Thread: Paint Grade Timber in WA

Excuse my ignorance, but why is Meranti too much work to get a great paint finish?

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The stuff we get here in B is quite open grained and therefore takes a few coats of undercoat and much sanding to get dead smooth..

I get asked a lot about paint grade. Problem with paint grade is this:

the cost to fall the tree, ramp it, truck it, saw it, kiln dry, package, freight to wherever and then retail it remain pretty much the same regardless of species. And by the time you get to that point stumpage - the actual cost of the tree - is but a fraction of the total cost and whether it was $16 a cube or $160 a cube has very little bearing on the price of the product. Mainly mostly and sort of - depends where you buy and sell it in the chain

Maybe Jelutong or wattle - there will be some cheap import around but to get it cheap you probably got to buy by the pack. Other then that contact a sawmill - most mills will have packs of paint grade about, usually stuff with unsound knots, shakes or checks that wont make premium but is fine for a door etc with a dab of putty and a coat of paint.