# Garage spraying



## Itchy Brother (Aug 22, 2008)

Hi,Do any of ya spray Laquer and poly in your garage when there is a water heater in there with pilot light??I only spray small boxes and such but maybe it would be wise just to open the garage door and do the spaying just outside of the door.Any suggestion?? There isnt an easy way to shut down the waterheater then on all the time.Itchy


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Itchy,
DON'T spray lacquer inside with the pilot light going. Go outside with it or shut off the hot water tank. And before anyone says I'm being overcautious, I remember one fire during my career as a FF where a painting crew were applying the finishing touch to a newly renovated library on the front of a very nice older home. They were spraying lacquer and had put a box fan in the window. The fan motor ignited the fumes from spraying and lit the whole room up instantly, burning one of the painters and lighting up the front of house including the second story above. I have a direct vent furnace in my shop that has a sealed combustion chamber, so no ignition source. 
Mike Hawkins


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## Itchy Brother (Aug 22, 2008)

I will be spaying outside for sure or I'll let the wife do it! Hehehehe!P.S. thanks Mike I will take heed.Itchy


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## djonesax (Mar 3, 2008)

This is what I do. For small things like boxes I put a set of saw horses out side, and also put a set inside. I put the peices on a peice of plywood. Take it all outside in one trip, spray it on the saw horses, then quickly bring it in and place on the other saw horses. if its a nice calm day and the temp is good, I just leave it out there.

The lacquer dries so fast I almost always have a dust free finish.

I have a little kobalt detail gun that I bought from lowes. The tip is perfect for lacquer. I dont have thin when I spray, and it always comes out perfect.


David


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

If you are worried about spraying outside, you could make you a little makeshift spray booth with some plastic and a frame.


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## oldgoat49 (Oct 30, 2006)

It isn't worth taking the chance. I know of one family that was using the box fan and it ignited the fumes and caught the kitchen on fire. Another guy I know had everything shut down, but didn't know that somebody else had turned on a fan and it ignited the fumes and he spent time in the burn unit of the hospital.


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## Itchy Brother (Aug 22, 2008)

How about spraying poly?I see there are water based and oil based.Water based seems safer but does the finish look as good as the oil based?Since I've worked 28 years in aircraft repair I've breathed every kind of solvent known to man.On top of that I smoked 40 years.I know its late to worry about the lungs now but dont want to kick em around anymore lol!What say u my friends! Itchy


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## djonesax (Mar 3, 2008)

Me personally, I wouldn’t spray poly in the garage (or at all) unless you want yourself and everything else to be covered in it. It doesn’t dry as fast as lacquer so it sticks to everything. A guy described him self to me once as fuzzy, after spraying poly because it was stuck to his arm hair making him look furry. I sprayed a 6’x5’ folding screen with poly and it turned out good but I had to shield what I wasn’t spraying at the time to keep the over spray from making the other finished parts grainy. The dust that gets kicked up from the spraying is going to be more likely to affect the finish too. Hell I can’t even brush poly with out getting a little something on it.

With that being said. I have actually used spray cans on very small things like picture frames with success but there is still a lot that goes airborne. For small stuff you could make a little miniature spray booth to try and contain the over spray.


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## bmwmw73 (Mar 7, 2009)

*Garage finishing*

The best answer is to finish it in the garage using a gun I just found at Home Depot and Minwax's water based poly. The gun is the pro spray gun setup. It comes with a carrying case, extra tip and cleaning kit. It goes $55 but the big thing is it comes with the possibility to pressurize the cup. This is key to being able to shoot a heavy finish like the poly AND give you very little overspray. It will take some practice with the air/fluid mix, the amount you thin the finish and the pattern size but I think this is your best bet to a professional finish at minimal expense.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

I feel sorry for you folks with gas heaters and furnaces. Having to go outside in the cold winter months..... or even the summer months due to those pilot lights.

Of course it isn't much better down here what with ceiling fans going.

The morale is.... never spray lacquer or poly near any source of open fire or sparks. Small things can make very big explosions when they get into places they aren't supposed to be.:thumbdown:


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