On 3 Jan 2006 20:10:50 -0800, "RicodJour" scribbled this interesting note:
It does take more time. The results, in my opinion, are worth it.
In my original reply to the original poster, I suggested, for a nice, smooth finish, three coats of primer, with sanding and cleaning in between, and two finish coats, with suitable sanding and cleaning in between. This process fills imperfections in the surface with the primer and give good coverage with two finish coats. Of course, more may be applied if one desires...
Of course, all this is with oil based primers and enamels. With the current crop of latex paints commonly available in the U.S., it is my opinion that on interior work, latex only belongs on the walls, not the woodwork.
-- John Willis snipped-for-privacy@airmail.net (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)
I'm sure you get good results, John, but it just seems to me that you're using a product to do something it wasn't designed to do. Primer has very little body and build up. Essentially you're using something closer to water than paint to fill imperfections. If the surface needs to be filled, use a filler and sand it prior to priming. Otherwise finish paint has far better filling capabilities than primer.
I'd imagine that part of the reason you do what you do is the longer drying time of oil paint. The oil primer would dry more quickly than oil finish paint, so in that respect you save some time. Still a lot longer time in between coats than with latex, but to each his own.
Which is why we need some decent "sanding surfacer" paints. Such are common in autobody paints and relatively common in marine paints.
Best I ever found was an InterLux paint that had been formulated especially for surfacing woods such as luan. Very heavy bodied, dried fast and sanded like a dream...you could make a baby's ass out of anything. Unfortunately it was very expensive. Even more unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be available any more.
-- dadiOH ____________________________
dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at
I think you're talking about Interlux's Pre-Kote. Great stuff. In general, any marine product is going to be far superior to residential paints.
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has microspheres (I know them as microballons, but same thing) which are a staple of the fiberglass industry. As you said, the stuff is pricey, but if you value your time above $20/hour, it makes sense.
I would like to thank all of you for your responses. They have greatly helped me out. Just to clarify things. The paint is Semi-gloss and the door is one of those door slabs that have holes cut out and hinges already attached to it. The door comes primed out of the box.
Thanks for your time and responses, sorry I didn't respond sooner.
In future, give more information rather than less as far as materials, intentions, budget, etc. It'll help others to determine what's best in their experience and opinion without guessing.
As far as paint, it's one of those things that, in general, the more it costs and the more the can weighs, the better the paint. That doesn't mean go to the most expensive store, but the higher priced paint at Lowe's is going to be better than the lower priced within a given brand. Lowe's doesn't manufacture paint, they just rebrand the can so the manufacturer is not competing with themselves and Lowe's can provide a lower price without affecting the manufacturer's pricing. The weight has to do with the cost of the ingredients - pigments and resins weigh more than the solvent (water, oil) and are what give paint it's durability and hiding power.
i'd bet my last chickenwing he had a wooden door
we got wooden door gallon of paint soft brush AND an eager beaver
keep it simple...
you know why people respond to my post
because I speak the language people speak i know deep down, dey all a bunch of tight asses they wanna know it's fine, AND they wanna post something on the big usenet
NOBODY POLISHES A DAMN INTERIOR DOOR WITH 4 COATS OF PRIMER AND 4 SESSIONS OF SANDING...NOBODY
he said interior door ggeeezzz
i want you to look at yourself, have a look will ya!
You've been given a tremendous amount of good advice here, some of it perhaps more involved than it needs to be but you will still get the desired results.
I'd like to point out that 100% acrylic paint is much more tricky to use properly than 100% vinyl paint. Vinyl and mixtures of vinyl and acrylic paint are what many people refer to as "latex" paint. The word latex really refers to a water suspension. The polymer being suspended may be different. Acrylic paint can more easily be overbrushed than vinyl or vinyl-acrylic paint. That means don't fiddle with it. If you are really having problems, you might try adding a retarder like Floetrol but that will also thin the paint. The beauty of acrylic paint is that you "flow" it on, not brush it like an elementary school child. Don't "overwork" the brush. The paint has levelers in it so after it is applied, it will level to an even surface before it dries.
As far a primer is concerned, one of the best is BIN made by Zinsser. BIN is a several pound cut of white pigmented shellac. The nice thing about it is that in addition to its priming and stain blocking abilities, it completely dries in about two hours enabling you to recoat or paint very quickly. The main reason to prime in your case, after filling any nail holes, dents, and dings and doing some finish sanding, is to provide a white "canvas" for your paint. I have used two coats of BIN for this very reason on some painted furniture and some sheetrock walls which had wallpaper stripped from it. After both primer coats, I lightly sand with a fine grade paper. Since it is shellac, it sands beautifully and it takes only 4-5 hours for both coats. Surface prep is very important for a smooth finish.
As for what type of brush, I find that synthetic brushes are best for water based finishes and natural hair brushes are best for solvent based finishes. A really good synthetic brush is the Chinex Takalon type. If the surface area of the door is too much for you to handle with a brush given your level of experience, you could try a short-nap roller, 1/4 - 1/2 inch. It won't leave a glass smooth finish but I bet it will be very close.
With the right paint, one coat should do it. If you like, you can gently sand and apply a second coat but keep in mind that acrylic paint requires two weeks to fully cure hard enough to sand.
People are right when they tell you that it is easier to get a smooth finish with oil (solvent) based paints. Oil paints do not dry as quickly as water based paints. Once you understand how to adjust your painting techniques for water based, especially acrylics, you would be surprised at how smooth the finish will be.
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