Finishing during metro-Atlanta's spring

[Dennis Putnam]

Short of building a dust free room, how do you Atlanta area woodworkers handle finishing this time of year? I'm thinking, forget it until at least May. Thanks.

For those not familiar, Atlanta is the pollen capital of the universe. Today's pollen count is 5000 (per cubic meter). For those that are fortunate enough to not be bothered by pollen, as a gage, a pollen count of 120 is considered extremely high and asthmatics are warned to remain indoors with their A/C on.

[Terry Bigelow]

Funny to see this post! I was thinking this morning if anyone else in the country would believe what it looks like here right now. It looks like a light dusting of snow only yellow! When the wind blows even slightly there are massive clouds of yellow that billow from the trees. It's so bad you can actually taste it and feel it going into your lungs! As an answer to your question...I don't know! When I walked through our finishing room at about 7:15 this morning my new finisher (who is from Wyoming) was spraying some pre-cat on cabinet parts with the door to the shop open and both spray booth doors open. I quickly reminded him that here in GA you simply can't do that! I don't really know an answer other than being inside. Oh yea, don't forget your daily dose of Claritin!!!

[Dennis Putnam]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortuntely I am going for a high gloss finish on the peice I want to do. Even with doors closed that stuff penetrates everything. I am worried that the pollen will settle before my poly dries and I'm going to be here until May anyway with steel wool and new coats trying to get the finish right.

P.S. The count today is ~6000.

[Belinda Barfield]

Dennis,

Think you're pretty much stuck until May. :( Wish I could offer some help, but I haven't figured out a way to deal with the pollen either. To add to our usual cloud, there is clear cutting going on right behind our shop. As the trees go down, the pollen billows up. I have asthma and feel as if I haven't had a decent breath in weeks.

Good luck with that finishing. Seems like a good time for you to get out of town for a vacation!:)

[Didier Champauzac]

My small shop is always closed (door and window). Yesterday night I ran my overhead jet filtration device and the filter is yellow and clogged now...

[Perry Holbrook]

Can you keep the dust down for about 10 minutes? If you can try switching your top finish to lacquer.

Perry

[Dennis Putnam]

Thats an idea. I haven't used laquer but will it result in a durable, high-gloss finish like poly? What type do you recommend.

[Perry Holbrook]

I use a high solids lacquer that covers very well with 2 coats. Before that I used Deft spray cans. You can find them at Lowes and other hardware stores, my Home Depot doesn't carry it. Deft is a good product but will probably require 3 or 4 coats to get a top notch finish. Drying time is in the 10 minute range, so the 4 coats doesn't take much time.

Perry