A project with lots of repetition.

I have to coat 2000+ pieces 40*40*299mm Tasmanian Oak
They are to be part of an art installation which will be in place for
at least 3 years and form base support points which will be in
ground save for 20mm.
Spray painting is not an option.
Hand painting is something I am trying to avoid.

Is there a solution that I can dip and quickly scrub each piece,
put on a drying rack then repeat 4 times.
Dip, scrub, tap, stack, dry repeat.
Something water based that become almost water like.
This is to avoid viscous paint gumming up the racks.

Realistic or not ?

The things we do for art:;

I will not recommend a particular product but i would suggest you visit a Dulux our similar outlet to get professional advice.

Tassie Oak, painted, in ground? Should last 3 years I guess?

Tassie Oak is not graded for exposed situations, let alone in ground

I love that they have to be 299mm yet are going in the ground. I think spray painting is the only reasonable option here.

I assume you want them coated to last in the ground?

I still don't quite get what you mean by "base support points"?


I don't really see how you could do that many pieces with out some sort of spray setup?

Using 1/2 Cabots Exterior clear satin + acrylic 1/2 water + enough acrylic paint to colour.
Submerging for 1, 3, 5 & 10 minutes.
The mix needs to be thin enough to run back into the paint trough from a drying rack.
Will repeat 5-6 times allowing 4 hours drying time between.
When dry will cut to see depth of penetration. The colour will make penetration easier to see.
If all good will scale up.
When I said permanent it was a figure of speech.
2 years will be fine.
Ultimately it will require much less time than hand painting
and considerably less time than spray painting.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NickAlertman

Using 1/2 Cabots Exterior clear satin + acrylic 1/2 water + enough acrylic paint to colour.
When dry will cut to see depth of penetration. The colour will make penetration easier to see.

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Most of the water based coatings are film forming, i would not expect to see penetration of any depth.

I would experiment with one of the oil based deck finish rather than any water based coating.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by droog

Most of the water based coatings are film forming, i would not expect to see penetration of any depth.

I would experiment with one of the oil based deck finish rather than any water based coating.

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Decided on acrylic based for ease of colouring to observe penetration depth.
Not at all sure about how to colour an oil based solution.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NickAlertman

Decided on acrylic based for ease of colouring to observe penetration depth.
Not at all sure about how to colour an oil based solution.

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I've used Cutek CD50, and even untinted, when cut you can easily observe its penetration. Water based won't penetrate (IME) but you probably need a good film forming solution for in-ground over 2 to 3 years.

I don't know of a paint that is rated for in-ground performance, except bitumen paint. I think you can choose any colour as long as it is black :)

Thank you so very much for your input.
I would have settled on a good 'skin' but the drying aspect turned out
to be a bit of a bugger couldn't come up with a labour effective solution
for separating them to prevent them 'sticking' to each other.
This 'oil' has me intrigued.
There are oil based paints but are there any rub on oils ( that can be coloured ).
I am now imagining rubbing the wood pieces with an oil impregnated rag,
throwing them on to a stack with no 'sticking to each other' problem then
giving them another 2 rubs.

O begger!
Oil won't do the trick and waterproof underground.
Back to the drawing board.

Does anyone know any brand names for the stuff that turns wood blue.
Contains Copper naphthenate but not sure if the stuff comes in a watery form.

can the timber species/type be changed?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NickAlertman

but are there any rub on oils ( that can be coloured ).

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As I suggested, any of the oil based deck coatings.
Most of them already have a colour in them, choose one of the darker shades if that is what you want.

And if you want copper naphthenate try one of the wood preservatives eg
Timber Preserver | Timber Care | Protection against Fungal Degrade

Next attempt will be using boiled linseed oil coloured with oil based artists' paint.
Colour is to check level of penetration.
It's come clean time.
These are to be the next incarnation of my in ground termite baits ( as in detectors ).
I am currently painting them with exterior acrylic and it takes around 3 minutes per
( 3 coats ) plus it is aggravating the heck out of my inguinal hernia.
The final stage is to form 2 stakes out of each piece.
The bare sawn face will be painted with a feeding stimulant.
The window on top is my own design that the majors are not inclined to replicate
or face back lash from the pros.
Attachment 528926

Now understanding the intended use, have you researched what any coating absorbed into the timber will do to the taste from a termites perspective?

Termites can be very selective, eat one piece of timber species and leave the same species right next to it untouched.

Given your use case I would use a film forming coating, maybe wipe on poly ?

Given the penetration of linseed there is the possibility that the little house wreckers
will find precious little they 'want' to eat sandwiched between linseed yuk!
A 'skin' will be infinitely preferable.
Which is just as well because Linseed is too messy and takes forever to dry and there is a good chance mine will never dry.
I figured a min labour way to prop them up vertically for drying so I am going the original route
with different mix tomorrow.
4 parts Cabots Exterior clear satin + 4 parts acrylic paint + 2 parts water ( to start ).
Fingers crossed.