I have slowly been finishing the trim in my new upstairs addition. All the trim is pine and I have been pre treating it with Minwax conditioner then applying Minwax polyshades stain/polurethane combination product. I have been applying it with foam brushes and been having excellent results. However it is tediously slow. If I do a 6 panel pine door I have to mask off each section of style and rail and do them separately to get good results. I have access to a HVLP turbine system sprayer and I was wondering if I’d be better off spraying all my doors. Anybody have any luck doing this? I know most guys on here are not big fans of Minwax but that is what I’m using, almost all my trim has been done with it so there’s no going back now, and its available locally. Did I also mention my wife likes it…………
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Miniwax polyshades is just tinted poly, so you can spray it no problem, you don't need to condition the wood, it won't help, the stain isn't absorbed into the wood like regular stain, it is suspended in the poly. I am suprised that 1 coat would do it though, epecially on pine. I usually do 3 coats, and sand between 2 & 3.
have you ever actually sprayed polyshades? What do you think of the product?
sorry for the late reply, yes I have sprayed polyshades, it's quick and dirty, kind of like tinted poly .. offers less control than stain and protect
yes, it can be sprayed, but try a test on scraps first to see if you like it. It will probably not be a match to what you are doing now.
I am also one who would be surprised to hear that you are getting any benefit from using conditioner before the Polyshades product.
personally I would be using a rubbing stain, then the poly over it.
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If you've never sprayed OB poly or any other type of varnish, here's your warning; While it will spray just dandy...... the sticky cloud that's created in the air will not be pleasant. Cover everything precious in the area, make sure you wear an appropriate cartridge respirator, cover yourself as well (spray-hood over your head, etc) and provide some forced ventilation. If you wear eyeglasses or googles....you'll be cleaning them with mineral spirits followed by soap and water. Do that before the stuff sets up on 'em.
Used the minwax stain/poly quite a bit on our house in Raleigh. It really doesn't need pretreatment as far as I know as has been mentioned before. It sure does come out smooth.
I did not use an HVLP unit, rather I used what I had, a standard auto body sprayer, but then I have a 25 gallon compressor that can keep up with the required air flow. Practice quite a bit with whatever you area using before hitting the real thing.
I felt that the mix was so finely atomized by the spray gun that the stuff that 'missed' the door was not very messy at all, used my garage as a spray booth. For large areas like a door I do favor spraying.
Let's not confuse the issue with facts!
I used minwax polyshades to spray 2 panel pine doors for my brother in law. i used a sharpe gravity feed spray gun and sprayed the doors bombay mahogony. the doors came out great but i noticed that with a dark color you must be carefull where the rail and the style overlap, it becomes much darker and the looking at the door from a distance the color looks uneven. also be aware that with every coat you apply the grain dissapears and the end result looks like paint. dry time is a little longer and the posibility for geting dirt in the stain increases. do yourself a favor and seal the end grain in the raised panel (i sanded the end grain with 120/320 then sealed with shellac) . i wore a disposable suit because the first time i sprayed i was sticky allover from the overspray. since then i purchased a turbine spray system, now i spray mostly water based laquer , i havent spayed polyshades since but im sure it will be an improvement over the conventional gun. good luck and hope it helps.