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stephsgarden

Ace Cabinet & Trim Problems/Questions

stephsgarden
11 years ago

I am in the process of painting my kitchen cabinets with Ace Cabinet & Trim Paint. Cabinets are Oak. I cleaned, deglossed, sanded, filled in the grain, sanded, primed with STIX, sanded, and painted one coat of Ace Cabinet & Trim tinted BM off white color.

First problem is that the first coat of cabinet paint took forever to dry. It was 72 hours before I could flip the doors and paint the back side. Second problem is that when I sanded the flat parts on the first door with 320 grit on my orbital sander, the paint came off to bare wood. This was odd because I sanded after the primer step with 220 grit on the same sander and the primer coat remained intact. Switched to a fine sanding block and it was a little better--but paint still coming off to bare wood on some edges. Finally found some 3M scotch brite type pads that work ok for the sanding, but it took forever to sand with this method. Third problem is that the paint is not coating too well, even before the sanding. I can't see any brush strokes or stipple marks, though, and am happy about that, but I think I will need 3-4 coats to finish the job. So I don't think the drying issue is caused by too thick coats.

What am I doing wrong? Seems wrong to not sand between coats, but should I skip this step? What can I do for them to dry faster? To coat better? Between the thin coverage, the paint coming off during sanding--thereby causing more coats to be needed--and the long dry time, I feel like I will still be painting these cabinets come Christmas. Please help!

Comments (3)

  • Faron79
    11 years ago

    Hey Steph!

    You did the ideal prep, & used a fantastic primer!!

    The issues

    Sanding-
    All ya need to do is SLIGHTLY scuff-sand after ~ 24hrs. I you're revealing wood from sanding, you're sanding WAAAAYY too much!
    Don't use a power sander! All the surface/paint needs is a little light scuffing with ~220-grit.
    We've got a lot of fans of that paint, and I've never had a complaint on it.

    Drying-
    I've played around with this paint. After 24hrs., it's always been hard enough for me to lightly sand, & ready for the 2nd coat. Since your coat took SO long, it almost always means it's too thick.

    HIDE vs. "Coverage"-
    Your white-base color is a VERY opaque base. Since it's also a Semi-gloss, The binder-resin and pigments form a real tight/smooth film...thereby looking "shiny"!

    Faron

  • stephsgarden
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Faron-

    Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty sure I am not painting thick coats. I use a high density foam roller, and roll it out before applying the paint. Also, I would expect much better coverage if the coat was thick. I am beginning to suspect it is a humidity/temperature issue. I live in South Florida, and it is pretty hot down here right now. The can states that the paint should not be applied if the temp is over 90, and with the humidity factored in, I'm sure my painting "workshop" in the garage is an uncomfortable environment for this paint to cure. The good news is that the second coat dried much faster than the first coat. Can you explain what you mean by hide vs. coverage? If I can still see the brown wood through the paint, I think this is a coverage issue and not a result of the "shine" factor.
    Stephanie

  • Faron79
    11 years ago

    SG-

    1) "Coverage":
    This should be thought of as (related to PAINT anyway...!) the square-footage that a certain quantity of paint can be applied over, without being too THIN (PHYSICALLY) to be a viable coat.

    2) HIDE:
    Refers to how "Opaque" (as opposed to "Sheer"), a given thickness of paint is. Deep/Vibrant tones like Wines, Reds, even Oranges & Vivid colors, are very sheer, due to the nature of the deep tint-bases.
    * Artificially created colorants like Magentas, Reds, & Yellows are fairly sheer themselves.
    * These kinda colors usually need tinted primers to help give a more OPAQUE look to the "sheerer" topcoats of paint.
    * Light-to-medium colors don't have this issue...UNLESS APPLIED TOO THIN!!!
    * This is because the lighter tint-bases have much more TI02, which is a very opaque/expensive pigment.
    * As I stated previously, you have the most "Opaque" tint-base, called Ultra-White.

    The Painting "Environment":
    Upon checking the Miami NOAA weather, I see that city has a dewpoint of 74deg. this afternoon!! That's obviously pretty humid!!!
    * AND...since the temp is 90, paint can often "set up" too quickly, meaning getting dry on the surface, thereby reducing its leveling ability.
    * The humidity slows the total cure-thru time. It's often MANY days...even WEEKS, before some paints are cured all the way through.
    * This is a sloooowwww process sometimes! A Latex/Hybrid paints film slowly tightens-up/hardens as days/weeks go by.
    * I tell our customers that, as an example, if you paint a bookshelf or table Burgundy...put it away for a MONTH or more and let the paint harden before weight sits on the film.

    Faron

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