Read a post on here about pre-finishing hardwood and it clicked for me

Some guy was talking about how he pre-finishes all his boards before install to save time on sanding and staining after. I always did it the old way with the whole room sanded at once. Tried it on a 800 sq ft job in Austin last week and man it cut my finishing time by almost half. The edges still need a touch up but nothing like before. Anyone else do this or am I just late to the party?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_rowan11d ago

Wait, are you doing full boards or just the face? I started pre-finishing a few years back and it saves MORE than half if you use a sprayer instead of a roller. The trick is to let each coat dry completely before stacking them with Kraft paper in between. I do three coats on the face and one on the tongue and groove. The edges still need a little sanding after install but it's SO much less dust and mess in the house.

viola17111d ago

I read a blog post from some contractor who pre-finishes everything in his garage with a turbine HVLP setup. He claimed the key was mixing the stain with a little paint thinner to help it penetrate better before the clear coat. Seemed like a lot of extra steps for maybe not that much difference in the final look, but his reasoning made sense for avoiding lap marks.