Using paint

[Warren]

Hi all.
I am in need of some help. Preferring natural wood, I do not normally use paint. However, client (the better half) demands it. I'm making some storage cabinets using southern yellow pine and need to paint them white. So far, I've sealed the wood, added two coats of primer (kilzs), and finally two coats of white latex.
There are two issues:

The grain telegraphs through the finish.

I have sanded betweem all coats through 220 grit and used a paint roller hoping to eliminate brush marks but got a mottled look. No luck. I'm probably missing somthing real basic. Please help. :gar-Cr

 

[PChristy]

Warren, no expert here put with my experience in painting the SYP I have always had the grain to show through as well - I might have missed something too - with the brush marks make sure you get a high quality brush if you are wanting less brush marks - The brushes that come in those "three to a pack" is not good for a great finish IMO -

I am sure that someone with more experience with this kind of finish will jump in and help you with this

 

[adowden]

Gosh Warren,

This is a tough one. I have spent lots of time and money trying to give the customer what he wants but never run into this exact problem. I have used light weight spackling compound to fill in 1/8" intentionally cut grooves in some scarry 60's antiqued dressers that I repainted for my children. I'm not sure if sanding and then coating with some spackling and resanding would help hide the grain pattern. Maybe even a thin wood putty or filler would work.

As far as hiding the brush marks, I would try samples with foam brushes or spraying from a can. With clear finishes I have had good luck brushing on a finish and wiping it with a cloth. I find that brushing it on help me get the finish in any nooks and crannies and then wiping it with a cloth give me a more even coverage that is thicker than just wiping it on with a cloth, but thinner than just brushing it on.

Please let us know what works for you. My toughest finishing job was matching maple examination tables to stock cabinets bought at BORG. The cabinets were beige but you could see the grain. After spending $50-100 in stains, the best solution was a $1 quart of beige oops paint diluted 50/50 with water. I wiped it on, and then off quickly. Once it dried I finished it with water based poly and it matched the cabinets great. It was a costly lesson.

Amy

 

[Canuck]

Not sure if would be too late or not, Warren but here is the paint finishing schedule I used on a night table I made using poplar earlier this year.

I sprayed it with two coats of Kilz rattle can primer and then applied three coats of Sherwin Williams Pro-Classic Extra White satin enamel. (All oil based finish.)

I also finished two sets of bathroom cabinets using the same finish and they have held up extremely well! (I too sanded with 220 between coats.) The Sherwin Williams Pro-Classic is a little expensive, but it flows and levels very well.

Wayne

 

[Bas]

What paint did you use for the topcoat, and what did you seal the wood with? After two primer coats of Kilz, two topcoats should cover any grain completely. But as Wayne said, it has to be a high quality paint. Also, for cabinets, latex is not a good choice. It will always remain "soft". The Pro-Classic is an acrylic paint that will harden.

What sort of roller are you using? The "fuzzy" kind is great for painting walls with imperfections, but for smooth wooden surfaces, you want foam rollers. But a good quality brush should do as well. It helps if paint isn't too cold (so it flows better), and the surface is horizontal. There is a product called Floetrol that you can add to the paint to make it flow more easily, and eliminate some brush marks. This will reduce the glossiness of your paint a little.

Perhaps a grain filler could help here, but I've never done that with SYP.

 

[Warren]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll try the acrylic paint after correctly preping the current coating. Unfortunately, I used latex with a foam roller. The grain is only visible with oblique lighting and may not be noticed but its bugs me.

 

[gazzer]

The grain of yellow pine will probably always show. Sanding tends to make it worse because the soft rings tend to sacrifice much more than the hard ones. One thing you might try is to give the piece a good skim coat of filler (bondo actually works pretty well on primed wood) and then use that as a base for sanding, flattening it without sanding through. You could get a smooth surface but it would look less woody.

The other option is to ignore it. A few months and you won't even notice it anymore.

Good luck

-G

 

[MIKE NOAH]

1+ for SW Pro Classic enamel. My results with rolling/good quality brush have been much more consistent then my attempts at spraying.

 

[Warren]

The bondo idea triggered my memory from long ago. Seems the suggestion was to use gray spray auto primer. You build a surface that's fairly smooth and easy to sand. I haven't tried this yet, but still have one cabinet to finish. If it does a fair job, I'll go back and redo the first one and post the results.
W