Solsr Lux for exterio use

Anybody have experience using solar lux on exterior projects? I know someone who had an ipe bench made and asked for a solar lux stain because they like the color. They also asked that no sealer coat be applied as they believed it would be easier to restain in the future if needed. Today while raining they tried to install the bench and got stain all over their hands, even though it was dry when inside. Any ideas on what will be the best course of action now? It sounds like it needed a sealer, but now when it dries if it's smudged then what would be the easiest approach? Ipe would not be to easy to soak stain into in the 1st place as it's so oily & dense.

Reply to
Chris
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Ipe is extremely dense and oily. Stains probably are not going to penetrate like they will in a softer wood like OAK. Out doors you are looking at refinishing every 2 or 3 years regardless of what finish you are going to use.

Out doors in sun light Ipe will eventually turn to a silvery grey like most all woods. To keep that color you are going to have to work on it every year or two.

Ipe will do fine for 50 years outdoors with no protection but the color will change. Resanding or revarnishing with a tinted varnish will probably be the only way to keep it looking new. The suns rays have a devastating effect on most any finish.

Reply to
Leon

My findings on dye stains are that they are not good when it comes to fading from UV rays so I would think that would be a poor choice. Pigmented stains will fair better in sunlight. Some like to let the piece weather a bit and then apply a clear preservative like Thompsons. Also there are the semi transparent stains for outdoor decks that might be just what you need.

Reply to
RF

Would think that SolarLux would fade pretty quickly. Even inside on my workbench, the parts that are exposed to sunlight have faded quite a bit in not a whole lot of years.

Reply to
Mark & Juanita

Being a dye, SL will not harden. In fact, if it is applied with as little solvent as possible, it will leave a powdery residue before finishing. You can get it to the point where it doesn't penetrate at all, but will leave a fine dust of its particulates.

I have had a different experience than those here with SL. I have used it extensively on exterior entry doors for new homes, replacement doors and for restoration work. So far, no problems at all.

But SL is only as good as its topcoat. I have never used it but once when I had anything but a UV resistant topcoat. I have used it under exterior poly, and extensively under a post catalyzed exterior grade conversion lacquer. Never a problem, knock on wood!

The point is that the dye is not a stand alone product. It MUST be top coated, period. While I have found the SL brand to be very UV resistant, it is essential that it be additionally protected with another UV resistant finish as well.

I tested SL for my own use (before being sued for lousy workmanship by irate clients!) by using the old tried and true "roof test" from the old days. I took a piece of dried poplar and dyed it (I spray it) and then finished it as I would a door with 4 coats of finish. I loosely covered half of it with a piece of old tarp and left the other half exposed.

On the roof it went, later to be moved to a shadeless, full sun and exposure spot in the yard. It got full, S. Texas sun, downpours, more sun, and then really hight temps as well. I tossed it back on the roof when it was in the way and forgot about it.

About 14 months or so later, I pulled it off and looked at it. I was surprised; the stain side showed little evidence of fading. Strangely (maybe finish discoloration or wood reaction to UV) it was a little darker in a couple of spots.

I have not changed my spray formula, method or topcoat since.

I have to agree with all of Leon's remarks. I think they are spot on, and the most I ever see anyone finish ipe with around here is a thin, oil based product from Cabot's.

Most of the other deck seals and colored "stains" are no more than overthinned varnishes with colorant. Multiple coats simply peel off around here.

Don't confuse SL with Transtint or other products that warn against using them where UV exposure can be a detriment to the coloration. There are many documented stories on the refinishing/finishing groups of guys that ferreted out Transtint (or its non-UV resistant top coat) as the culprit when there was an outline of an object left on a table by a sunny window.

Remember too, that when you use that type if dye, it is only good for inside use, and that you will probably be using an interior rated top coat. These will be harder than the ones you will use outside since elasticity isn't required, but with NO UV resistance from a top coat, the color of your piece will have no protection at all.

As always, just my 0.02.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Robert, I am interested in your method of staining doors with SL. I am a painter and have been given the job of staining Maple doors with light brown mahogany SL with a spray gun(Capspray 8100 HVLP). It seems the stain spray pattern is blotchy on a test board, sheet rock. I have done a couple doors but it requires many passes to get an even looking coat and if too much is applied in one area it turns black. I am sealing the stain with Zinsser Seal coat and finish with Mohawk Hydro-Gold.

Reply to
RF

I had the same problems you had until I finally figured out what I was doing wrong for MY style of finishing. Talking on the phone to the Behlen's guys, this product represents a real hole in their application experience.

I have used this method on raw wood as well as when refinishing and it has worked well in every case. Now if I could just get BARRY to try it with the MLC products...

You need to get some anhydrous (99.99% alcohol) from the paint store. If you have a teflon lined cup, or poly cup liners, they are needed now.

I mix my colors (I love their dark walnut with about 25% dark red mahogany mixed in) in a small container. By volume, I thin with the alcohol 50 to 75%. Yes, 75%. So you are shooting colored alcohol when you get to 75%.

I determine the amount of thinning by how much color I want to impart. A light color, go to 75%. More color, less thinning.

I spray the thinned dye on the wood, in alternating spray patterns so that there will be no streaks. By experience (don't do this on your cabinets the first time!) I know how much dye to apply. For medium colors I usually apply about 4 coats of dye to the wood. It dries fast, and you can recoat usually within 5 minutes or less to build up the coating. I use my smallest tip on the HVLP which is 1 mm.

After spraying, get that stuff out of your gun and cup as soon as possible. If you have a liner or teflon lined cup, it won't matter. But if you have an aluminum cup, there is some kind of electrolytic response and it will make little crumbles in your gun after a couple of hours.

Dye used in this manner will fool you. It looks like a powder on the wood. But when you spray on the finish, it immediately disperses into the topcoat and penetrates the wood. Sometimes the resulting finish is (honestly) really no less than amazing. Unlike stain, the dye does not cause a loss of definition of the grain, so any swirls or burly areas come out particularly nice.

And here's the big payoff. Since you are not applying it with a rag, pad or brush, the dye goes on evenly and cannot blotch. (OK, it can, but if it does you know the surface is contaminated.) The applied dye particulates simply sit ON the wood until you apply the finish. Being thinned to this degree, they are not wet long enough to penetrate, and since there is only so much on the surface (as opposed to a reservoir like a pad or rag) the wood can only pull in so much dye. Hence, no blotches.

I don't personally know anyone that uses dye this way. I called Behlen's, and the recommended against it although they didn't know why. No one I know will even try this method. But I posted it on the Woodweb finishing forum, and the guys that tried it there loved it. I even got a few personal emails from them, including a couple from their long time moderators that are finisihers themselves.

I have never used this method with a water based top coat as I am still back in the stone age spraying NC products and solvent based poly. But the guys on the Woodweb used water based with this method and seemed very pleased.

As always, your mileage may vary on this, and practice on those scraps first.

Let me know what you think if you try this.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Thanks so much for taking the time to offer your experience. I have a bottle of their retarder which is water, acetone and polypropylene glycol? They only recommend up to 10% reduction. I will try adding more alcohol but all I have is the standard denatured stuff sold in the hardware stores. Also the gun a #3 cap set which is probably too large for dye stain. Thanks again for the help.

Reply to
RF

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