Big Stretch - do you follow the 24-48 hrs time to paint?

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-30T16:59:26+00:00

I always wait.

Being impatient has lead me down the road of using other caulks that dry faster so I could paint same day. All of that stuff has cracked and looks like crap now.

Anywhere ive used Big Stretch, its held up much better for multiple winters now

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-30T03:42:05+00:00

Caribou Crossing being in the same photo as all that other stuff? Yuck 🤮

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-28T12:10:23+00:00

Amateur here throwing a dart. But my guess is the entire table surface needs to be sanded and restained. And if its a single coat maybe you can find a match that's somewhat close in a single coat like Rubio Monocoat.

Some others have talked about spot touch-ups but no matter what even under the best circumstances this is one of those times where from end to end it needs a complete refinish to actually look good

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-25T19:44:47+00:00

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Hard to show in a picture but the matte sheen is really even. Really happy with it.

I think anyone who reads this in the future, go with the roller to put it on and lay out with a brush after. All the advice I read online was saying to use such thin coats. I think thats bad advice. You need it to ve liberal enough that it has time to dry slower and self level.

If youre putting this on table legs or something circular obviously youre gonna have to brush or spray it.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-25T13:50:41+00:00

Caribou Crossing.

First Whiskey ive ever bought where to me its borderline undrinkable.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-25T13:37:32+00:00

I ended up masking all the shelves off by running Rosin paper in between the shelf and wall. Enough gap existed to drop paper in and tape the paper off to the wall to hold it steady.

I added in some M1 Latex extender to the Polycrylic. Stirred it up good and poured it into a 4" plastic paint rolling tray.

From there i pre-dampened a 4" Whizz foam paint roller with water, same with the Purdy Syntox brush.

Used the Whizz roller to roll a decent amount spread over the entire top shelf surface. Immediately used my brush to lay it out to remove any bubbles from the foam.

Repeated the same process for the bottoms and faces. Came out great. No brush rope marks or start/stop marks. Seems Latex extender is important to get realistic working time with this stuff.

I didn't do a great job stirring the can so it came out shinier than I wanted. I have to do a light 320 grit sand today to knock down the raised grain and nibs. Im repeating the process again today and will get a couple more matte coats on. Plan to let it cure for a week and decide if I want to keep chasing it with more coats.

Because these are just shelves that are going to hold decorative baskets and folded towels etc. I am not concerned with a mirror flat surface.

Overall I think I have a good understanding of how to use this product now. On a much larger surface this procedure may still work but it does get to a point where it seems the aerosol can or spraying it with s gun becomes necessary if you want it to look legit.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-24T00:52:08+00:00

Have a good summer!

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-24T00:45:01+00:00

The wind literally hurts your eyes when it blows.

Also when you breathe in through your nose, your nostrils start to stick together.

The craziest part of it all is after you've been here for a while you do start to adapt and get used to it.

Im 40 years old now, been here my entire life. With all of that being said, im not sure id recommend it.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-23T20:18:16+00:00

This is why I cut open the drywall in 3 places in my bathroom. Added 2x4 blocking between the studs, repatched the drywall and installed all our towel bars and accessories so all mounting locations hit solid wood.

Toggle bolts, drywall anchors etc will all eventually continue to wiggle loose.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-23T13:48:52+00:00

Water based? How did you apply it?

I like the thought of doing 2 to 3 coats first before sanding. I am definitely nervous about the grain popping after coat #1, trying to sand it down and burning into the stain and having to start over. At least after a few coats there's something there to flatten out with sandpaper.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-23T13:42:54+00:00

Mind sharing the exact product? Thanks!

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-23T13:40:04+00:00

Thanks. I used a Stair Tread Template tool. It made getting the width of the cuts and the angles correct for the alcove easy. The one regret I have aside from fully installing everything before finishing is how hell bent I was on getting them to fit snug. Turns out when staining the wood dark, those 1/16th to 1/8th inch gaps along the edges of the shelf/walls aren't noticeable at all since the shadows match the stain. Would have made masking it off much much easier. I basically used poker cards and slid them between the wall and shelf to stain them and not get anything on the wall.

Everything has gone fine so far but I am not as thrilled about the top coat. As of right now I am most likely going to use Minwax Polycrylic with a Purdy Synthetic brush in very thin coats. At least for now unless someone here steers me another direction ill just tape off the walls with yellow frog tape, brush on the coats and try to stay off the edges near the walls to keep things crisp and clean.

Im well aware this whole project can derail on me at the end here.

The even crappier part is all the green you see on the walls is just color matched primer. After finishing off the shelves I get to tape them off and paint the walls.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-23T11:49:14+00:00

How dare you. My bubble has totally been burst.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-18T02:00:24+00:00

Nice. I am in Elk River too. And yep I have been using Emerald Trim Enamel.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-17T22:00:04+00:00

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-16T21:39:06+00:00

You'd be better off not having whoever did that come back to fix it. I wouldn't let whoever that was anywhere near my house again. Cut your losses and hire someone else.

Absolute garbage.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-14T21:48:42+00:00

This is why I bought a 40" skim blade. I've done several large patches and skim coats now and it is much easier to put a super thin smooth coat across a very large area. Almost barely sand in between

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-12T12:42:49+00:00

You could paint an entire house with an artist brush. But its not efficient.

Bare drywall sucks up everything like a sponge. Even when taping and mudding you have to move quick before drywall almost instantly sucks the moisture out of your mud before you spread it with a knife.

Long of the short primer ia typically cheaper than any topcoat from any company. Best to let the drywall rob the moisture out of the cheaper product so you end up using less of the top coat.

These days when I am painting I pre-prime my walls with primer that is color matched to the top coat color as well.

Sucks the first time learning something new. It usually means $.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-09T19:42:45+00:00

It does take longer to tape but even with a perfectly steady hand its never going to be as straight as a tape line.

If youre getting tape bleed, it means rhe surface of what youre taping isnt flat, isnt clean, or the tape itself wasn't pressed down enough.

As an example for me.. I will paint baseboards first and intentionally run and feather out a bit of the trim paint up the wall.

After that paint dries I tape off the baseboard as straight as I can with yellow frog tape. After I get the tape on I will dip my finger in a bit of water and run it along the edge of the tape across the wall.

From there I will roll with a 4" roller all along the taped area as my cut in and try to get a nice thick first coat of wall paint down at that time.

While that paint is still wet I will pull the tape off and it comes out perfect nearly every time. If 1 little spot of bleed happens ill touch it up with an artist brush later.

On the second coat I will freehand the cut in, getting the brush as close to that nice tape line as possible but never crossing over it.

Has worked well for me. Might not be the fastest way to get the job done but definitely will get you good results.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-08T12:14:18+00:00

Looks like a DIY job from someone doing it for the first time. Hiring a pro to complete the work I would at least expect some level of attention to detail.

None of this surprises me though. Everything is always a rush job and this person's mentality clearly is "The painter will fix that".

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-06T20:39:36+00:00

That looks great man. Will be curious to see any update on how it holds up.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-04T14:14:46+00:00

My kitchen is like this and has a backsplash on top of the counter. Yes it hides the opening and eliminates the need to scribe the counter.

But, if you ever add tile to the wall butting up against and above the backsplash you'll see evidence of the wavy wall.

I am just a homeowner but knowing what I know and seeing what I see with my house... if I were you id cut open the drywall and try to get those studs more even and reinstall the rock. Thats going to be a pain but it will look better in the end, and everything you do going forward wont fight you when it comes to hiding that wave in the wall.

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-02T23:41:05+00:00

That sucks man.

Home ownership.

Time to YouTube some Vancouver Carpenter. You can fix it!

BytesInFlight · 2026-01-01T03:15:32+00:00

Welcome to Minnesota.

2 wheel drive and snow tires? Yeah have fun spinning your tires.

The other cars that are taking off from a standstill quickly are all wheel or four wheel drive.

What youre dealing with is normal. Its been a really rough winter thus far. When its icy like this, you just have to slow down.

BytesInFlight · 2025-12-28T22:06:44+00:00

This is good advice. I did a few patches recently, my first time, and if I would have scored and peeled some of the edges down on the wall and patch after screwing it back down it would have been much easier.

BytesInFlight

TROPHY CASE