Best way to seal deck fence?
I have a freshly washed, newly repaired, and lightly sanded wood deck in desperate need of some Thompson's Water Seal. I also have about 30' by 8' of freshly washed, newly repaired, and lightly sanded wood fence that is similarly in need. Happily, I also happen to have a few gallons of honey tinted Thompson's just waiting for the heat to break before I can apply it. I have a Wagner Power Painter and I have one of those pump-up sprayers (like you'd use for insecticides and weed killers). Which would be the better method of applying the water seal? Personally, I wouldn't use the thompsons - it doesn't last very long - often needs recoating in 6-12 months A wagner [especially if it doesn't have a fan tip] would make it hard to control the spray = runs and overspray. A pump up sprayer does a decent job of spraying the clear thompsons water seal but I don't know if the same is true about the tinted thompsons. No matter what's used to spray on a coating - it is best to back roll [or brush] the coating to work it into the substrate. Just a note... I don't think a regular garden sprayer works very well. I ruined a perfectly good working one a ways back, and it didn't spray it very well while it was working. They sell sprayers especially for deck stains, larger tips and passages in the valve maybe? You might be right, the pump up sprayers that you would use to spray a thin coating have a fan type tip - not the round one popular with the older garden sprayers. ......... but I still recomend using a heavier coating! I used Thompson's on my new deck and was very disappointed with the results. Just following up.... I wound up using a Wagner sprayer for this job. I started by masking off as much of the surrounding house as possible with plastic sheeting. I did pretty good here, though there's a few places where I should have done a better job and I'll be spending some time with some Goof Off to remove the overspray. I used Thompson's Honey Gold tinted sealer and the mid-to-high level on the sprayer. (The sprayer has eight flow settings, so with 8 being the highest I used 6.) There are a couple of runs, mainly in the more awkward areas (under the railing, for example), but nothing I can't live with. I had every intention of taking marksr's advice and had a couple of large brushes ready, but apparently the wood was so dry that this wasn't necessary. The wood soaked the sealer in like a sponge, and it did it so quickly that by the time I came back with a brush (maybe 5 minutes later) there was nothing left to push into the wood. The results are very good, particularly considering what I started with. Up close and personal it's not the best job in the world but then again I wasn't starting with a flawless canvas either so a few drips here and there are hardly going to be noticed. From a few paces away it really looks amazing, almost like brand new wood. Even my next door neighbor asked me if I had a new fence installed. sgodun.. Glad it worked out well for you. I guess there is a use for those Wagner sprayers. How was the cleanup of the gun afterwards? A project off the list, right? Cleanup wasn't horrible but could have been easier. The hardest parts to clean are the spray tip and the cone-shaped piece that the spray tip screws into. The sealant dries sort of like latex. Cleaning it out of the main body of the sprayer, the reservoir cup and the cup mounting piece wasn't too bad, but the spray nozzle was a royal PITA to clean. (Think toothpicks and Goof-Off.) The deck and patio part of this project is off the list but there's still lots more to do before I put a big checkmark in the DONE column. Cleaning and sealing was a bigger job than I imagined, and now I'm focusing on the other details of the outdoor entertainment area that need attention. There's a landscaping quarry near my house; I'm going to swing by there tonight and pick out about two tons of river stone that I'll be putting under the deck, then I have to recut the lattice that's under the deck and remount it to keep the leaves out. Then there's the issue of the tree stump in the middle of the adjacent concrete patio (which is currently soaking in stump remover stuff) which needs to be removed and new concrete poured to fill the hole, as well as the expansion joint I need to install between the two concrete slabs. I already removed the two light fixtures from the deck which will be cleaned, sandblasted, repainted and reinstalled, along with another light fixture that I'll need to wire into the existing circuit. My mother has an old patio set which she no longer uses; I've got to bring that home, clean it, paint it and set it up. I also think I'll buy a couple of citronella lamps that I can hang from the fence posts. So, yeah, still lots to do. I think I have some before pictures. If I can dig those up I'll take some after pictures and post 'em here. Ahhh, the joys of being a home owner so what do you do in your spare time ? For those interested, here's a before-and-after shot of the fence. The deck was in similar condition. Looks good!! Bragging rites are great...... once you get past all the hard work Just another follow-up on this for those interested in long-term progress.... The snow and rain from the fall/winter has taken its toll on my work. About 25% of the deck surface and the tops of the rails have lost the Thompson's Water Seal so it will need to be resealed. As it is a much smaller area than what I started with I'll be doing this with a brush. Otherwise, except for some dirt and some unrelated winter damage the deck and fence made it through the winter quite nicely.
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