Painting question

[Joe B.]

I have a desk and book shelf that sits on top that I just picked up from the cabinet maker. I'd like to paint it white, but I'm not sure what I need. I'm thinking a couple of coats of Kilz and then maybe a couple of coats of semi gloss white paint. After that do I need some sort of clear polyurethane or something?

Joe

[call_me_al]

I don't think Kilz is the product you want, it's really a wallboard primer. White shellac or oil based wood primer, two coats, no latex primer. sand, putty and two coat with a semigloss oil-base paint. No clear coat is necessary or advisable.

[m Ransley]

a Troll BS Or clean it good and paint

[Joe B.]

Oil base? I wouldn't have guessed that.

Joe

[Roger]

I have a desk and book shelf that sits on top that I just picked up from the

Kilz only if you have knots that may bleed thru. Otherwise, any good wood primer, followed by semigloss paint.

[Baron]

You should prep the pieces as though you were going to clear coat them. You might think that paint will hide all the imperfections but opaque coats have the opposite effect. Here's what I do:

1. Raise all the dents and fill all the holes you can find. I use Zinnser's patching material but I'm sure you can use all sorts of other brands.
2. Sand the fills level.
3. Finish sand the entire piece. You don't indicate the wood but I go up to 180 grit with soft woods and 220 with hard woods.
4. Prime with Zinnser's BIN. It is a 3lb cut of white pigmented shellac. In addition to serving as a primer, it will seal any knots very well.
5. Sand with 240 (CAMI) or p280 (FEPA) grit. Do not cut through the primer. If you do, it is not a catastrophe. You will just have to spot prime and resand.
6. Look at the piece. You might now find holes, etc. that you did not previously notice. Fill, spot prime and resand.
7. Paint with the paint of your choice. I have used vinyl / acrylic latex, acrylic latex, and alkyd (oil) paint at one time or another. Oil is easier to work with because of its long open time and leveling ability. I do not like vinyl acrylic mixtures. They are too soft. I have had good success with acrylics.
8. Sand with 280 (CAMI) or p360 (FEPA). Again, be careful about cutting through the paint. This sanding will help to remove any dust that got trapped in the paint.
9. Apply a final paint coat.
10. If you really like, top coat with a clear finish compatible with your paint. Just be aware that oil based clear coats tend to give an amber cast to what is beneath them. Waterbornes are colorless to very slightly blue. It varies with the brand. The clear coat will protect the paint layer from sctraches. A scratch in a clear coat is easier to deal with than one in the paint layer.

Good Luck.

[Joe B.]

Great instructions. Thank you.

Joe

[ß©©ß]

Well, professional cabinet makers can use as many as ten different products on one piece of furniture. This is great in their case, because they just use the stuff on the next item. However, if you are only doing one item, you will spend upwards to $100 in supplies, then toss most of it away in a few years after it turns bad.

As this person said, a coat of shellac or oil based wood primer, and 2 coats of oil based top coat are all you need, unless you are a complete and total perfectionist with too much time on your hands and lots of money to toss around.

You WANT to use ONLY oil based products, because latex contains water, and water will raise the wood grain, and it will stay that way permanently. Oil does not do that.

One thing I'd add. Get a Tack Rag to wipe off all the dust betwen each coat. Get some #400 wet and dry sandpaper to sand between the first and second coat to smooth out any lumps. If you spend a little extra care on it, you should get a nice finish without spending a huge amount of money and half the winter doing it.

One other option, and this would be very inexpensive. Get some cans of spray paint, and carefully spray several coats, probably three. You can try it on a piece of scrap wood and see.....

[Baron]

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