Let's Paint!

[Zombie]

Today I came in special to work on putting a second coat/first and only coat on our two red doors. The second coat was on the door next to the small garage door and the "first and only" coat was to the other door with the painted threshold and paint+primer quickie coverup coat underneath the kick plate. It was really foggy out and the humidity was nearing 90% so it was going to be a challenge to get anything to dry. Thinned the paint out a tad with a splash of paint thinner and also added a little oil paint conditioner to lessen the chances of brush/roller marks. Stirred that all in and started on the door by the small garage door. First I rolled on a light coat up and down, then added a second light coat side to side and finally went over the whole door again up and down with an ever-so-slightly wet roller. Did the same thing to the other door except I need to brush the very bottom of the door as it was too close to the ground. I did go down as far as I could with the roller... but in the end it probably will not make too much difference as the lower section will have the kick plate over it.

 

Speaking of kick plates, I went over the second door's kick plate with the 4 grades of sand paper again as I wasn't really happy with how scratchy the "final" result was. This time I might have over done it a little as it's pretty reflective. Now I'm wondering if I should resand the other kick plate to match. Hmmm. Maybe if I have time. Still have to sand the back side of the second kick plate as it has some old paint caked on it.

 

All in all, the doors looked fantastic. Unfortunately they were taking forever and a day to dry so I set up a fan next to each one blowing on high for a couple hours while I was doing other things. That helped, but the paint was still a little tacky when I was getting ready to leave. Ended up closing the doors as softly as I could and locked them without putting any pressure to hopefully prevent the paint from sticking overnight. Fingers crossed everything is dry tomorrow!

 

- Zombie

[Zombie]

So here's the door which already had one coat of paint on it:

 

 

And this is the other door:

 

 

I assure you, both doors are the same glossy red, it was just very difficult to get a good pic of them today because of the cloudiness and rain. Still have to take the tape off the locks and handles. then it'll be on to installing those kick plates.

 

I worked on installing the screens for the two windows farther down the driveway today. Wasn't difficult but the screens can only be installed from the inside so I had to move some stuff around to gain access. The inside of the windows was filthy, so I cleaned them. The window on the right had some rust stains on it (you can make this out a couple posts back where the windows are in the sun). I used some of that old polishing compound with a brush but that didn't do much so I switched to a 3M scouring pad which did the trick. It was finished off with another cleaning on the inside and then I scraped any paint off the outside of the windows.

 

 

Any discoloration on the lower half of the windows is from the screen, and any thing on the top is from the outside being dirty (gonna leave those dirty for now till after I get done painting the wall). Looking good!

 

- Zombie

[Space Voyager]

I assure you, both doors are the same glossy red, it was just very difficult to get a good pic of them today because of the cloudiness and rain. Still have to take the tape off the locks and handles. then it'll be on to installing those kick plates.

 

Clear use of Photoshop.

 

 

Looking good!

 

- Zombie

 

That it is! Perfect, as usual!

[Thorondor]

Both doors got the same glossy red, he says...

 

 

If I didn't know any better, Zombie-san, I might have said you're spending too much time out under the sun and ought to be more careful with your noggin.

 

But when sunlight does fully part the clouds and those kickplates you've been caressing to a sheen are put back in place, people will need to squint to endure getting near those doors.

 

So feel free to toot your own horn, as you're definitely putting in the work and therefore deserve to be basking in the limelight!

[Zombie]

When I was at the paint store last week getting the two gallons of the wall color I decided to go through their stacks of mistint paint to see if there was anything I could use. Hey, what's this? A gallon of red mistinted exterior satin latex paint? Heck yes, I'll take that! For $3 you can't go wrong! Now you're probably wondering what I could use that for... well, remember those boards I use in the greenhouse and the pink paint base coat fiasco? Bingo.

 

The weather here has been quite chilly and humid/raining almost everyday for the last month it seems. The last week or so was really cold, windy and raining and the usual tough-as-nails Zombie had to switch to long pants. So I couldn't get anything done outside. Hoping I can get a semi-decent day where I can cut in along the remainder of the wall and get that to dry because then all I need is another decent day where I can roll out the wall and complete that project. Oh well, fingers crossed.

 

Because of the chilly weather I decided to start working on putting some paint on the back side of those boards for the greenhouse. It wasn't too bad in the greenhouse so I did a little caulking yesterday. They didn't quite dry overnight because it actually snowed a little bit but that shouldn't matter as I'll be going over the latex caulk with a latex paint. I never painted the edges of those boards so I needed to somehow do that too. Ended up elevating the boards with some bricks so I could paint the edges and the back side at the same time.

 

 

The color of this mistint paint wasn't an exact match to the red of the tabletop/park bench - it's more of an orange-red instead of brown-red. Suppose I could have did a little mixology and poured some of my brown trim paint in to darken it up, but hey, who cares, it's close enough (heck of a better match than that pinkish paint). I still saw cracks peeking through after painting the boards so they will require another coat, hopefully I can do that tomorrow assuming it dries overnight.

 

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

Feel not under the weather, Zombie will be on the job no matter!

 

Snowing already? I'm unfamiliar with the weather patterns over there, of course, but it strikes me as a little early for that given Autumn has barely begun.

 

As for the boards for the greenhouse they're the fortunate ones to get your attentions instead as a result. I do agree with your assessment that the new paint lends them a sort of orangey tint, which, nonetheless, leaves them no worse off in my opinion.

 

What you probably need to keep an eye on once again at this stage are the sassy ladies on site - should they wander about with a can of pink spray paint in the vicinity as before...

[Zombie]

Snowing already? I'm unfamiliar with the weather patterns over there, of course, but it strikes me as a little early for that given Autumn has barely begun.

 

Well, we've had snow in September before but not recently. It usually holds off till the middle of November or so due to Lake Michigan normalizing the temperatures. I knew since the beginning of October that we would be getting an early start to winter as the temps were uncharacteristically chilly and rainy. (Remember last year around this time I was still painting outside and wearing shorts?) In fact it snowed yesterday again, this time a hefty 5 inches (or 12+cm), but it's melting steadily.

 

As for the boards for the greenhouse they're the fortunate ones to get your attentions instead as a result. I do agree with your assessment that the new paint lends them a sort of orangey tint, which, nonetheless, leaves them no worse off in my opinion.

 

I don't care about the latex color as I'll be going over the boards with that red polyurethane enamel anyway, it's just nice to have a red color underneath as that means I don't have to worry about other colors poking through.

 

Speaking of worse, I had a minor disaster with those boards. Because of the cold temps, the paint didn't completely dry on the boards on the middle tables. And then because of the humidity in the greenhouse (due to the paint trying to dry) the water vapor condensed on the cold plastic greenhouse cover overnight and dripped down on the boards. The next morning I was greeted to a mess. I tried gently dabbing off the standing water with a paper towel but that took paint off. I ended up leaving the drips and paint intact, and carefully moved the boards inside the small garage and stuck a fan on it during the day. Today it seemed dry so I hauled them back to the greenhouse but the damage had been done.

 

 

The boards that got messed up were just the 4 boards on the middle tables in the greenhouse - the 4 boards along the edge were fine. It's not the end of the world as everything still needs another coat of latex to fill in the cracks. Here's a rather crappy pic of the cracks on a board along the side:

 

 

Not sure what I'm going to do from this point on. There are a few options to consider.

1. Leave the boards in the greenhouse and paint them when I get a nice sunny day so it's warm until sunset.
   
2. Paint the boards in the greenhouse but bring them into the small garage to dry (so far it hasn't got below 4C in there).
   
3. Paint the boards in the back garage (about 10C in there, but I'd probably have to move a van out).
   
4. Bring the boards in the basement and paint them there (nice and toasty down there but they would probably be in the way for a day).
   

I'm going to play it by ear for now and see what option is the least amount of work. The ideal choice would be to just leave them be in the greenhouse and paint them when I get a nice day. But if/when I want to put on the final polyurethane coat I'll need to bring them indoors anyway. No rush on anything though.

 

What you probably need to keep an eye on once again at this stage are the sassy ladies on site - should they wander about with a can of pink spray paint in the vicinity as before...

 

I did worry about that the other day as one of the ladies was out there spray painting some containers. Luckily I gave her plenty of cardboard to cover up the tables to prevent overspray (not pink this time but silver, gold and glossy brown).

 

Monday it might be nice (or nicer) out so there's a possibility I could paint the walls outside to finally get that done. Tuesday I got invited over to the paint store for a pro day (free lunch, representatives from different paint supply manufacturers on hand to answer questions, sale prices on paint/supplies, raffles, etc). Was invited last year too but didn't go as I was busy. Why I'm invited to a pro event is beyond me but I guess I'm sorta a pro at this point and know the staff at the store what with coming in there every month it seems.

 

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

His daubs are not just for show, Zombie really lays it smooth as a pro!

 

So, mishaps happen on occasion but that kind of condensation isn't exactly easy to predict. And even with the snow you're rightly going with the flow.

 

Should be interesting to see what exactly those paint experts go on about in those special sessions. Hopefully something more than plain ol' marketing and self-promotion...

[Zombie]

Hmmm, snow every other day and cold temps isn't exactly a recipe for painting anymore it seems (at least outdoors). Those boards did end up drying properly though so there's always the option of painting them again either in the garage or somewhere else (the greenhouse is still an option too as long as the temps stay above freezing at night when the condensation might occur).

 

I managed to clean the two remaining windows and put the newly painted screens in on Monday. I had a bit of an issue though. Each screen is held in place by a small machine screw on either side. The last time I painted the screens I lost one of those screws somewhere and substituted a coarse thread machine screw instead. For the life of me though I couldn't figure out which of the holes the coarse threaded screw belonged to. I ended up taking off all the screens again trying to match them up with still no luck.

 

Finally I decided to search through my drawers of hardware for a replacement. (Just to note, whenever I need to throw something away, I always try to take any hardware off of it first, then sort it out and put it in an appropriate drawer for possible use later). By golly, I found a machine screw which fit! It was a brass screw though, so it isn't going to match perfectly but you are only going to see that from the inside anyway. So a win for team Zombie!

 

I unfortunately didn't make it to that pro event at the paint store. Had a lot going on that day with it being an election day and a load of supplies arriving from a wholesaler. No worries though, I'll probably be invited again next year.

 

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

The issue you ran into with the small machine screw is a common enough occurrence, Zombie.

 

We somehow seemingly always run across some makeshift past remedial solution, of our own or of others' devising, in the process of doing something else and which, incidentally, makes things hinge on those adjustments.

 

Furthermore, I recognise another of your good practices as something a grandfather of mine frequently advised: save whatever may seem useless today and it will prove its usefulness tomorrow!

 

As for the event at the paint store, I guess your proficiency in these affairs will only grow, so you'll be even more of a pro by the time you do go.

[Zombie]

Furthermore, I recognise another of your good practices as something a grandfather of mine frequently advised: save whatever may seem useless today and it will prove its usefulness tomorrow!

 

In terms of saving "useless" items, I don't quite go that far. If it's something I know I will not ever use then it'll go into the garbage. The hardware I save go through a sort of vetting process to exclude bulking up on truly useless items. The things I save have to fall into a category

• Common frequently used hardware. If it's in good shape, it'll go into a box.
  
• Brass hardware of any type. It's difficult to find in hardware stores and even if you do it'll probably be pretty expensive.
  
• Stainless steel hardware. Kinda the same reason as the brass except I use this a lot more often.
  
• Other hardware of a different metal like Aluminum. Handy to have these for a quickie repair.
  
• Unique items where I have multiples of them. One different drawer handle is not worth saving, but if you have two or more you can make everything match.
  
• Washers/lock washers. Can never have too many of these.
  

Things I do not save anymore is

• Common screws that require a flat bladed screwdriver. I'd much rather repair or create something with phillips head screws because that way you only need one screwdriver to take them apart later. Exception to this is if they are of brass or stainless steel.
  
• Common hardware that is rusting. If it's something I can get at the hardware store for cheaply then I'm not going to bother keeping it.
  
• Square nuts/bolts. See the first point above. Exception is if I have a bolt/nut to go along with it.
  
• Bent or broken hardware. If it's broken, it's going in the trash. Bent items might be kept only if I can easily bend them back into shape.
  

I guess that's the short list. There are other items I'll save from time to time, it just depends if I know I'll be able to use them.

 

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

A sensible selection process you've got going there, Zombie.

 

Simply hoarding everything and clogging your entire house is obviously not going to yield useful results - beyond having your neighbours think you've lost it and thusly not annoying you with requests of tool lending anymore that is.

 

In truth we're pretty much spoiled rotten this day and age, when you can simply waltz down to a hardware store and get pretty much everything you could possibly need for quite cheap.

 

For context: my late grandfather was born in 1911 in the rural far north of the country and, as he often recalled, he had to walk several miles barefoot to school daily, snow or no snow. Shoes were terribly expensive and he had 11 siblings. Also, back then, if you needed something done (for domestic improvement or agricultural development) you either made it yourself from what you had or resorted to someone who could make it basically from scratch, like an actual blacksmith, for a price.

 

It's just crazy how good and abundant things are today. Still no excuse to be wasteful and not heed such wise advice as, essentially, always make the best from what you happen to have around.

[Zombie]

We had a sudden break in the weather last week and it was rather nice out so I got the itch to continue painting. I recently hauled those boards into the small garage to finish drying properly (which they did). Apparently some wet evergreens were placed on top of the boards and wouldn't you know it the water had lifted up some of the paint in spots. It was just one board luckily, and was in localized areas so there wasn't much that needed to be done besides a little scraping and brushing the loose flakes off. Once that was done I got out the paint and applied a coat to 4 of the boards (the 4 in the middle section of the greenhouse which sustained the most damage). Boss caught me in the act and seemed impressed with the quality of the job and the fact that I was still painting in late November. HA!

 

 

It unfortunately got a little chilly at night (below freezing) but I think the garage was just warm enough to stay above that. The next morning I checked the boards and they were a little bit wet in some spots but otherwise dry. When I checked them at the end of the day (after temps had increased) everything had dried. The other day they looked perfect. It looked like that final coat of latex was enough to fill in any remaining cracks in the boards so that means that set will be ready for the red polyurethane... sometime. The other set of 4 boards still need a second coat of latex paint but it's supposed to be mild for the next few days so I'm hoping that can be accomplished this week yet.

 

Also had a little time to sand the back part of the kickplate of the other red door to get off any stuck paint or rust. Hoping to install those this week as well.

 

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

Remember, remember, 'twas in November, out of season Zombie did plot and still his lot doth paint.

 

Your output is impressive and you didn't even let slide the kickplate. Kicking behind and taking names!

[Zombie]

So on to the kick plates!

 

Started by sweeping off the thresholds and landings and lightly washing the bottom of the doors with a damp cloth then drying it. Decided to run the 1500 grit sandpaper over the outside of the plate again just to have a uniform finish - didn't bother with the back though. The next step was to fashion a type of seal around the perimeter of the plate to prevent water from making it's way between the plate and door again. I had a full tube of clear acrylic latex caulk plus silicone and decided to use that for the seal.

 

 

Not the best caulk job I've ever done as it was very difficult to get the stuff to stick to the metal. Maybe I could have caulked the door instead but with that shiny red paint on it the result would have probably been similar. At least with caulking the plate I could do that on a table. Put a blob of caulk at the bottom/top of each hole so that when the plate was attached to the door and compressed the caulk would ooze around the hole and screw. Seemed to be fine and there wasn't too much that squeezed out so I knew I applied the correct bead size. Got down to the last screw and found it was all chowdered up and bent somehow. Must've been like that when it was removed because the screws were in a safe spot since then. It was probably bent by a snowblower or shovel or cart in the past. Anyhow, quickly went to the hardware store and picked up a replacement stainless steel screw and 5 extras just in case this happens again. Here's a pic of the old screw and a new one:

 

 

Yeah, it was messed up. After the plate was attached, I lightly wiped the crack between the plate and door with a wet cloth just remove any caulk which squeezed out. And that pretty much completes the job.

 

 

I'm probably going to sand the plate one more time after the caulk cures to remove any residue, but other than that it looks fine as it does right now. I guess it's on to the other set of 4 boards next.

 

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

To keep things tight, trust Zombie to get it right!

 

You've estimated the dosage and placement of the caulk just about spot on by the looks of it. Beyond that, it had already been established no screwed up screw was a match for you.

 

That door is now sheer eye candy!

[Zombie]

A few days ago it rained here (lightning + thunder too!) and when I checked the door there was a small white puddle under it. Apparently the rain hit the door, ran down and dissolved some of the caulk. Bugger. Wasn't a big puddle though so it wasn't cause for a redo. Might revisit the thing next year with a different type of silicone caulk (no acrylic latex modifiers).

 

Had off of work for Thanksgiving on Thurs so nothing happened that day. Today it was a little mild again (when I say mild I mean the temps are where they should be for this time of the year) so I had some work to complete outside first. After that though, I swapped out the boards and painted another coat on the 2nd set of 4. Looked good, hopefully it dries overnight (or tomorrow at least). I'll try to get a pic of that if I have time.

 

In any event, at least I'm making some progress. Still too cold and rainy to attempt painting outdoors but who knows, maybe I'll get a warm day yet.

 

- Zombie

[Zombie]

Checked on the boards this morning and thankfully they were all dry. Took this pic in the afternoon without a flash to accurately show the color and sheen:

 

 

Not bad. All the cracks are filled now and should be ready for the final red polyurethane coat. Sorry about the state of the garage, I know it's kinda messy and fully intend to clean it. Maybe I'll get time for that this week. I did spend quite a bit of time cleaning up outside the shop this past week and also did a good job in the back garage (and heck, even a little work in the greenhouse and backroom). It's difficult trying to get everything ready for Christmas (and snow) in a few days when I have other jobs to do also. Sometimes I have to pick my fights and focus on the areas that need my attention more.

 

- Zombie

[Thorondor]

Uniform across the board, Zombie maintains, here, there - everywhere - of his own accord!

 

Evenly coated boards you've got there. They do still come across as sort of orangey to me but that's to be covered with red, so the only downside is probably an upside as well: whenever the red eventually starts peeling/chipping away it will be promptly noticeable because the orange will shine through.

 

Cyndi Lauper would be proud you so let us see your true colours.

[Zombie]

Evenly coated boards you've got there. They do still come across as sort of orangey to me but that's to be covered with red

 

I'm not convinced that the latex color is markedly different from the polyurethane. Remember, I didn't use a flash for the pic so it's gonna appear different anyway. Tell you what, I'll try to grab a pic of two boards - one with the latex and the other with polyurethane next to each other for a side-by-side comparison.

 

so the only downside is probably an upside as well: whenever the red eventually starts peeling/chipping away it will be promptly noticeable because the orange will shine through.

 

Again, because it's a redish basecoat it will be less noticeable than nothing at all. Not only that, but it'll be a heck of a lot better than the grey/white basecoat like I used on the top sides in the spring.

 

- Zombie

[Space Voyager]

I still can't understand that this damn polyurethane is so useful and all-terrain applicable.

[Zombie]

Polyurethane really can be used for anything, and it's preferred most times too. I guess some points to make about it would be helpful:

• Wears like iron, aka, it's durable. Whereas latex paint would chip or shred off if you dragged something hard or heavy over it, polyurethane would resist that action.
  
• It's glossy and nonporous surface can be washed time and time again with little wear and resists staining. I wash that long table in the backroom about three times a week and it still looks great, plus it doesn't absorb stain causing materials.
  
• Has a thick film which allows you to fill in cracks and create a totally smooth surface in 1-2 coats. Latex paint has some of these properties, but takes a long time to dry with a very thick film, and oil paint has a thin film which requires multiple coats which puts something out of commission for a while.
  
• It's waterproof. Need I say more? Plus it kinda beads up water making cleanup easy.
  

The only thing it really isn't good for is walls (more like drywall or porous materials like wood). I use polyurethane for wood but have to prime it with latex paint first because it'll soak into the grain otherwise (it's oil based).

 

So yeah, the stuff is useful and can be used basically anywhere.

 

- Zombie

[Space Voyager]

Thanks, I really need to take a looong look at this thread when I continue with the house...

 

What happens if you apply it to wood? It won't dry properly? Two coatings wouldn't help? Good solution with latex paint, though that kinda makes the base less solid, right? Probably not a problem as the outer coating prevents any damage to the base...

 

Also, I need an advice. If you were to lay the hallway floor in a house, which material would you use? Tiles, vinyl, laminate? I'm looking at vinyl as it is pretty durable as I'm told.

[Zombie]

What happens if you apply it to wood? It won't dry properly? Two coatings wouldn't help? Good solution with latex paint, though that kinda makes the base less solid, right? Probably not a problem as the outer coating prevents any damage to the base...

 

You can apply polyurethane to wood no problem. Trouble is, it is usually an oil base which will cause the stuff to soak into the wood and then you will not have a nice uniform glossy finish (the grains of the wood will be dull). That's why I put down a base coat of latex paint first then go over the top of that with the polyurethane - the latex will fill in those pores and prevent the top coat from soaking away. Sure, you can keep piling coat after coat of poly on raw wood and eventually it'll fill in, but the latex saves you all those intermediate steps.

 

The latex doesn't really make the base less solid. If you use a decent latex for the base coat it should stick just fine and would probably wear fairly good the way it is unless it has heavy stuff dragging over it. And in this case, the polyurethane will be the thing taking the brunt of the activity, which it can handle easily.

 

Also, I need an advice. If you were to lay the hallway floor in a house, which material would you use? Tiles, vinyl, laminate? I'm looking at vinyl as it is pretty durable as I'm told.

 

Hmmm, that really depends on a number of factors. What is the flooring in the other rooms which connect to the hallway? How ornate is the hallway? You don't want to ruin the look of the hallway by using vinyl flooring, especially if it is an entrance hallway. How much use will the hallway get? Are you planning on selling your house in the near future? Do you mind a cold floor? What material are you most comfortable installing?

 

If it would be up to me, I'd use tile for a very ornate entrance hallway especially if you were planning on selling your house in the next few years. You'll probably get a good return on investment there. For just a normal hallway between rooms, I'd probably go for laminate wood flooring. It wears decent, and installs dirt easy. Here in the US laminate flooring is a big selling feature too. For a back hallway or one that doesn't get seen much or takes heavy wear then vinyl would probably be a good choice.

 

- Zombie

[Space Voyager]

Yes, I agree, there are a number of factors. I'm not selling and it is a hallway between our living room, bathroom etc.. It will see moderate use.

 

But I wouldn't count vinyl out just yet. Vinyl floor is used just as laminate, except that it is supposed to be more durable. You're probably referring to the linoleum floor, which CAN be ugly as hell.

 

Anyway, the tiles in our hallway were laid without the gaps (40 years ago) and have recently risen into a tent-like structure... Naturally, I threw them away but now I'm thinking about what to do with the hallway. Funny though, the cat loves the rough floor.