Spraying stain with an airless sprayer

[HardDrive]

I picked up a Graco X5 airless sprayer recently. It did a great job spraying paint. My technique was flawed, leaving some areas a bit light, but that was easy to correct.

I have 120ft of new fence I need to stain. I was planing on applying Penofin with the sprayer. But I am admittedly a bit intimidated.

I am going to use a light or 'natural' color of stain.

Any tips on applying the stain? Is it forgiving if I have to go back and correct light spots?

Any tips on the clean up and operation of the sprayer?

Any input appreciated.

[look 171]

Save the sprayer and use a 20 dollar garden pump sprayer and throw it out after so you don't have to clean it. Cleaning that oil from the internals of your gun is a huge PITA. Penofin is all we use on decks and such. Great stuff, or should I say best stuff. Make sure you allow time for it to soak in and wipe it dry with a rag and do not allow it to pool. Its an oil stain, so you can't really screw up the color. Once it goes on there, the light and dark spots on the wood is done because it all natural. Leaving the Penofin on the lumber for different period of time would not make a difference in color. The trick is to allow to soak for 5 minutes before wiping.

[gr8fl4porsche]

You may have trouble obtaining a satisfactory finish using only the airless. Watch out for the cloud of overspray you are going to produce.

You can use the pump to apply the product but plan on back brushing to obtain an even coat. Turn the pressure as low as possible while still getting a decent spray pattern.

[Zeke]

Use a smaller tip than what you would use for paint. They even make a "fine finish" tip that has a double orifice so the stain is atomized a bit and distributed more evenly. That tip will cost double what a regular tip does. I'd recommend a .015 at the most for either type. Strain your material through a strainer bag. No kidding because there is a lot of junk in paints and stains that will clog a small tip.

You don't have to have a lot of overspray. Hold the gun at 12" and never more than 80 degrees perpendicular to the fence. IOW, don't "fan" your strokes. Orient the tip sideways and go up and down with the boards, never across. After getting used to the right amount of material applied, it should go well without too much back brushing. Spraying stain on a thirsty surface will always come out lighter than if you brushed it. Keep a brush handy for any runs. Maybe do 2 coats while its wet. Normally you would wait until your material is dry for the 2nd coat, but with stain you want to saturate, not build.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Use a smaller tip than what you would use for paint. They even make a "fine finish" tip that has a double orifice so the stain is atomized a bit and distributed more evenly. That tip will cost double what a regular tip does. I'd recommend a .015 at the most for either type. Strain your material through a strainer bag. No kidding because there is a lot of junk in paints and stains that will clog a small tip.

You don't have to have a lot of overspray. Hold the gun at 12" and never more than 80 degrees perpendicular to the fence. IOW, don't "fan" your strokes. Orient the tip sideways and go up and down with the boards, never across. After getting used to the right amount of material applied, it should go well without too much back brushing. Spraying stain on a thirsty surface will always come out lighter than if you brushed it. Keep a brush handy for any runs. Maybe do 2 coats while its wet. Normally you would wait until your material is dry for the 2nd coat, but with stain you want to saturate, not build.

Milt,

Penofin is like Watco Oil. Even if you put a lot in one area and little on the other, the color will not change much. The difference you will see is the difference of natural color on the lumber itself.

Hard Drive,

Test a small spot and you will see what I mean. the lumber will soak up as much as it can at various spots so you will have to reapply and keep it wet for at least 5 minutes. Remember to do the back. If not,you will have lots or warped boards in a few weeks. Soak the ends of the boards. It will drink the stain there, so be sure to apply lots of stain on there for protection. A board draw lots of moister through the ends. Keep that seal. What'd the fence material?

[Zeke]

I've used Penofin. Seems like overkill for a fence not to mention it's not cheap. But, it did hold up on a deck, so I guess nothing finer for a fence, eh?

I wish we still had the original Olympic stains.

[look 171]

I used Penofin on a gate I built for my own house 8 years ago. It's only been oiled twice since and It held up well. The Redwood is still brown and did not turn gray at all. Great stuff. Yeah, not cheap but worth every penny.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by look 171

Save the sprayer and use a 20 dollar garden pump sprayer and throw it out after so you don't have to clean it. Cleaning that oil from the internals of your gun is a huge PITA.

Sounds like solid advice. I love the sprayer, but the clean up is a PIA.

[craigster59]

We also used the garden sprayer when I did construction. Works out real well.