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Skim Coating

Is it ok to use wood filler to skim coat a particle board surface before sanding, priming and painting?

Thanks.

Darren Harris Staten Island, New York.

Reply to
Searcher7
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I don't see that turning out very well. Shellac based primer would work very well. Zinsser B-I-N is what I use. If one coat doesn't fill the nooks and crannies, level-sand the first coat, and the second should be baby-butt smooth.

Reply to
-MIKE-

I'd use bondo before wood filler.

Reply to
ChairMan

Particle board can finish up nicely. I would use zinnser sanding sealer

50/50 for the first coat, then straight after for 2 or 3 more coats to build up. Then sand, and you are ready to prime and paint.
Reply to
tiredofspam

Thanks everyone.

The reason I asked about wood filler was because it seemed the cheapest way to cover the entire cabinet, which would be about 50 square feet.

I don't know how many coats I'll need to apply, but how much Zinnser or Bondo would I need?

Thanks.

Darren Harris Staten Island, New York.

Reply to
Searcher7

----------------------------------------------------- Forget the Bondo.

Start with a gallon of Zinnser and play it by ear.

You don't have a glue how much the surface will suck up until you get into the project.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

It depends on the filler I guess but most anything that adheres decently could be used. Even drywall mud. Yes, drywall mud. I can think of nothing that sands any easier.

There are two general types of drywall mud: setting and drying. The setting type comes in a powder to mix with water; the powder is calcium sulfate - gypsum (aka "plaster") - and it binds chemically with the water' once dry, it cannot be dissolved again with water. The drying type comes pre-mixed in a bucket. It is just fine calcium carbonate with starch as a binder; once dry, it can be "melted" again with water. The fact that drying type DWM is absorbent means that anything you use as a top coat will soak into it further binding it.

The only worry I would have - and it is a minor one - in using water base DWM on particle board is the fact that particle board and water don't play well together; however; water base paint is used on particle board all the time. If the PB swells from DWM the problem is easily solvable by giving the PB a coat of whatever first.

I note that people have recommended both Zinsser B-I-N and Bondo. Either would work well too but a bucket of DWM is cheaper and will cover a lot more than a gallon of B-I-N; it is MUCH cheaper than a gallon of Bondo and will also cover much more. Bondo is talc with polyester resin as a binder; it sets when a catalyst (supplied) is mixed with it. I like Bondo and use it but even though it sands relatively easily it is much harder to sand than DWM.

Speaking of talc, I often use it mixing it with lacquer as a binder. I don't generally use it all over, more as a putty to fill dings. Once painted, it is good inside or out.

Reply to
dadiOH

Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer/Sealer

Reply to
Swingman

I have used mud on a couple of projects and it worked well.

Reply to
Pat

One nice thing about that Zinsser BIN is the first coat does a pretty good job of sealing thing up. When I used it to seal the edges of some MDF (nothing sucks up like mdf!) panels for cabinet doors, one coat was all it took to seal the edges. The subsequent coat laid on top and sanded very smooth.

BTW, to the original poster, BIN is tintable. Have the paint shop add some pigment to your can so you can get by with one coat of paint.

Reply to
-MIKE-

Ok, I tried the mud first. But I don't think it works well. After sanding following the first coat it seemed I was back where I started. Am I sanding too much off?

Thanks.

Darren Harris Staten Island, New York.

Reply to
Searcher7

No, it either falls out, is blown out, is picked out by the roller, or is brushed out by the brush. Great stuff. (Now you see why Bondo was suggested.)

-- The door of opportunity is marked "PUSH". --anon

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Or the most popular finish for particle board, Formica.

Reply to
Father Haskell

I cannot find the beginning of this thread so I'm coming into the middle... new computer, new mail reader...

Anyhow, I often use Plaster of Paris as a filler. It adheres well, fills well, and disappears under oil based "clear" finishes. It dries fast and hard also. It works very well on woods with open grain like red oak. I've even used it on cherry that had a lot of "character" (e.g., knots, punk, insect holes) as a means to fill but not necessarily hide defects before putting on myriad coats of oil finish. By the time I was done with 20+ coats of finish, sanding in between, the wood was consolidated and filled well and the plaster was invisible.

I'd read that Plaster of Paris was used as a filler in furniture factories in the past... I found this to be true when I restored an old oak kitchen table. Keeping with that I refilled it with plaster as part of the finishing process.

John

Reply to
John Grossbohlin

At this point, new MDF would likely be your easiest and cheapest solution, Darren. I think you have leftover adhesive on top of the peeled particleboard. (A real messy deal.)

-- The door of opportunity is marked "PUSH". --anon

Reply to
Larry Jaques

--------------------------------------------------- You talking about "ROJO"?

If so, last 2 qt "Kit" I bought was about $90 and that was also about

10+ years ago.

Great stuff.

To paraphrase the old Brylcreem commercial, A dab will do ya.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

I don't think so. It had just a number (36x?) for a name. It had been developed specifically to fill grain in Phillipine mahogany, did that *VERY* well. It was one part, had a lot of xylene in it (fast dry). I'd sure like to find something that does as well at a realistic price.

It is very possible that it is no longer made.

Reply to
dadiOH

--------------------------------------------------- Lew Hodgett wrote:

--------------------------------------------------- "dadiOH" wrote:

---------------------------------------------- ROJO was developed specifically to fill rusted metal spots after the spot had been sandblasted.

Biggest customer was the US Navy.

I used it as a final filler on my boat hull before priming and painting.

What you are describing is in a totally different world.

The xylene content has probably killed it.

You wouldn't be able to get it here in CA.

The industrial division of I/P is in Houston (They handle ROJO).

Might want to check with them.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

------------------------------------------- He is trying to put lipstick on a pig.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Simple caseworks - much simpler to just make it from scratch with good material. Either standard chipboard, MDF, or plywood.

To make it nice and strong and light, frame it up with a stick frame made of 1/2" baltic ply, (orwhitewood or pine) and cover it with doorskin ply or hardboard.

Or cover the darn thing with a good laminate like Arborite , or 1/8" tempered hardboard (masonite).

Reply to
clare

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