I run a shutter shop in Dallas. The majority of our work is plantation shutters, although we occasionally do exterior fixed shutters. We have recently gone to cypress for these exterior shutters hoping that it would be more durable than pine. We are having problems with primer adhering to the wood, and I am wondering if cypress is a poor choice of wood, or if there are steps or products that would eliminate this problem. Since I joined the woodworking business recently, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Replies
I'm guessing here, but maying wiping down with acetone before painting might help? It'll be fun to see if I'm close ;)
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Have you tried a shellac based white pigmented primer/sealer like the one from Zinnser? It sprays well, adheres to oily woods, seals in tannins and resins, builds fast, dries fast, sands easily, and can be topcoated with almost anything. Try some samples to see if it does the job.
I bought a truck load of cypress from a contractor that was going out of business, and have made a bunch of furniture with it. Acetone will help take the natural oils out, and a good poly glue will also help, but, I hate to see someone paint such beautiful wood. I use a spar varathene to bring out the natural beauty of the wood.
Len (Len's Custom Woodworking)
I have made 25-30 adirondack chairs and tables from cypress and have always used a solid color stain and I have never had a problem with the finish not adhering. Cypress is supposed to be a good wood for accepting paint as it is widely used in our area by home builders for exterior trim etc.
Personally, I would ask paint pro in your area. I think you have too much to risk by going on a website and asking a bunch of us how we would handle it. Our approach might work but it may take a bunch of us to come up with the right answer and a lot of your time and wood too. Just my two cents....
Steve - in Northern California
Hi Steve! You OK? This sounds like an alter-ego or someone. :-)
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Have worked with cypress for years and painting it can be problem. It would not be my first choice for paint grade shutter material. Grain tends to rise with age even indoors and painting it , as you know is difficult. Would suggest poplar for indoor shutters simply for its paintability. If you must paint cypress (interior shutters) use a shellac based tinted sealer, two coats preferably. good luck
LOL, no I just read his post very closely and realized his dilema. Then I read the followup posts and they varied so widely that I doubted he could put it together into a straight answer. So, I figured the best advice I could give him would be not to look here for the answer but instead get advice and product from his paint supplier. This way, if it doesnt workout, the shop he works might have some recourse and not have to eat the time and materials. If his new boss wants to give him the time and materials to play around with the advice he gets from this board then thats fine but I think its highly unlikely.
I just felt his request for advice was a little on the desparate side. He's certainly not a hobbyist nor his own boss so he could have a lot more at stake than some of us.
Sorry if it sounded like I was saying we didnt have the right answers here. I didn't intend it that way at all.Steve - in Northern California
Ahhh, what a relief! Was afraid someone had perpetrated identity theft right here at Knots!
An aside: I dropped my saw off at Edensaw Woods today, the Jet tech was out there working on their molder. Hope I get it back sometime this week. If I do, it should be in good working order! Cross your fingers.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Identity theft... Naw, if I was gonna do something nasty I'd use my alternate name "cuttoff". And, I would start a private conversation between myself so I didn't hurt anybody.
Congrats on getting the saw into the shop. From what I have heard it should come back like new. I forgot, do you have the cast iron wings ?
So how was Port Townsend. When I was on the Mine Sweeper out of Tacoma we broke down and had to pull into the public peer for a couple of days. Nice town and a couple (I think two then) of hilarious pubs.
Have you decided on the wood for the display boxes. It rained most of the weekend so it was Jig time in my shop. New sled, a couple of new plates for the box joint jig and a new clamp rack. I love it when it rains because I can open the doors and blow the shop out without having to wash all the neighbors cars. LOL.Steve - in Northern California
Hi Steve, funny line about the neighbors' cars! Port Townsend is pretty cool -- I go there every couple year for a blues or fiddle concert whether I need it or not LOL!
Edensaw is on the outskirts of town, so I didn't make it all the way in today. They have a fantastic selection of woods, with the S2S stuff inside the front building, and then huge warehousing buildings ("sheds" so-to-speak) with the big rough-stuff in 'em.
The couple has settled on oak with either a natural or cherry-like finish on it, which makes getting the wood pretty easy. Have to decide on what type of moulding I want to put around the plexi-door. I think I'll make another one out of Alder just for fun.
I've thrown another question out there in Gen. Disc. about steamed birch. And am about to post one asking about rabetting bits. Feel free to (please) pitch in your 20-cents worth!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I sent a copy of your post over to the paint doctor at the Purdy web site. Lets see what they recommend. I should get an email back in a couple of days.
Steve - in Northern California
Edited 5/20/2002 5:11:25 PM ET by Steve Schefer
Have built 24 Adirondack Chairs over the past 20 years. Twenty (20) from Cypress, 2 redwood and 2 from pine. Love working with cypress but would recommend a good, oil based paint or clearcoat (e.g. General). Reworking # 1 and #2, now...redwood. Do not recommend latex paint on redwood or cypress w o good primer. Oil would likely work much better from the start.
He may have sorted it by now, this post is from 2002.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled