The DIY Thread

[North Shropshire Lad]

Applying the coats too quickly or thickly and just polishing them will lead to a finish that looks more like varnish or French polish. Great if that's what you want, but normally an island is fed so that the oils seeps in an provides a greater longer lasting finish

 

[EpsomWolf]

Applying the coats too quickly or thickly and just polishing them will lead to a finish that looks more like varnish or French polish. Great if that's what you want, but normally an island is fed so that the oils seeps in an provides a greater longer lasting finish

I definitely want the durability with the natural look of the oil so want to give it every chance to soak in. The guy in the video is a bit vague when describing the rubdown between coats. I think he’s saying effectively 400 grit, which to my way of thinking would open the pores back up for the next coat of oil without risking scratching everything again?

 

[North Shropshire Lad]

I don't rub down between coats with anything that course but he's the expert and I'm not. I used to do mine fairly regularly and do five or six coats working really hard to rub in each time. One year, because I think [know] she was trying to cover up a nail varnish spill, my wife oiled the surface while I was working away for a few days. She's never done anything practical before and literally poured the oil on the surface, spread it with a cloth and left it. It did harden and looked shit. Like some badly varnished fairground ride. We use a Howdens oils with a red lid () and despite it being an 'oil' it will harden if just left.

 

[EpsomWolf]

Completed the project this afternoon.

The orbital sander yesterday was an interesting task - worked very well but Jesus, the mess. Sanding indoors not exactly ideal but had no choice so crack on. First coat of Fiddes Hard Wax Oil (the stuff the guy recommended) was brushed on early evening then left overnight to dry.

Quite surprised this morning to see the surface looking good but feeling quite rough. Took the time to de-nib with 400 grit wet and dry. Wasn’t expecting the hour and a half it took to do that but felt it worth the time and effort. Second and final coat on at lunchtime.

Will have to wait and see how it holds up in practice but very pleased so far. I think the most satisfying part was being able to remove every blemish which I wasn’t anticipating, plus the knowledge and confidence to repeat the task as and when.

Anyway, got to be happy in going from this:



To this:

 

[Alan]

Looks fantastic, mate!

 

[EpsomWolf]

Anyone used decking paint?

Have used decking stain in the past but it’s just never been durable and has looked terrible very quickly. Have tried decking oil too but wasn’t too impressed with that either.

Decking paint appears more durable but am a bit nervous about it looking rubbish if it starts peeling and the hassle in getting it off when it needs redoing. The prep would probably require quite a lot of work also and with it being fairly expensive too there are quite a lot of doubts.

It is decking and not a dining room table so doesn’t have to be perfect, but previous results have been a bit pants so just wondered if anyone’s used it and if it’s worth it?

 

[machin05]

I looked into it but was never happy that any product would be hard wearing enough. If you're prepared to maintain it annually then I think it would be ok, but basically every product would have loads of reviews saying the paint starts peeling after a year or so. Could be down to poor prep, tbf, but I just didn't want to take the risk so stuck with natural oil.

 

[EpsomWolf]

Thanks Machin.

Funnily enough jet washed it and painted it yesterday, just painting some surrounding brick areas with masonary paint now.

First impressions are very favourable. It’s not like a paint as we know it, just a much, much thinker version of a stain and does ‘look’ as though it wouldn’t peel easily or necessarily be any more difficult to remove and prep again as required.

Would definitely say even the next day it appears more robust, dogs claws and chairs etc dragged across it are not marking it… yet.

I did put more prep in this time to be fair so perhaps has an unfair advantage. Time will tell of course but so far so good.

 

[lemonjelly]

in line with machins thinking, my project this year is replacing the garden shed. It's on old photos of the house the prev owner left. We patched it up when we moved in, but a lot of the wood is/was rotten. In winter the roof started to go (and now has holes, so no more repairs!)

We will get a plastic shed instead I think. Metal sheds aren't much cop imo, and the yearly maintenance and repainting of a wooden one each year were/are more than we can stand, especially with some other tasks we will have to do at home across the next 2-3-4 years.

 

[machin05]

Thanks Machin.

Funnily enough jet washed it and painted it yesterday, just painting some surrounding brick areas with masonary paint now.

First impressions are very favourable. It’s not like a paint as we know it, just a much, much thinker version of a stain and does ‘look’ as though it wouldn’t peel easily or necessarily be any more difficult to remove and prep again as required.

Would definitely say even the next day it appears more robust, dogs claws and chairs etc dragged across it are not marking it… yet.

I did put more prep in this time to be fair so perhaps has an unfair advantage. Time will tell of course but so far so good.

Which paint did you use?

 

[pagey]

We will get a plastic shed instead I think. Metal sheds aren't much cop imo, and the yearly maintenance and repainting of a wooden one each year were/are more than we can stand, especially with some other tasks we will have to do at home across the next 2-3-4 years.

I made the mistake of buying a DIY metal shed during lockdown, it came in about 20 million pieces and ripped my hands to shreds. Plastic roller on one of the doors snapped and bent the door about half way down. Ended up replacing it with plastic. Total waste of time/ money.

 

[pagey]

Anyone ever removed a load of Artex, or know the easiest way to?

Hall/landing/stair walls plastered in the stuff when we moved in about 15 years ago, keep saying I'll remove it but end up repainting. The Mrs has put her foot down and wants it done this year.

 

[leedswolf]

Anyone ever removed a load of Artex, or know the easiest way to?

Hall/landing/stair walls plastered in the stuff when we moved in about 15 years ago, keep saying I'll remove it but end up repainting. The Mrs has put her foot down and wants it done this year.

You're best getting it skimmed. Textured coatings contained asbestos. It can be stripped, but it needs to be done so that there is no fibre release. DO NOT dry strip, grind or sand it.

I got around it by applying blown vinyl paper.

 

[sycophantia]

You're best getting it skimmed. Textured coatings contained asbestos. It can be stripped, but it needs to be done so that there is no fibre release. DO NOT dry strip, grind or sand it.

I got around it by applying blown vinyl paper.

I did not know artex had asbestos in it, worth knowing.
In other news I'll be going to check out timber tomorrow as I need to build a new back gate. Ready made ones are quite cheap but the quality is questionable and ours is an unusual size.

 

[ROVERT47]

Yeah, I had swirly artex on the ceiling when it was all the rage in the eighties, had it skimmed about 25 years ago.

 

[EpsomWolf]

Which paint did you use?

I used Ronseal Ultimate Protection Decking Paint. I think it was about £33 for 2.5L from Toolstation and used about 3.5L for the area shown below. Then standard Ronseal Fence Life for the fency bits and finished off with remnants of a tin of Little Greene masonry paint which the previous owners left behind.

I think I’m resigned to redoing the decking each spring anyway and just wanted something that would look good for a bit longer than the decking stain which previously looked shabby really quickly. It does look as though it’s absorbed into the wood as opposed to a shell that sits on top before eventually flaking, but you are right about the reviews so far too early for a recommendation as such.

Anyway, quite happy so far:

 

[Kenny]

When we moved to MD just under 4 years ago we remodelled the garden and had composit decking installed - scratch resistant, anti-fade, won't warp, easy to clean etc...that came with a hefty price tag.

Turns out it's a bag of crap - scratched easily, faded, warped and a twat to clean.
Had it ripped out last year and the area paved.

 

[Dublin Drummer Wolf]

I made the mistake of buying a DIY metal shed during lockdown, it came in about 20 million pieces and ripped my hands to shreds. Plastic roller on one of the doors snapped and bent the door about half way down. Ended up replacing it with plastic. Total waste of time/ money.

I made the same mistake when we bought out house. Bought a 7×5 metal shed. Unboxed it, took a look at the millions of pieces and the crap instructions and instantly reboxed it.
Sold it to my neighbour at a loss of a couple hundred euro.

 

[EpsomWolf]

When we moved to MD just under 4 years ago we remodelled the garden and had composit decking installed - scratch resistant, anti-fade, won't warp, easy to clean etc...that came with a hefty price tag.

Turns out it's a bag of crap - scratched easily, faded, warped and a twat to clean.
Had it ripped out last year and the area paved.

Must admit was considering composite further down the line.

I seem to spend an awful lot of time with a bit of sandpaper in one hand and a brush in the other fannying around with sheds and fences and windows and stuff like that so the lure of upvc/composites etc is quite strong.

That’s a really helpful insight, thanks.

 

[Kenny]

Must admit was considering composite further down the line.

I seem to spend an awful lot of time with a bit of sandpaper in one hand and a brush in the other fannying around with sheds and fences and windows and stuff like that so the lure of upvc/composites etc is quite strong.

That’s a really helpful insight, thanks.

I might be on my own on it but hated it. Our garden is a proper sun trap as well, so on the warmer days the decking got red hot

It was annoying as we researched the product, went for what we thought was a premium product and it was just a massive nightmare.