Underside of a taller deck

Ditto…if you’re using oil based, all you need to do is to keep the patio soaked with water, and the stain drips will float on that…then just spray it off at the end and nothing on the concrete. TBH, someone here told me that when one of my guys wrecked a patio under a deck last year…

2 Likes

So I’ve been told, but the concrete was drying up quicker than I could manage. I didn’t spill much

Your doing great, and helping out a friend.

Don’t get little brushes for stain, get a deck staining brush, 4 inches is a good size and shouldn’t kill you while staining overhead. It holds a lot of product, and you can reach into areas with it. If you have a tight area that you can’t get that brush into, you can always use your hand (with a glove on) and a rag (cotton - not polyesters). You can even use those car wash mitts. Wooster makes a nice brush and it has a thingy on it so you can hang it on a 5er or bucket when doing something else. They are good for several decks if you want to clean it out afterwards with mineral spirits.

I hope your not hand brushing that whole thing, that is a waste of time. Cut and roll it if you don’t own or can’t rent a sprayer. 9" Roller frame, roller cover, and extension pole. Then back brush with a big wide brush if you want like a deck boss of goliath or any named version of the same brush. Heck, you could probably even use a broom with decent bristles to get between the joists.

You can also use those 6" roller frames, they are light, and hold a decent amount of product. They work well for lots of things, and would probably have worked well for under the steps. Just dip it in, lightly roll excess off, apply with light pressure and move. Just don’t roll them flat. When it isn’t giving more product spread, put it back in the bucket/pan, don’t push harder. I’ve been trying to teach my kid, but everytime I look that thing is smashed down like a pencil.

Most people would spray the underneath of a deck, just because of the work involved.

The china bristles are normally real hair bristles, some are synthetics, a hogs hair brush is just that. The hairs are hollow and hold product and they allow it to spread pretty evenly on the wood. Just make sure that you buy roller covers for oil stain.

Of course I’m telling you all of this, but rolling will drip product, no 2 things about it. I would have that floor covered for all the drips I am going to be putting down while working with stain above me.

If I had to choose between scaffolding and two ladders and a pic, I’m picking the pic every day. The longer the pic the better, less up and down, easier to move (unless your scaffolding is on wheels). 2 a frames and a 2x12x16 would work too. I know that isn’t safety police safe, but it would work.

Once again, I don’t know your experience level, or skills as a painter, just some maybe helpful hints to get you running smoothly. You will learn a lot more as you go. I think every deck is different, and some are real PITA’s

2 Likes

He can’t spray it because the floor is composite.

1 Like

dang, forgot about that.

Stain mitts are nice to have for stuff like that where you have a ton of nooks and crannies. Just load some stain in the mitt and shove your meat hooks in there and voila.

For the record, I’d never even consider doing the underside of a deck. Could knock out three average size deck jobs and make twice the profit with half the headache in half the time. Helping friends is great but lordy that’s a pain in the butt.

Hmmm thanks, I might try the mitts whenever this rain lets up.

Yeah, idk if I’ll ever do this again… I’ll make sure to rack up his bar tab next time I see him :smile:

Almost forgot to send y’all final pics! I used scaffolding, a 4" china brush and a short bendy 2" china brush for crevices. The 2.5" natural Purdy would be a great cut in for regular staining but in this job was my least favorite because it was too long to get in small places and too small to do what the 4" could do. I ordered a lamb mitt and it worked for one particular area where only my arm could fit but I hated the amount of lint produced. (Forgot to prewash it, my bad) all in all it was a HUGE pain in the ■■■ but I’m hoping less ridiculous stain jobs come in the future from the photos. (I so wish I could have sprayed but I didn’t want stain all over the composite top boards and thus I brushed the whole thing) This is my first year in business full time in this area so I’ve had plenty of spare time to complete this project. Took about 1 full week of man-hours stretched across 3 weeks. And made a laughable $15/hr after supplies n gas. Not the worst money I ever made!
He was really happy with how it turned out and wanted to pay more but I told him it wasn’t his fault it took longer than I anticipated. Stuck to the original quote.

I’m not a $99 guy messing with the market but as I’m learning new things I find a much greater value in the lesson learned than the first few bucks. Next customer is gonna pay $$ and I’m spraying plus hiring a helper to get it done in one morning alone!





1 Like

looks good.

Is that an Rtic 1/2 gallon jug? I bought one about 4 years ago. Thing is great and has taken a pounding. I don’t know how many times it has been dropped or rolled around the truck floor.

A good stain brush can be cleaned out and reused several times if you wanna be frugal. Or you can price in tosing them afterwards. Oil stain will wipe off most plastics and metals pretty easy. If you don’t know, when disposing of rags make sure you put water in the bag so they don’t catch on fire.

Yeah, every roller cover, brush, rag, etc gets worked before being used. You take all those precautions and the owner lets the dog out and hair goes everywhere.

Nah that’s a Ozark trail full gallon jug from Walmart. I love it! Lasts through the longest all day jobs :slight_smile:

Thanks for the warning, I didn’t know until after the first day. The guy’s wife is an insurance agent and let me know to just air dry the rags and not close up the container. Sure water works too.

I laughed at first… “…like spontaneously combust?! Yeah right!” Haha you really don’t know til you know

You were there so long you started a game of beer pong? Tell me you used beer in the cups and not water like these whimpy, germaphobe kids do today

1 Like

Baaahaha! It’s the wife’s sons. They must play every night cuz I had to move the table every single time I showed up. (Def water :roll_eyes:)

Back in my day we always filled ours with Coors light and had hot water wash cups. Cuz the point is to force your opponent to drink 10 cups plus yours not 10 sips