Staining outdoor wood structures

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M

mithesaint

Minister of Fire
Nov 1, 2011
512
NW Ohio
I love spring. I hate having to stain my outdoor stuff.

I have three things that will need a fresh coat of stain this spring, and I'm not looking forward to it. I have:

1. My daughters playset. I built the girls a huge playset...4 bays for swings, two 2 story towers, a bridge inbetween the towers. I made the mistake of using 2x2 spindles the outside for the upper levels. Those take hours to stain by themselves, not to mention the rest of the playset.

2. A wood porch swing that was a xmas present for my parents. Lots of small details.

3. My trailer. It's about 5x13 or so, and 16 inch sides. This won't be so bad, as brushing it would be rather easy, but would just take awhile.

I was hoping for a good spray option to speed up the process. Garden sprayer? Wagner handheld airless sprayer? HVLP spray gun on my air compressor? I realize I may have to back brush/roll but that still beats brushing everything.

Thanks.
 
i would go with the paint gun for the compressor, that what i did. I bought this one on a whim a few years back:
http://www.harborfreight.com/household-low-volume-low-pressure-spray-gun-92841.html

works great and i have used it for everything from paint to stain. I just this weekend stained my driveway and my kid's swingset before assembly.... yes the driveway was unintentional......

I usually thin the stuff first. Just a splash of water, does a great job. No need for airless for me...
 
Spraying is great for getting the stain on but nothing beats brushing for getting good penetration.
I'd suggest you spray then brush (as you stated you might).
I'd go with HVLP or a commercial airless sprayer. The Wagner works okay but is loud and tiresome if you use the cup instead of a hose.
 
Pump up garden sprayer is the way to go with stain. Buy a $10 cheapo, and throw it away when done. The thinner to clean it cost more than the sprayer.
For the spindles, get a buddy to hold a drop cloth up on the other side and spray away. Backbrushing/ backrolling is a must really. Stay away from the airless...you'll have 50% or more product loss due to overspray.
 
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