiping varnish/wax type finishes that look nice, and a few things with shellac applied with a pad. I hear there are good finishers around who will take on jobs, but I've yet to get a name or a connection for one in my area. I use pre finished plywood when ever possible for carcass interiors. Its a better finish than I can spray and doesn't cost me much more.

I worked under a foreman with a pretty good side business, he sent everything he built out unfinished, let the contractors arrange that end of it. He didn't have to collect sales tax on unfinished goods and he didn't get caught up in dry times. Its another possible scenario.

I took a class with a guy working out of his garage making cabinets and built ins part time. He used lots of pre finished plywood for case interiors, some of it farmed out to a CNC using ecabinet systems, and had a relationship with a good finisher for other stuff. He had his own LVLP set up for small scale spraying of water based dyes and finishes.

If your going to spray solvent based lacquer with out a booth sooner or later some one is going to complain, or your going to kill your self, or your going to blow your shop up possibly killing your self. The water borne stuff I saw this spring from Target covers about every application, looks great and is said to be as durable as solvent based at this point if that is a concern for your work. I'd definitely check them out.

[Matt Hutchinson]

Thanks all. I am not necessarily looking to go with solvent based finishes. I just wanted to learn more about the spraying issues. If I get into spraying I think I would stick to water based finishes.

Hutch

[Dave Tinley]

Matt-
Here in the smaller towns in Texas they monitor your waste more then the level of VOC's, but eventually they will catch up to that also.
As was said earlier, Target Finishes make some really good products, but they are water base and dont quite have the nice amber tone that a lacquer imparts. Yes, there are people that will tint their water based products, and thats fine, but it is one more step in the finishing process that can cause problems.
As for spraying solvent based lacquers, it would depend on where you live. Are you in a rural area? Or are you in a neighborhood with houses all around?
If you are in a rural area, practice smart techniques, use proper ventalation and a good respirator you should not have to worry about blowing up your shop, or yourself. One thing you should do is see if there is a local Sherwin Williams or other commercial paint store (not a borg), talk to those guys, see what other cabinet makers are doing for finishing, they usually have a good take on whats happening in your area.

One last thing, if you are going into buisiness part time, check the shelf life of which ever product you choose. Because at $40 or $50 dollars a gallon for material, if you only use half of it, then you are throwing money away.
And most suppliers only sell in gallon quanities.

HTH
Dave

[Spencer Hochstetler]

Disclaimer: I'm not a pro, but I do pro-quality work for both myself and others, so take this however you wish.

I would think it would depend on where you are located and what kind of woodworking you are doing. I've only done a few commissioned pieces for others and even if someone else would have offered to do the finishing, why would I let them? A great piece can be quickly ruined by a poor finishing job. Unless you are partnered with someone whose finishing skills you trust absolutely, why do it?

As far as regs go I'm ignorant. I do however, have enough space outside to do all of my spraying outside. I have only sprayed solventborne materials, mostly conversion varnish and alkyd paints. If I had to spray no matter the weather, I could get away spraying in my garage next to my shop with the garage door open and good fans.

[Jamie Buxton]

Maybe the regs are only if you have employees. If I decide to put only myself "at risk" with no spray booth, then maybe it doesn't matter.

Hutch

Regulations come from several sources.

• The landlord doesn't want you burning his building down. So he, or his insurance company, or your insurance company, will want you to use a proper explosion-resistant booth if you're spraying flammables.
  
• OHSA doesn't want you harming any employees including yourself. So they'll be concerned if you're exposing anybody to dangerous levels of chemicals.
  
• Your local government may object to you harming the air quality in your area. So they'll object to you releasing VOCs into the air.

Waterbornes do avoid most of these issues.

[Steven Wilson]

Matt, if this is a commercial venture then you have your insurance company, local air quality board, local codes, OSHA, and the fire marshal to deal with. It's time to learn what you need to do in your area - assume nothing and ask a paint shop.

[Terry Bigelow]

We have a small cabinet business with 3 full time employees and my wife and I. We have had no issues with permits and the like. As Dave said in TX, here in GA it's more an issue with waste removal than anything else. We have a service that picks up a 55gal barrel when it's full(takes quite a while). Also the storage is an issue with solvent based material. We are required to store it in a fire proof cab. We have a commercial spray booth but the fire marshall never really inspects that, more so the storage and waste. I used to use water based stuff but I'd never go back.

[Rob Russell]

I used to use water based stuff but I'd never go back.

Why? What are you using - precat lacquer, varnish?