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kendog2_gw

Furniture Painting Disaster

kendog2
12 years ago

In the past, I've attempted to paint furniture and trim with no success. After reading lots of helpful painting tutorials on this site, I was encouraged to try again. However, so far it isn't going well at all. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

I'm attempting to paint an oak base for my son's prized corner fish tank. He used wood filler and sanded the piece very nicely. We carefully wiped off the dust with a damp cloth. I primed with Benjamin Moore Fresh Start Superior Primer using a dense foam roller. Then I brushed over the roller marks with long light strokes using a Corona Excalibur paint brush (1/2 loaded with paint.) I tried not to work the paint too much. The result: FAIL:(

After priming, the surface doesn't look much better than when I used Behr Semi-Gloss paint. Brushing removed the roller stipple marks but replaced them with brush marks which didn't level out. I wanted to cry. Painting walls is a piece of cake but I just can't seem to get the hang of painting furniture and trim. I'm too much of a perfectionist to be satisfied with a crummy job. We can't afford to hire a professional. We have a houseful of doors and oak cabinets waiting to be painted so I really need to figure this out.

Could the low humidity in our area be part of the problem? We live in the High Desert of southern California. We painted indoors. It was unseasonably warm. I'm guessing about 80 degrees. We have a large humidifier. Would it help to run the humidifier all night before painting again?

We plan to sand the primer with 220 sandpaper. Depending on how much sanding it takes to remove the brush marks, we may add another coat of primer. We'll be using Ace Cabinet Door and Trim paint as the top coat.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Comments (6)

  • CRobl
    12 years ago

    If I'm reading you correctly, you haven't painted yet, just primed. Right? Not an expert, but... it's primer. It's not really supposed to level beautifully or look good. It doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong. Just sand away the marks and carry on.

  • kendog2
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    CRobl,

    Yes, that's correct. We've just primed it. I expected the Fresh Start Superior to level because it's known for doing that better than other primers. I'll report back on what happens after we sand and apply the paint. Thanks so much for your input.

  • lascatx
    12 years ago

    Didn't open this earlier, but would have also told you not to worry about the appearance of primer. It can look worse than a bad paint job and still be just fine. Hope the paint went well.

  • kendog2
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thank you Lascatx. We sanded with 220, applied another coat of primer, then sanded again before applying the first coat of paint. It looks great from a distance but there are still lots of brush marks. We'll sand again and see if the second coat looks any better. If not, I guess we'll have to live with it. I'm disappointed that the paint didn't level at all like it did for other people.

  • kendog2
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Andersons,

    Thank you so much for your helpful response. I wasn't aware that paint formulation would be different in California than in other states. That would explain why the Ace paint didn't level as well for me as it did for others. My next question was going to be whether to try adding an extender. Since the paint is white, I'll probably use the XIM X-Tender because I've heard that Floetrol will cause white paint to yellow a little.

    I don't think oil base paint is available here but maybe I could order it online. I would use oil only as a last resort because it yellows with time.

    If I stick with the Ace Cabinet Door and Trim paint, can the final coat be sanded to make it smoother without dulling the paint finish? If so, what grit should I use. 1500? 2000? Thanks again for taking the time to help me.