Deck Staining Part 1

Yesterday we put the first coat of Cabot Australian Timber Oil stain on the deck we had built recently, and since neither one of us had stained anything before, nor had we used a paint sprayer before, it was a learning experience.

We started out by masking off everything with painter’s tape wherever the deck came in contact with the house or in close proximity to it.

Once that was done, we taped clear plastic sheeting about three feet high to the wall of the house to catch any overspray.

A couple of people had recommended that instead of going to all of that work, we should buy a cheap painter’s shield and use that. But by the time we got those suggestions we were ready to start working and already had all of the masking material. Besides, it would have taken us longer to drive into Northport to buy a shield and then come back home then it took us to mask everything off. But that’s good information to know for our next project.

Then the spraying began. As I said, this was the first time for either one of us to use a paint sprayer or to stain anything and we were learning as we went.

It didn’t take long to discover that with a quart of stain in its reservoir, our Wagner FLEXiO 3500 paint sprayer can get pretty heavy and our arms tired quickly, so Terry and I took turns.

Once the masking and other prep was done, it only took us about two hours to get everything sprayed, and this is a before picture (top) and and what it looked like when we were done (below). Of course, once the stain soaks into the raw wood I’m sure it will look a bit different.

We bought two gallons of the stain because, according to what the instructions on the can said, it would take about a gallon for the first coat and then another gallon for the second coat, which was recommended. I am sure that we were putting the stain on too thick, because we went through both gallons just getting the first coat on. Hopefully the second coat won’t require as much, and after a trip to Lowe’s for more stain, we’ll get that done either today or tomorrow.

But that will have to wait until sometime in the afternoon, because Travis is coming over this morning and we’re going to move some more dirt onto the shooting range backstop. We never have time to get bored around here!

Congratulations Mary-Francis Hildebrand, winner of our drawing for a hardcover edition of an RV camping journal donated by Barbara House. Barbara makes several variations of these, and they all have pages where you can list the date, weather, where you traveled to and from that day, beginning and ending mileage, campground information including amenities at RV sites, a place for campground reviews, room to record activities, people met along the way, reminders of places to see and things to do the next time you’re in the area, and a page for notes for each day.

We had 27 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 90 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – Why shouldn’t you trust atoms? Because they make up everything.