# BM solid and rain



## ROOMINADAY (Mar 20, 2009)

We have had rain every 3rd day and have a client who needs their deck for a major event. 

Has anyone here applied BM solid on a deck and had it rain thst night? Did it wash out or survive?


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## Bender (Aug 10, 2008)

I thought Cabots allowed for a slightly damp deck? But I'm not a Cabots fan anymore:no:


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## propainterJ (Jan 31, 2011)

I have a customer who I think will ask me to redo their deck,it needs it badly,and it's been done with Olympic,I think by the HO cause it sure is all over their siding and trim

Do you have to completely strip all the old stain away?Some of its in allright looking condition,but some of it's loose,I had to tape on it tody to paint their trim and my tape pulled a little bit here and there,when He got home he asked about what needed to be done to bring some of the wood back,my ex boss would probably have me pressure wash the thing sand it a bot and re-apply stain,that cant be the exact right way,I've really never re-finished a deck,well once with Penofin,we had to wait until the sun was almost down and then roll it on and brush it off,what a pain,but we had to power sand everything down to raw wood first,the coats that were on it were too thick and shiny.


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## JNLP (Dec 13, 2007)

Never used BM solid. However using SWs solid on a recent deck, I got rained out 3 days in a row while in progress. It was all dry for only 2-3 hours. No failiers and even came back after a few days for some tests to be sure, and all was good. Was actually suprised how unharmed it was & was planning on having to do a quick face off on everything but didn't need to. Just whizzed an extra unneeded coat on the hand rails for sh!ts and giggles as they where the most hit with rain.


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## hammerheart14 (May 29, 2010)

P&L's Stainshield solid acrylic can go on a damp deck, great stuff, the people seem to like it better than the cabot. http://www.prattandlambert.com/pdf/product-data-sheets/1500.pdf


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## ROOMINADAY (Mar 20, 2009)

It is all stripped, brightened and neutralized and sanded. If I covered it with plastic at the end of the day would that cause issues worse than rain? It is 70 feet long, 6 feet wide.


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## CliffK (Dec 21, 2010)

I'm not liking the plastic idea. If it rains on it that night it's not going to wash off, after a few hours I don't think it will budge. I'm not saying it's the best thing for it. It could bubble a little if it gets a lot of rain and it sits on there, but even then they will usually pull back when it dries out. It's a gamble at the least. I like to have at least 24 hours for a solid before rain or sprinklers, doesn't always happen though. The solids are actually more problematic with the moisture that gets trapped from below, especially when the boards are not coated on the reverse(which in my world they seldom are). That's when you can get some crazy bubbling-it's a site to see.


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## doctors11 (May 17, 2010)

I did a deck a few months ago with Ben Moore's Arborcoat solid. There was a 20% chance of afternoon showers so I took a chance. Couldn't see the horizon from there so couldn't tell if dark clouds were coming. All of a sudden it started sprinkling. I packed up and left . Came back 2 days later, checked moisture content, and inspected the new stain. Only what I had stained for about 10 minutes before the rain had to be recoated, the rest looked fine. Checked on it again last week and looks great. 

I actually called BM on this and they said "bare minimun 6 hours dry time in optimal conditions before being rained on, better if it gets 24 hours"

The only Cabot product that was marketed as usable on damp wood is SPF stain. DON'T USE IT. Everyone who has, including myself has had nothing but problems, mainly peeling from UV damage, and it doesn't strip with chemicals.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

Solids dry pretty fast. 4-6 hours would be a decent enough dry time to survive all but a monsoon rain.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

To be honest, on semitrans decks I have not even had problems when taken by a surprise shower and a half day dry.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

ROOMINADAY said:


> It is all stripped, brightened and neutralized and sanded. If I covered it with plastic at the end of the day would that cause issues worse than rain? It is 70 feet long, 6 feet wide.


Stupid question by me but why did you brighten the deck if you plan to put a solid on it?


The solid stains dry very quickly, Ive seen it rain within a few hours of completing a deck, never a problem.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

Jeff

It may spot a little, but as Ken noted, it should tack up and kick off within a few hours. Definitely don't plastic it or it will not cure. 

The Cabot stuff for wet decks is called SPF. Avoid like the plague.


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## ROOMINADAY (Mar 20, 2009)

Thanks everyone. This couple have paid big $$$ every year for hacks to fix their deck. When I got there is was horrible - we spent 3 days there stripping and sanding it. It is 70 feet x 8 feet and 10 feet off the ground at the back. They live on the Ocean so moisture is a concern. They want it ready for their 50th wedding anniversary.

We still have to use a solid. We took the BM Deck Certification course so I am trying to follow their advise to the max. It is the wettest June on record and every other day is rain.

I was going to hit it today, but rain is in the forecast tonight (80% by 6PM) and tomorrow. I drove up on my bike today to discuss our absence and they said they would rather wait than to rush us if it means their coating lasting more than 6 months.... 

The 1st day of sun in weeks and there are dozens of people walking out of the hardware stores with deck stain and brushes


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## ROOMINADAY (Mar 20, 2009)

I have very limited stain choices here

1. BM 
2. Olympic (PPG Dealer)
3. HomeHardware (A House brand, data says 25% moisture content ok?, 30 day cure)
4. PARA - have had poor results with their paint so I am NOT going to test their exterior products.


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## doctors11 (May 17, 2010)

Your bigger problem is the moisture content of the wood. Use a moisture meter in front of the customer. Explain it needs to be below 15% before you can stain it. It will set you apart as a knowledgable professional compared to all those home owners walking out of the hardware store getting ready to spread stain on wet wood and have it fail in a few months.


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## ROOMINADAY (Mar 20, 2009)

doctors11 said:


> Your bigger problem is the moisture content of the wood. Use a moisture meter in front of the customer. Explain it needs to be below 15% before you can stain it. It will set you apart as a knowledgable professional compared to all those home owners walking out of the hardware store getting ready to spread stain on wet wood and have it fail in a few months.


I keep my meter with me at all times. I would not even think of applying a coating otherwise. The issue is the raining after we coat. I was considering coating today....monsoon happend tonight!


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