Replies

1. 
   Michael_Rimoldi | Jun 29, 2001 01:11am | #1

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   Charles,

   If its a finish grade tropical hardwood, I might not paint it at all! What species is it? Some of those exotic species are better left natural or oiled. Of course, if its not something like teak or such, you are definitely going to want to give it some means of coverage.

   Mike

1. 
   charles_boyce | Jun 29, 2001 01:51am | #2

   *HI, Thanks for the reply. It's a wood called Angico that I got from the local certified lumber yard. It's very nice looking wood. Hard and dense and a bit like rose wood in color. I'm approaching this like I shouldn't paint it and I don't want to but if one absolutely had too, what would you suggest.ThanksCharles

1. 
   Shawn_Twing | Jun 29, 2001 03:34am | #3

   *Charles-when you have a few moments go to http://www.finepaints.com. They're the North American importer of Schreuder Dutch paints. They're one of our clients (we created finepaints.com), and we're now one of their customers after trying the product ourselves and seeing how phenomenal it is.We're using Hascolac enamal undercoating (two coats) and Hascolac brilliant enamal (two coats) for all of our trim work. After speaking with people who use this regularly (for website research), we were told that we could expect it to last 15-20 years if done according to the instructions.From from I've seen and heard, it's hard to beat the quality of their products, and they look stunning. I've had at least 10 compliments about our trim work already.Good luck.Shawn.

1. 
   Bill_Hartmann | Jun 29, 2001 03:52am | #4

   *Why does she want it painted? Can you get by with a semi-transparent stain. They are much more appropriate for decks.

1. 
   Pete_Draganic | Jun 29, 2001 07:31am | #5

   *It would seem to be an awful shame if the Boss...I mean the wife, made you paint that wood. It sounds like it would have an awesome appearance naturaly.However, If you are forced to paint, here is the best solution to a bare wood porch floor. I do it on every porch rebuild and some jobs over 10 yrs old still look great, believe it or not.Use oil paint, produced for porch floors, and thin the first coat's worth with about 1/3 thinner. Paint this on and let it dry THOROUGHLY! Like 24 hrs or better. This will make a very thin paint that will soak in well, giving itself a firm bite into the wood. Once this is well dried, apply an undilluted coat of the same paint. Voila! A perfect job!!The reason I stress letting that thin coat dry so well is that if you dont, the thin caot will become "undry", for lack of a better term, and the thin coat and final coat will blend together giving you a pooir finish and one that takes a bit longer to completely cure.Furthermore, stay off the floor for a few days after the final coat and don't put any furniture or things on the porch for a few weeks, so that the paint has enough time to completely cure. This way things won't stick to the seemingly "dry" paint and screw up your beautiful paint job.Pete

2. 
   charles_boyce | Jun 29, 2001 07:51pm | #6

   *Thanks for the input. This is a front porch and not really a deck so She Who Must Be Obeyed wants one of those gray slate looking jobs. It's an old house and the porch is being built to look old and many old front stoops in my area are painted thusly. I'll give the Dutch Co a gander and see if I can get it in my area.Peter, do you advise priming and the underside of the deck boards? At least the first coat? Once the boards are down on the lower landing I won't be able to go underneath and hit them again. Is that a problem? Also, what is your favorite pant brand or do you have one that you absolutly would aviod? Also I read somewhere and I cannot reacall where but I think it was FHB, that laying down a first coat of Copper Green or something with CCA (copper chromium what ever) in it helps the wood bond to the paint? Some sort of chemical reaction. Has anyone ever heard this? Something about boat building I think....Any way, Thanks again. Charles

3. 
   Dave_Richeson | Jun 30, 2001 02:15am | #7

   *Go over to the Woodshed and ask those guys about finishing your species. Some of those tropical woods have natural oils in them that make painting difficult, with out first washing out the oil.

4. 
   charles_boyce | Jul 02, 2001 06:02pm | #8

   *Thanks for the replies, I convinced the wife that we didn't need to paint. Angico looks like rose wood once it's stained so she liked it. Dilemma averted. Thanks for the info.

2. 
   charles_boyce | Jul 02, 2001 06:02pm | #9

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   I've tried to convince the wife that we ought not to paint the decking on exterior porch I am building but she wants it painted. Any one with sure fire, bonbproof suggestioins on best way to proect the wood. I'm using 5/4 stock tropical hard wood. I realize that I'll need to repaint (fairly often I'm sure) but am looking for ideas that will promote ultimate protection. Oils vs latex. What kind of primer coat. Brands? I had intended to use Sikkens until the wife weighed in. Adviseable to use Sikkens as first coat and then paint over? How about Copper Green below primer coat. Epoxy? Should I do a rough sand to give the paint some purchase? Help!