Spraying stain?

[skizzo]

Any thoughts on spraying stain, rather than more common wipe on/wipe off application?  I have a few thousand linear feet of tongue and groove pine to stain and am wondering whether spraying might go a bit faster and easier without loss of quality.  Water-based?  Oil-based?  The sprayer would be a turbine HVLP.  Suggestions, tips, ideas, or general discouragement if appropriate are appreciated.

[jteneyck]

I've never done it but I know SW and many others make spray/no wipe stains.  On something like pine or maple, or cherry or any other wood that tends to blotch, this approach makes a lot of sense, to say nothing of the time savings of brushing and wiping.  There also are spray/wipe versions.  I just looked at GF's
Enduro WB Dye Stains and they can be used both ways, too. 

I'd at least try it if I had to do that much and it was pine.  The low viscosity of the GF product should make spraying very easy.

John

[Cooler]

I just flood with a sponge brush and then wipe down. Very fast.

I would not use a spray unless it is a type of stain that does not get wiped down.

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

Spraying oil based stain (think Minwax) is done all the time in commercial settings. I've sprayed base, case, cabinets....you name it. You have plenty of open time with oil based stain. Spray a handful of pieces and then start wiping. It's a pretty big time saver. You'll also use less material and have less run offs/drips. The only caution is RP doors. You need to flood the RP joint along the edge with a sponge type applicator or you'll have bare wood strips come winter.

[jteneyck]

KCF, with an OB stain how did the spray/wipe work on pine?  I would think you'd still get blotching.  No?  A spray/no wipe stain should eliminate that concern.

John

[KSMike]

When my house was built, the painter sprayed all the interior pine trim (baseboards, shoe, casings, cabinets - you name it) with plain old solvent based Minwax stain followed by satin poly, all with an airless.  I would think a solvent stain with a turbine would be a piece of cake, that stuff is as thin as water. Remember to keep shaking or stirring, the pigment settles out fast.

[Splinter Puller]

I few years ago I gave spraying aniline dye a try and now its my preferred method.   I like to use waterborne varnish so I use alcohol based aniline dye.  This way the varnish wont cause the dye to bleed. I can dye and varnish a piece and be done in less then an hour unlike anything oil based.  I am using a cheap conversion gun.  With practice, anyone can do it.  Spraying dye does take a bit of practice as you have to blend the coats unlike flooding with stain.

[JerGar]

I use ML Campbell Woodsong.
Dries fast, I've stained with the wipe off then sprayed with the Magnamax Precat Lacquer an hour later.
Spray only has more drying time.

https://www.mlcampbell.com/products/cate...stainsdyes

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

John,

Yes, the pine will still blotch with OB stain when sprayed and then wiped.  No one cares with track homes and new construction.  In fact, most don't know any difference so they consider it gorgeous.  I have walked through million dollar homes that had the blotchiest birch cabinetry.  The majority of the sprayed stain finishing I've done has been on oak.  Everything use to be oak cabinetry in these parts.  

If I was finishing pine, I'd use Transtint dye in DNA sprayed if there was any substantial surface area.  I don't like messing with raising grain or raised grain after I've tried to prevent it.  If I was going for perfect uniformity, or close to, I'd probably use Charles Neil's conditioner.  It works great on hard maple.  

To the OP:  spraying stain or even a dye is very easy.  Use a small needle, get good atomization and practice on a few scraps before you start.

[redrabbit]

If you are spraying dye on individual pieces that will get assembled later, it's not too difficult (like lengths of pre-cut floor trim or ceiling trim, or cabinet faces).
But spraying dye on an already installed cabinet is a LOT trickier. It can involve masking-off intricate areas, because any spray overlap will create a darker hue/value.

Back to spraying oil stain....I avoid it at all costs. It's just so messy, and the spray residue tends to linger in the air, and land on everything....including your skin, hair, and eyes.
If I do it, I use very low air pressure and low atomization....and I create a tent around the spraying area if inside a home.
I'll spray it from a pressurized pot, and perhaps not get 100% coverage.....because I'll have an assistant immediately wipe and spread the areas I missed.....then wipe-off fully.....section-by-section.

I've found that a sea-sponge saturated with oil (or w/b) stain, is a good manual alternative to spraying, as it conforms to the nooks-and-crannys, and gets into the corners or other hard to reach areas.
If you've ever tried to spray the inside of cabinetry.....yuck, what a spray mess !! ....lol.