Replies

1. 
   FrankB89 | Apr 29, 2002 08:44am | #1

   I've been in your shoes and had to make do.  I built a long sloping rack (16 feet) set on saw horses, lined with painters plastic that dripped into a wheelbarrow which was the dipping vessel.  By the time my rack was full, I could stack the dipped shingles and then proceed to do more.

   I was using Penofin and so I wore masons rubber gloves with long gauntlets and I wore a respirator.

   It took awhile, but it worked fine. 

   Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with a piece of chalk and cut it with an axe.

1. 
   Homewright | Apr 29, 2002 09:17am | #2

   Have you considered setting up a long section of corrugated metal roofing set on a slope to drain back into a catch basin like a mud pan you mix concrete in?  You could rig up some 1"x2"s with a couple of holes drilled through both boards toward the ends and middle then put through bolts with thumb nuts to use as a holding rack.  Just pre=set the shingles in these racks and clamp them down tight, brush on, or spray your stain with the rack over the galvanized roof section, let drip out as much as they will, then hang the whole rack with some twine or parachute cord from a heavy duty clothes line or open joist in a garage or barn.  You could also rig up a wavey squeegee with some of that wood which is cut for laying the roofing on, and glue a rubber innertube face on it to scrape the residual stain back into your reservoir.  Just a thought...

   Edited 4/29/2002 2:19:52 AM ET by Homewright

   Edited 4/29/2002 2:21:13 AM ET by Homewright

1. 
   EpcoDesign | Apr 29, 2002 09:03pm | #4

   Your idea of building a good-fitting squeegee to save the precious fluid works for me--and that's especially true if the dripping rack is big enough to "batch" the job. Otherwise its goo city, no matter what drain board material one uses.  Thanks.

1. 
   Qtrmeg | Apr 29, 2002 09:43pm | #5

   Larry, I did something like 24 sqs of these things, with Cabots semi. I say I, but I have to honest and say I delegated most of it. The semi is heavier than what you are using, so I am sure this will work for you.

   Mix up the stain and fill a 5 gal bucket about 2/3's full, dip a shingle, pull it up and rap it back and forth on the sides of the bucket, and fling it into a pile. Continue until you just about go out of your mind. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

   The combination of rapping the stain off and flinging results in little waste, the shingles dry just fine, without the hastle of hanging or racking them. Just don't make a small pile, try to do this on a sunny day, use your head.

   Believe me when I say I checked out better methods and this will stain shingles as fast as they can be stained without doing them on the wall. There will be a bit at the top that doesn't get stained, but that will be dbl covered.

1. 
   EpcoDesign | Apr 30, 2002 07:36pm | #7

   RE: Your idea of "flinging cedar shingles" to dry after dipping.

   Yo, Qtrmeg--this idea wins the creativity prize.  My wife (chief dipper) immediately saw the value here, and needs to work on her split finger fast ball anyway. The fact is, with a little work on the landing site, we can probably fling em with less damage than they'll get hanging there banging together on the clothesline.  We all admire your creativity on this one. We have got to try it. Thanks

2. 
   Qtrmeg | May 01, 2002 01:39am | #8

   Gee, thanks Larry.

   "My" landing site was a lawn, I think I spread a couple of canvas drops, maybe cardboard scraps, but I know I didn't use plastic. There was next to zero damage, they fly like kites. ;-)  There also was very minimal blotching, if any, I was surprised.

   Your dipping technician will get the hang of it in no time; don't even look, just dip, tap tap, fling...repeat to infinity. I should caution you, she will get even with you for this, may not be soon, you may not see it coming, but you will pay.

3. 
   Mooney | May 01, 2002 04:24am | #9

   I enjoyed it . I like ideas like this , I just dont come up with many .

   Tim Mooney

4. 
   Homewright | May 01, 2002 06:22am | #10

   Maybe leaning over a vat of stain can help 'fume' you to another level of creativity...

5. 
   Mooney | May 01, 2002 06:27am | #11

   Ill get closer to that laquer tomorrow.

2. 
   EpcoDesign | Apr 29, 2002 08:54pm | #3

   Thank you Notchman.  I especially like the idea of having the sloped area large enough to drain a "batch" of shingles. We'll do that.  Regards, Larry

2. 
   jc21 | Apr 30, 2002 02:09am | #6

   Some years back I worked for a friend that had an old wringer washer setup. The wringers had roller covers on them. You filled the tub with stain, dipped the shingles and run them through the wringer to remove the excess. Worked pretty slick. Drained the stain from the tub back into the 5 gal pail when you were done.

3. 
   Stainman55 | Oct 05, 2011 03:59pm | #12

   Pre-Stain Dipped Shingles

   I've been involved in custom pre-finishing for the lumber industry for over ten years.  As a paint and stain coatings rep, everyone came to me trying figure out a better mouse-trap for pre-finishing cedar shakes and shingles.  The fact is, there is no easy way.  The handling is the same regardless of where or how you do it - every piece has to be picked up, coated, and placed somewhere to dry.  I serviced complaints on shingles which were thrown in a pile to dry because it left right angle patterns, drips and runs all over the material, and sometimes shipped with the stain still wet, allowing finger prints to show up as they installed the shingles.  In some places, this is acceptable - especially if you are doing it yourself.  On new custom homes built by a general contractor, homeowners will complain about this and refuse to pay for it.  I own a pre-finishing factory now, and after years of requests by my lumber distributor customers, started hand-dipping shingles.  Having well built racks in a factory is the best way to dry hand dipped cedar shingles.  I suggest you look for a local pre-finisher or talk to your lumber distributor before taking this on.  Factory pre-finishing your shingles allows the wood to be dried before staining, and allows the coating to properly dry after being dipped.  The drier the wood, the more stain is absorbed and the longer the finish will last.  After doing this in a factory controlled environment, I don't know how or why anyone would try this on a jobsite.  Check out http://www.legacyprefinishing.com for more information on prefinishing cedar shakes and shingles.

1. 
   DanH | Oct 05, 2011 05:38pm | #13

   Stainman, that post was nine years old, making your post look an awful lot like advertising spam.

1. 
   Piffin | Oct 05, 2011 05:59pm | #15

   Maybe

   But every word was true and then some

2. 
   Piffin | Oct 05, 2011 05:58pm | #14

   Absolutely!

   Great post. I never understood anyone trying to do it on site after seeing so many others attempt it.

   Maybe if they have a lot of space and free or nearly free labor, and a lot of dry time.

   Thanks for adding some expertise in this area!

4. 
   Stainman55 | Oct 19, 2011 09:52pm | #16

   Apology

   I extend my apology for including a link to my company's web site in my post.  It was not meant as spam.  I have spent a lot of time helping people work to solve the problem of how to dip shingles during my career, and ran across this post recently. I know it is an older post, but people are looking for information on this subject every day.  I thought this comment would add to options being mentioned.  We only dip shingles as a favor to our distributors, and it is not a significant source of income for our company.  Hand dipping and racking shingles is not among any of my employees' favorite things to do, but I stand behind my recommendation saying that there is no better way to accomplish this laborious task efficiently.  I suggest you use any local prefinisher that is regionally convenient for you.