I plan to use a Bostitch MIII cleat nailer for my 0.75" x 3.25" Brazilian Cherry floor. People in this forum have suggested using a brad nailer or finish nailer for face nailing starter and end rows. I've read the debate about 15 vs 16 vs 18 gauge. I can get a heck of a deal on a Bostitch 16 gauge nailer. Will this gun have sufficient power to face nail Brazilian Cherry? I'm thinking of using 2" nails. Will it have sufficient power to blind nail (45 degrees) Brazilian Cherry when working in areas I can't get to with the cleat nailer? If it has the power, I believe I will buy this gun.

Thank you

My Bostitch 16 gauge finish nailer is an excellent gun, have owned it for years, it's perfect for what your talking about, power to spare.

16 is the best , 15 can crack the wood sometimes in ex hardwoods. or 18 put use more nails.

I like my Bostitch 18 gauge nailer with PL Premium for leading and last rows on prefinished. Never have had a problem yet, smaller holes to fill. My Hitachi 15 gauge is like a cannon and I only use it foe large base and door casings.

Thank you for the feedback. I have been using the 16 gauge so far, but an 18 gauge Bostitch came with the kit. Perhaps I will give it a try later today.

How deep should I be trying to countersink the heads so that I can fill the holes? With the 16 gauge, I am lucky if they are countersunk 1/16 or 1/32 of an inch. Will this be a problem for filling? Do I need to use a nail set to sink them deeper?

Is color rite the best option for Brazilian Cherry? I read that aa-31 will match the color best once the wood has darkened with time.

Thank you

I like the 15 gauge Bostich.

Colorite adheres very good......Any measurement below the surface is fine. I remember Dennis mentioning a good color for aged Braz. Cherry, for some reason my color chart doesn't show the color your mentioning.

Howard, how many colors do you have on your color chart and where did you find it? I can only find 24 colors online. Guess I better send for one eh?

44 colors. Nice chart too...they show a piece of the actual color from the tube, ( the stuff always dries quite a bit darker than the color you see in the tube). Got it last year, when I visited them at Surfaces. Also talked Virginia out of one...wasn't easy

Is there one for a mink brown? Kinda like a grey washed walnut? Color ites website is pretty crappy to say the least. Hopefully the new one will allow direct online ordering. Where do you order from? Phone or other website?

Don't see a mink brown. Well ya, you can use BA12 with a touch of CB28 I pick up at Virginia, they stock all colors. I know people here at Kens have just called them and ordered over the phone. If you tell them which color on the Behr color chart,( from HD), matches your floor, they will send you the color. Shoot I would have picked you up a chart at Surfaces. Let me know if Colorrite will send one out, if not, I'll try for another from Virginia. Don if your reading this ignore it,

For those of you that like the 16 gauge Bostitch, can you tell me what I'm doing wrong? I'm not having much fun with it! I am shooting 2" brads at 110 psi into 3/4" brazilian cherry and 3/4" OSB subfloor. I use the little orange tip they give you for shooting on the tongue of the board. When trying to corner shoot the board such that the nails are hidden, I frequently have to use a nail set to push the nails in. It doesn't seem to matter what setting I use for nail depth, the nail heads are always slightly exposed. Does the nail depth setting work at all?

Several times when nailing (in not very many nails), the gun has jammed on me (and left me attached to the board). Once, it drove the nail about a 1/4 inch into the board, and then folded the remainder of the nail on top of the board leaving lot's of face damage.

On the other hand, I really like the Bostitch 18 gauge nailer. The nails I have are only 1.25". I am going to get longer 1.75" ones and see if this affects it's performance. It is extremely easy to corner nail with it, as the nose of the gun fits in the groove very nicely. I have never jammed this nailer, and it always countersinks.

Forget about trying to blind nail with that wood, it's so hard the fasteners are probably bending and not penetrating the subfloor.

Canoko, the 18 ga. is fine for blind nailing, just use more fasteners. Your problem with the 16 ga. is the fastener length and pressure. If you want to use that gun for blind nailing....go with 1 1/2" fastener @ 90-100 psi, in that wood.

Is the 18 gauge Bostitch nailer fussy about what brand of nails it shoots? They only have Porta-Cable nails at my local Home Depot.