Off Topic Finishing??

[kmmcrafts]

I felt this would get seen more here rather than the other forum topics so hopefully I’ll get some good input on this. 
 

I built two of these bucket gardens, one for a friend and one for myself. To do over I’d have just used treated lumber or cedar. But now that they are built I’m wondering what would be a decent finish to help preserve the standard construction 2x4’s. Originally I thought I had some leftover exterior paint but when I open the cans they are mostly dried up so I originally thought I could buy cheap lumber and use up my old paints I had laying around. Now that I’ve got to buy something is why I say to do over I’d just use treated lumber.  

Since this is a garden thing it’s obviously going to be outside and getting watered etc. Not looking to make it last forever but I don’t really want to just leave it raw either. Thinking about cheap options is someone else’s leftover paint from the restore places or some paint that was mixed incorrectly so long as it’s exterior and not interior but thought maybe I ask here as maybe someone has a better idea. Don’t really care too much about looks or colors really within reason, I mean I don’t really want fluorescent bright pink or totally ugly colors . 
 

Anyway thoughts on something to use or am I on the right track with just using an exterior paint and call it good. Nothing in this type of setting is going to last forever other than metal so I know it’s going to rot at some point.  

[rjweb]

Kevin, very nice, who said he can only do clocks and ornaments, as for a finish I have used exterior oil base spar varnish, RJ

[kmmcrafts]

9 minutes ago, rjweb said:

Kevin, very nice, who said he can only do clocks and ornaments, as for a finish I have used exterior oil base spar varnish, RJ

Well, this is really about the first thing I've made besides scroll work.. I'm not anywhere near a pro at construction or building things from wood. Give me a hunk of iron and I can weld / make about anything but never had any experience with building with wood. I might get brave and try a planter box and a bird house next.. this project gave me some inspiration.. Good thing I named the business KevsKrafts and not say anything about scroll saw work in the name.. pretty generic and could become metal art or anything so there is that going for the lousy name I chose for a business name..  Now if building big block V8's consider crafts?  Who said it had to be wood blocks..

[OCtoolguy]

How about Thompson's water seal like we use for decks? I built a gate for my daughter and used it on that and it's been 5 years and looks like new.

 

[Bill WIlson]

If you have to buy something, go with exterior paint.  It will provide the best bang for the buck.  All the other clear finishes or stains will need to be reapplied every year or they will degrade and be useless in short order.  Exterior paint contains additives and pigments that you won't get in Big Box spar varnish or other clear finishes/stains.  The additives in good exterior paint do more to prevent mold, mildew, UV damage, etc. which are just as big an enemy to wood as moisture.  I wouldn't necessarily overlook acrylic exterior paint.  I know oil based is the tried & true, but acrylics have come a long way and are probably more readily available in most areas.

[kmmcrafts]

Went to my local hardware that I'm always going to often so they know who I am, LOL.. The owner of the place was there and I was looking at the paints etc. asked if I needed some help. Cheapest exterior paint they had was $24 a quart. Not knowing if a quart would do it for both of my gardens I really didn't want a oddball mixed color but I asked anyway if he had anything that was mixed wrong color. He said no not really but I do have some old oil based exterior paint that I'm not supposed to sell anymore.. then took me in the back and open the cans to show me the colors he had. Only had gallon cans and I didn't think I'd need a whole gallon but when he told me he'd take $20 each for them I ended up bringing home slate grey.. I'm so glad I got the gallon as that wood is really soaking up the paint.. I've used over a quart already but only painted maybe 80% of both of them. I stood them up on end so really just have both ends to paint since I couldn't reach the top too well and the bottom of coarse was sitting on the ground. I'll need to paint at least one more coat so I'm pretty sure I'll use at least 3/4 of that gallon on these. 

He put the paint on the shaker for me and stood there talking for a minute. He said they outlawed all the oil base paints and he had to get all new equipment as the old equipment wouldn't measure the new stuff correctly. Said he had to scrap all his color pigments and he had a lot that was scraped. Had to package all the stuff up and send it FedEx to a hazmat place where they supposedly dispose of it all properly. He was saying it's getting crazy with all the regulations. Mention even some LED lights he can no longer sell. They have to put out a certain amount of Lumens per watt now.. and some of the older bulbs he had to take off his shelves.. Getting to the point where I feel like I'm living in California near Ray @OCtoolguy LOL. 

I'm going through the same stuff with my clocks on Amazon.. I may have to start selling them without the battery, LOL.. Amazon has been taking down my clock listings due to not being in compliance with their new rules for selling things with batteries.. They have a hole list of stupid stuff to fill out to be in compliance. I have over 600 clocks in inventory and I think once I sell them out on Etsy and other sites I'm going to be don't with that bit too. It's getting pretty ridiculous with all this environmental crap.. One day I'm probably going to be required to measure how much sawdust I'm polluting the air with and pay a hazard tax if I want to keep selling, LOL

Hopefully this doesn't go into a political thing here, I'm just having a rant because of Amazons Battery issue and then the guy talking at the Hardware today about things..   

[OCtoolguy]

6 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

Went to my local hardware that I'm always going to often so they know who I am, LOL.. The owner of the place was there and I was looking at the paints etc. asked if I needed some help. Cheapest exterior paint they had was $24 a quart. Not knowing if a quart would do it for both of my gardens I really didn't want a oddball mixed color but I asked anyway if he had anything that was mixed wrong color. He said no not really but I do have some old oil based exterior paint that I'm not supposed to sell anymore.. then took me in the back and open the cans to show me the colors he had. Only had gallon cans and I didn't think I'd need a whole gallon but when he told me he'd take $20 each for them I ended up bringing home slate grey.. I'm so glad I got the gallon as that wood is really soaking up the paint.. I've used over a quart already but only painted maybe 80% of both of them. I stood them up on end so really just have both ends to paint since I couldn't reach the top too well and the bottom of coarse was sitting on the ground. I'll need to paint at least one more coat so I'm pretty sure I'll use at least 3/4 of that gallon on these. 

He put the paint on the shaker for me and stood there talking for a minute. He said they outlawed all the oil base paints and he had to get all new equipment as the old equipment wouldn't measure the new stuff correctly. Said he had to scrap all his color pigments and he had a lot that was scraped. Had to package all the stuff up and send it FedEx to a hazmat place where they supposedly dispose of it all properly. He was saying it's getting crazy with all the regulations. Mention even some LED lights he can no longer sell. They have to put out a certain amount of Lumens per watt now.. and some of the older bulbs he had to take off his shelves.. Getting to the point where I feel like I'm living in California near Ray @OCtoolguy LOL. 

I'm going through the same stuff with my clocks on Amazon.. I may have to start selling them without the battery, LOL.. Amazon has been taking down my clock listings due to not being in compliance with their new rules for selling things with batteries.. They have a hole list of stupid stuff to fill out to be in compliance. I have over 600 clocks in inventory and I think once I sell them out on Etsy and other sites I'm going to be don't with that bit too. It's getting pretty ridiculous with all this environmental crap.. One day I'm probably going to be required to measure how much sawdust I'm polluting the air with and pay a hazard tax if I want to keep selling, LOL

Hopefully this doesn't go into a political thing here, I'm just having a rant because of Amazons Battery issue and then the guy talking at the Hardware today about things..   

I won't mention which political party is the cause of all this stupidity. We all know which one it is. So, when the election rolls around, be sure you vote wisely. Even if he has to rule from a jail cell.

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Now if I were to make these I would have used the PVC lumber they sell now adays in Home Depot and Lowes. This stuff started way before Biden so get off the horse. Look at California and all the nutty rules and laws they have. Start there. If you have not bought any interior paint for your house look at those prices. I am going through this now and painting my entire interior. Just the primer has risen $15 a gallon more than 1 year ago when I started this project. You are going to see more and more regulations in the future weather you like it or not. Oh by they way do not look now but we are destroying our Earth. 

The clock battery thing Kevin, you can thank the lawyers and how we have become so sue happy. Everyone wants that quick buck. On another site there is a huge discussion about the SawStop tablesaws. There is going to be a law passed that no saw can be sold without the flesh sensing properties.  

Edited April 24 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[kmmcrafts]

2 minutes ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Now if I were to make these I would have used the PVC lumber they sell now adays in Home Depot and Lowes. This stuff started way before Biden so get off the horse. Look at California and all the nutty rules and laws they have. Start there. 

I was thinking the same thing actually.. If I make any more that's probably what I'll use. This was my first bigger project build and the reason I went with cheap lumber.. plus I thought I had left over paint but it turned out to be no good. I'm also unsure how I'll like this style of gardening. I've done some raised bed gardening but I still put in about a 30 x 30 in ground garden every year so just experimenting and not really wanting to use high priced lumber etc until I know I'm going to like these. 

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

5 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

I was thinking the same thing actually.. If I make any more that's probably what I'll use. This was my first bigger project build and the reason I went with cheap lumber.. plus I thought I had left over paint but it turned out to be no good. I'm also unsure how I'll like this style of gardening. I've done some raised bed gardening but I still put in about a 30 x 30 in ground garden every year so just experimenting and not really wanting to use high priced lumber etc until I know I'm going to like these. 

 

Well stop and do the math and I bet you will see you saved $0. No paint needed. Less labor. You always say Time is money. 

One other thing and no I am not a gardener but I would look into the use of colored buckets for food grown items. I believe white is only accepted colors. Or at least make sure they are food safe buckets.

Edited April 24 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[kmmcrafts]

11 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Well stop and do the math and I bet you will see you saved $0. No paint needed. Less labor. You always say Time is money. 

One other thing and no I am not a gardener but I would look into the use of colored buckets for food grown items. I believe white is only accepted colors. Or at least make sure they are food safe buckets.

Thanks for the tips JT much appreciated

The buckets ( according to the internet ) if they have the H2 code in the triangle shaped info code on the buckets is supposed to be food grade buckets. I thought the same thing but again.. according to the internet, LOL.. I would of rather had white buckets but only thing locally in stock was these ugly Menards green ones. Now if I hit the stores today they probably have hundreds of white ones, LOL

I did look online yesterday and those PCV boards are not cheap around here, and I didn't see 2x4 size but probably the 1 x's would be strong enough I don't know.. be a lot of weight once ten buckets get filled with soil and water etc.. These 2x4's were only just over $2 each.. I have less than $100 into the buckets,paint, deck screws, and I have enough supplies not counting the buckets to build another for myself which I think I might do. Will need another box of screws and buckets but should have enough paint etc for another one. Cheapest PVC board I could find that might come close to working was nearly $25 each. The sun also makes the PVC more brittle over time so I'm not quite convinced it would be a "lot" better for the amount of money. Yeah I did spend around an hour painting them and I still have the ends and another coat so you could be right on that point I suppose.. at least for using a treated 2x4 since they aren't a whole lot more than these regular construction ones. 

At the end of the day the learning experience is sometimes worth more money than I saved anyway.. you always find things you'd do different when doing something for the first or even the second or third time in some cases. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I know the Amish build entire furniture line of products from PVC lumber and in all colors and sizes. yes the final product is heavier than wood but no maintenance after. Can stay outdoors in all weather. Finding this type lumber maybe tough. I never looked for it. There is also Trex decking materials. That stuff is heavy too and tough on blades to cut but again nothing to do when done. The PVC that home centers sell can be stacked to make any size lumber you need. No it does not crack in the sun. Used it as trim on shed. As I said I am not a gardener so do not know about those buckets but always heard if planting food that white and certain type white is best. They do not absorb heat as well as break down plastics. Happy Gardening.  

[Roberta Moreton]

I have used deck stain on many outdoor projects including lawn and deck furniture. It works well and is easy to apply.  I just reapplied it as needed.