What does rinsing mean when rinsing down tsp? I am painting trims in the house. I plan to wipe down the trim with tsp, and then wipe once or twice with clean water sponge? For 6″ wide by 10 feet long trim, how many times would you rinse the sponge? Go over the whole length with one side and come back with other side of sponge?
I used to just dust the trim, prime and paint, but this time I would like to skip the primer by using all-in-one paint. Existing paint is about 25 years old latex. For this purpose, would water base deglosser work? Would you still say sanding is no risk compared to deglosser?
Thank you in advance.
Replies
I don't obsess about rinsing after cleaning with TSP. Assuming that you mixed at about the right concentration, one swipe with clean water should be sufficient.
I usually get a clean bucket of water and use a rag (which I prefer to a sponge), wring it out so it's not dripping and wipe a few square feet, flip and wipe a few times before rinsing.
Sanding is still better than using a deglosser, but deglossers do work. Just be sure to read the instructions. The deglossers I've used instruct you to paint within a certain period of time (30 minutes?).
Thank you for reply. I read some scary stories about paint not sticking after using tsp.
I also read in paintersforum that deglosser really needs to be rubbed into the finish, and deglosser does not seem to be a real time saver. I will just go with sanding.
Again, thanks.
my take
When I use TSP it is because there has been a smoker in the house, or it is a greasy kitchen or other source of airborne pollutants that settle on the surface or Exterior where you have stains from various things.
if this is 25YO latex, I see no need for a de-glosser. That is usually for preping high gloss enamel.
But al that said, to answer the main Q, I use a sponge that is wet to almost dripping for first rinse - swipe maybe 5-6 feet, turn it over and do another 5-6 feet before swashing it in the water bucket.
Second rinse, use clean water in bucket, and a wrung out sponge and wipe further
Use the water on plants for the phosphate fertilizer instead of dumpiung it where it adds to the pollutant stream.
Thanks for the reply. I was thinking we are finally in the age of time saving chemicals. Having tried paint and primer in one, I was thinking I could skip the primer, but I thought deglosser and tsp washing would be cheap insurance.
I know of solvent based (toulene?) deglosser from long time ago, but I can't use that smelly chemical in this work. I saw water based deglosser in Homedepot, but I came across a post who said "have to really rub it in" without identifying if he was refering to solvent or water based deglosser. This was confusing since this kind of chemical should either soften the paint or not. I was also not sure if I can follow the time given before it dries out. All this back and forth between rubbing and painting, I decided that sanding is one sure thing and I can get it done in one shot and go on to painting.
I did find rinse free tsp substitute which I plan to use. I still plan to wipe down with clean sponge. Again thanks.
The old original formula "Spic and Span" cleaner consisted of equal parts of ground-up glue (no idea why), sodium carbonate, and trisodium phosphate, and it was always advertised as not needing rinsing.
Was thinking about this some more (yeah, I know -- you don't believe I thought about it the first time) and it occurred to me that you need to consider the chemical reaction. TSP works by "emulsifying" oil and grease, essentially converting it into soap. On something like a varnished or oil-painted surface it will convert small amounts of the oils in the varnish/paint into soap (which is how it helps "etch" the finish), and obviously in a greasy kitchen it finds plenty of grease to convert.
The small amount of TSP itself which remains on a wiped-dry surface is probably of no serious concern, but the soap needs to be rinsed off to allow the subsequent finish to stick. Thankfully soap (unlike oil) is highly water-soluable, so rinsing is fairly easy. But it needs to be done, if the surface initially had any amount of oil or grease, either on the surface or in it.
Was trying to be funny but I was tired of injecting LOLs, lol. Again, thanks for the info. That bit about the soap actually clears up a lot of confusion. That does give me a good idea how much rinsing tsp needs, although now I am thinking I'll never use real tsp indoors.
The paint will be either Valspar or Ben-moore acrylic and I have long term experience with 100% acrylics. I also have good experience with primer/paint combo paints. So I figured I can skip the primer this time, but still wanted the surface to be in the best condition possible. I think some sanding and washing will give me this. Again thanks.