Use roller for polyurethane?

[treeslayer]

I have to varnish 4 14’ beams, red oak, stained, has anyone used like a 4” roller to put on poly and if so any tips or suggestions? Thanks in advance 

[BillyJack]

just use the correct roller.

 

oil base?

[treeslayer]

Yeah oil base, I’m assuming a short nap roller or a foam one ?

[RichardA]

 I'm fairly sure the short nap would apply a thinner coat, and not flood the work area...  Stay safe Dave.

[BillyJack]

Biggest thing is to apply and leave alone.  Most people treat it like paint..

[Tom King]

I've never used a roller, so I googled it, and it would be worth it for you to read up on it some too, from what I saw.  Like everything else, there are multiple youtube videos.

I've flooded plenty on floors with a squeegee, but that wouldn't work so good for beams.

[Von]

I haven't but the contractors who did our remodel last year did with good results. I'm reminded of this whenever I open a can of poly they left and I find the roller still in it, which seemed to be their SOP.

[Coop]

Whatcha makin?

[treeslayer]

10 hours ago, Coop said:

Whatcha makin?

Just helping out a friend @Coop, our church is adding an adoration chapel, friend is doing the beams and I’m making the shelf to hold the new tabernacle 

[Wimayo]

I've seen lambs wool applicators used. I have no experience with them, but it seems like they should work as well as rollers.

The success of a roller with poly, I think, depends on the self leveling characteristic of the poly. If you have a poly that sets up too fast, a roller might leave an orange peal effect. In this case, the lambs wool might work better. The most important thing for any of them is to not over work it; apply it and leave it.

Any chance you could spray it?

[treeslayer]

No chance to spray it, thanks to all for the advice 

[BillyJack]

On 5/14/2023 at 9:46 AM, Wimayo said:

I've seen lambs wool applicators used. I have no experience with them, but it seems like they should work as well as rollers.

The success of a roller with poly, I think, depends on the self leveling characteristic of the poly. If you have a poly that sets up too fast, a roller might leave an orange peal effect. In this case, the lambs wool might work better. The most important thing for any of them is to not over work it; apply it and leave it.

Any chance you could spray it?

Normally lambs wool is used on hardwood floors

[Tom King]

And then a lambswool mop.  I used one of those (one use each) for a few decades spreading Moisture Cure Urethane on floors.  After waterborne finishes became more popular, we used a kind of stiff bristle squeegee.

https://www.jondon.com/lambswool-applicator-complete-synthetic.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=17758055707&gclid=CjwKCAjwjYKjBhB5EiwAiFdSfjAtlooNvO_K4rJTSHv2_Q7BDxff0rr3AjBsca9PtpMDyZB7t8hSvBoCclEQAvD_BwE

 

https://www.grainger.com/product/1YNU8?gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gclid=CjwKCAjwjYKjBhB5EiwAiFdSfqbiIC2WX6PQeUOjJSJT6R1gqyZPJzvy-jVXL6LaMsMVaT6OdpySgxoCojgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

It has pretty stiff bristles all around that head.  The bristles determine the thickness of the coating, and it flows and closes in behind the bristles as they pass.

[Mark J]

@treeslayer, If the beams are in place, give some thought to using a gel PU product like Bartley. 

Foam brush on, wipe off excess, then hand buff.  For a big area I'd have one person do the first step and a second follow with the last two steps.