….a little history,
I am building a “tavern mirror” as a new house gift for my friends. Built from maple to match the existing cabinetry. I am applying a marine spar varnish since this will be in a well sunlight entryway…..I wanted to avoid UV issues.
Everything was sanded down to 220 then I applied my first coat at 25% strength varnish cut with turpentine. Dryed for 48 hours. Then successive steps 50% then 2 at 75% sanded out to 600 grit. The dust and frequent gnats havent been an issue untill now.
Now its time for the 100% final layer that will be buffed and polished.
What solutions do I have to create a clean room to lay this final in ?
I dont have the space to dedicate a clean room….so a temporary solution is needed. Maybe a steamy shower and use the bathroom, or go buy some sheeting and create clean room in the middle of the dining room, the Wife frowns at this idea.
Thanks for the help
Joe in Milwaukie, Oregon
Replies
I varnish is a small room, that is separated from my extremely dusty shop by one ill fitting door. The only precautions I take are to varnish at the end of the day, and I mop the floor, just prior to applying the varnish, and I wear clean clothes. Varnish dries so slowly, that it is nearly impossible to prevent dust and other foreign matter ( bugs) from getting into it. I really don’t get too upset over this, since the finish will have to be rubbed out anyway, to achieve a truly professional finish. I’m not sure about this, but it is my understanding the spar varnish is difficult to rub out, since it is designed to remain somewhat flexible.
Rob Millard
air scrubbers work well. you can buy them or make them from a few furnace vents and an old squirrel cage from a furnace.
its pretty much a box with the fan unit sucking in air thats filtered before it exits the box.
Jet and Delta plus others make a this unit, they can usually be found where they sell dust collectors.
I make gunstocks and I needed someplace to dry stocks that didn't take up a lot of room. I made a large cabinet that I simply hung on the wall. I made the top out of 1/2 plywood and put lots of eye hooks in it and hang things from it.
I keep meaning to get fancy and put a small pancake fan with a filter to get positive air pressure but haven't got around to it.
I've been noodling over the same problem on and off for a while. I've seen these temporary plastic enclosures that you can use to prevent construction mess/dirt from getting out of a single are and they also appeared to be a reasonable way to create a temporary room insire of my shop. I have been thinking about using it to complete my finishing after running my dust colletor for about a day and cleaning/mopping up the area. Not sure how well it will work but it feels better than the dusty alternative and other house location options are not available, son has athsma. Was also considering adding the charcol filter to my air cleaner in addition to wearing an appropriate respirator.
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