coating decking "all round"

[ptyltd]

Hi Folks,

Been doing all the research on decking going through many of the numerous threads however so far haven’t found any info in relation to coating decking timber “all round”. I have 660 Lm of Ironbark and after priming about 500 Lm of chamfer boards all round I was not happy to read that you should do the same for decking (yeah, I am pretty lazy so didn't like the thought of all that extra work .........but of course will do it if is the best/right thing to do. )
<O
So does anyone/everyone actually apply whatever chosen coating you have decided for your decking timber all round or do you fix it and then apply your chosen finish?<O
<O
Thanks in advance

[Gaza]

done it before for a client, we cut the boards in then rolled with a thickrolloer tocuhed up ends with paint brush, turned boards over fixed then coated the top.

[brucewil]

I just spoke to a builder who wants the decking coated before it goes up.
over 500lm of decking will take ages to precoat!
I have started the front deck without doing this and will have to finish it the same. so I might end up with both methods at my place.
dont suppose that really helps you
precoating would definatley be better, just depends if you want to put in the extra time and effort

[silentC]

Should you? Yes, definitely.
Does anyone? Rarely.

[Clinton1]

Would one of the little, cheap, HVLP sprayers help?

I have not used one, but after putting 3 coats all round on my fence pickets/posts/rails/plinth, with rollers and brushes, I wish I'd bought one.

[Stuart]

Sure would - I did use one to paint pickets for fencing before assembly, and it is so much easier (and faster).

Would work well for decking coating. You do need to thin the coating down significantly to be able to spray it.

[silentC]

Yeah, I've thought about using mine to do it. Might give it a go. Overspray will be a bit of a problem though...

[Clinton1]

Overspray.... I remember echnidna's toybox crazing after cleaning the gun with thinners and getting drift. Would erecting a "builders plastic or similiar" shelter assist in eliminating drift, or are the particles so fine that they will hang in the air?

[Stuart]

Run a fan pointing out the door to draw the fine particles away from critical areas.

[MikeT]

Happened upon the thread and hate to continue hijacking it but...what's a good (read cheap but reasonable DIY quality) one of these sprayers to buy. I also have to get a compressor (I have been meaning to for a while). I assume the el cheapo compressor provide a consistant enough air flow. I've got a bunch of skirting to do soon and in a little while will have to do about 15m x 5m deck.

And back on the topic - and I haven't done any research on this yet so forgive me if I'm sounding ignorant but... Since I'm thinking of oiling - is it worth using something a little more robust underneath the boards as you can't really get to these to recoat after the first coat?

Cheers,
Mike

[silentC]

It's not so much the particles hanging in the air. It's the overspray from the gun itself that is the problem. Bit of a big job to mask off a whole house! I painted a house once using one of these guns. I held a bit of 4mm masonite about 3' by 1' in one hand and used it as a mask. It worked OK but still managed to get some overspray.

Regarding which gun to get, I bought a CIGWELD Easy Spayer which is great for these types of things. The air is supplied by a pump rather than a compressor, so it runs all the time. Like a vacuum cleaner in reverse. It's light enough to carry in one hand. There's a short hose from it to the gun. Also handy for inflating airbeds and the like.