DIY Failures, a fun thread

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tdgeek

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#154910 12-Nov-2014 15:09

Thought this might be a fun thread, I will kick off.

3 gazillion years ago when wallpaper was the man, I thought I'd give it a go. Got the gear. I thought best to make the water wamrer, a generous Luke warm to allow the onboard paste to get wet. Maybe leave it in a few seconds longer than the instructions said.... Came up real good. Apart from the top and bottom. I used a seam roller, on the sides and as years passed I learnt I squeexed out mosta the glue. Postive news was when time came to paint it, it stripped off real well.... Fail.

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Vocus

#1173631 12-Nov-2014 15:24

Painted the roof about a year back.

We were getting short on paint for a 2nd coat, but the old man reckoned it'd be fine to water it down a little for the last patch of roof. We finished up the first coat and everything looked great, then the weather really packed up for the year so I never got around to that 2nd coat.

Anyway, I got up on a ladder the other day to have a look, as we never got to that 2nd coat, and I wanted to make sure all the rust repairs and paint was holding up OK.

I was appalled to see patchy old tatty green paint, and bits of bare roof. Did we forget a patch ... ? Then the penny dropped.

Turns out where we used watered down paint it just washed right out, probably in the next rainstorm...

Thankfully most of the roof (where we used it undiluted) is still looking good.

Lesson learned :) Now I have to get up there, clean that last section up and finish the job...

tdgeek

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#1173633 12-Nov-2014 15:26

ubergeeknz: Painted the roof about a year back.

We were getting short on paint for a 2nd coat, but the old man reckoned it'd be fine to water it down a little for the last patch of roof. We finished up the first coat and everything looked great, then the weather really packed up for the year so I never got around to that 2nd coat.

Anyway, I got up on a ladder the other day to have a look, as we never got to that 2nd coat, and I wanted to make sure all the rust repairs and paint was holding up OK.

I was appalled to see patchy old tatty green paint, and bits of bare roof. Did we forget a patch ... ? Then the penny dropped.

Turns out where we used watered down paint it just washed right out, probably in the next rainstorm...

Thankfully most of the roof (where we used it undiluted) is still looking good.

Lesson learned :) Now I have to get up there, clean that last section up and finish the job...

Good post! When I read the wAter down bit, I didn't need to read the rest!

Dynamic

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#1173641 12-Nov-2014 15:39

Using the chainsaw as a hedge trimmer works pretty well on a big hedge, but when your arms are tired and you finish a cut, the saw can be lowered while the chain is still slowing.

The teeth catching and ripping my cargo pants reminded me to be a little more respectful of that tool.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

josephhinvest

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#1173695 12-Nov-2014 16:39

Reddit has a great humorous collection at /r/DIWhy.

Cheers,
Joseph

JayADee

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#1174904 13-Nov-2014 07:11

Taking the neck off a 1930s guitar to reset it, over steamed it and warped the hell out of the top and loosened every glue joint in it. Luckily judicious and quickly applied clamps flattened it right back out and the glue being hide just reset.

frankv

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#1174925 13-Nov-2014 08:27

I had a can of polyurethane foam, of which I'd used only a little. When I came to use it again, it was clogged up. Being a frugal person (and it being nighttime with all the hardware shops closed) I was determined to get the foam out of the can. I tried nails, screwdrivers, etc to force the valve open. I did succeed... all the foam, out of the can, instantly, across the garage doors, car, floor, ceiling, my clothes.

One small blob did land in the right place. But I still had to buy another can the next day.

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Dynamic

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#1174928 13-Nov-2014 08:36

frankv: I did succeed... all the foam, out of the can, instantly, across the garage doors, car, floor, ceiling, my clothes.

Oh dear.... that made me laugh as it sounds like something I would do.

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nakedmolerat

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#1174940 13-Nov-2014 08:49

I 'cracked' the child car seat styrofoam pad.

I decided to be smart and took the super glue and pour it as much as I can to make it to stick together... until I realized that the glue just melt away the sytrofoam.

I felt really really really stupid for 10 minutes.

mdf

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#1174997 13-Nov-2014 10:16

Double hung sash windows in our place, that are pretty much impossible to paint. Decided I'd take them out of their frames, strip them right back and paint them with a two-pot industrial coating that wouldn't wear away. That all went fine until I realised that the paint got _extremely_ sticky as it dried. I was painting them outside because of the smell, and every passing bug, bit of pollen and blade of grass was now stuck to my lovely frames. Then it clouded over and I decided they were "dry enough" to put back. Lesson learned.

That, and no matter how carefully I work out how long it will take me to do something (including estimated then doubling), it still won't be enough time.

MikeAqua

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#1175012 13-Nov-2014 10:28

Trailer coupling (plunger type) was stuck on tow ball. Had to be at a meeting in town somewhere so decided to park on street so I could get other car out. Halfway up steepish driveway 'struck' coupling magically pops off. No worries I thought, I have the safety chain on. Snap, roll, smash. Garage door totalled.

Mike

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#1175014 13-Nov-2014 10:29

Nail polish remover usually works on that stuff.

frankv: I had a can of polyurethane foam, of which I'd used only a little. When I came to use it again, it was clogged up. Being a frugal person (and it being nighttime with all the hardware shops closed) I was determined to get the foam out of the can. I tried nails, screwdrivers, etc to force the valve open. I did succeed... all the foam, out of the can, instantly, across the garage doors, car, floor, ceiling, my clothes.

One small blob did land in the right place. But I still had to buy another can the next day.

Mike

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tdgeek

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#1175031 13-Nov-2014 11:05

I'm gibstopping my kitchen while on hols. Got tools, premix, youtubed quite a bit.

Years ago, I did plastering, mixed it up, all gooey and hard to work with, but thats ok I can sand back my amateur excess plaster. Except it was hard as diamonds. Go Premix.

BTR

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#1175255 13-Nov-2014 14:54

During renovations I thought I was being smart in removing the concrete surround that goes around the built in fire place, haven't been able to work out how to get it back on since. Now theres a gaping hole around the fireplace.

D1023319

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#1175550 14-Nov-2014 07:09

I gib stopped a large stairway wall that included a thin skim coat for the super smooth look.

But it went wrong when I put the first undercoat on.

I was taught to water the first coat so it sinks in but it was late in afternoon and very hot so I just rollered on the thick paint undiluted.

Unfortunately as i rolled the paint on - big air bubbles appeared or so i thought

on closer inspection, my sticky paint roller had lifted the skim coat off the wall and redeposited it as lumps.

Doh!

Jeeves

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#1175580 14-Nov-2014 08:23

No more gaps is not a suitable replacement for filling in gaps between gib sheets. Don't ask me how I know this...

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