Painting Poplar

[Mike 55]

Hi all,

I made a series of floating shelves for our kitchen. The wife wants the poplar painted white. In 30 years of woodworking I've never painted a project. What type of paint? Is it better to use satin, semi or gloss paint? Does it need to be primed first? 

Some of the poplar had some wild figure. I wanted to do a light stain and GF. I was over ruled. 


Thanks

Mike

[jteneyck]

Hi all,

I made a series of floating shelves for our kitchen. The wife wants the poplar painted white. In 30 years of woodworking I've never painted a project. What type of paint? Is it better to use satin, semi or gloss paint? Does it need to be primed first? 

Some of the poplar had some wild figure. I wanted to do a light stain and GF. I was over ruled. 


Thanks

Mike

Yes, you want to prime it first, then paint.  If you have spray equipment the world's your oyster; there are several really good products.  If you can't, the choices are more limited.  In any case, you don't want wall paint; you want trim paint or lacquer.  

Sherwin Williams ProClassic Acrylic waterborne can be sprayed with the right gun but goes on great with a brush, too.  Lenmar (available at Benjamin Moore) makes a really nice white waterborne lacquer, Duralaq, that sprays great.  General Finishes has a product called something like Brushable white enamel, or you can use their Enduro White Poly if you can spray.  

Some of the products above are available in nearly any sheen, while others only in some.  Your choice.  When in doubt, semi-gloss is the safe bet.  

John

[Don_M]

Hi all,

I made a series of floating shelves for our kitchen. The wife wants the poplar painted white. In 30 years of woodworking I've never painted a project. What type of paint? Is it better to use satin, semi or gloss paint? Does it need to be primed first? 

Some of the poplar had some wild figure. I wanted to do a light stain and GF. I was over ruled. 


Thanks

Mike

As already mentioned - definitely need to prime first - and then light sanding (220 or 320). Kelly-Moore Epic enamels also a good option (https://kellymoore.com/products/interior...ints/epic/)


I used this on some cabinets for our laundry room - turned out very nice.  HVLP sprayer makes it a lot easier if you have one or have access to one (at least 3 stage with the correct tip/nozzle combination).

[fredhargis]

Consider priming with Zinsser BIN (the real shellac based stuff). It will do a great job of helping hide the color in that's in the wood, dries extremely fast, and can be sanded to be really smooth.

[Mike 55]

Yes, you want to prime it first, then paint.  If you have spray equipment the world's your oyster; there are several really good products.  If you can't, the choices are more limited.  In any case, you don't want wall paint; you want trim paint or lacquer.  

Sherwin Williams ProClassic Acrylic waterborne can be sprayed with the right gun but goes on great with a brush, too.  Lenmar (available at Benjamin Moore) makes a really nice white waterborne lacquer, Duralaq, that sprays great.  General Finishes has a product called something like Brushable white enamel, or you can use their Enduro White Poly if you can spray.  

Some of the products above are available in nearly any sheen, while others only in some.  Your choice.  When in doubt, semi-gloss is the safe bet.  

John

I don't have spray equipment and I have no access to it. Spray cans would be my only option if I wanted to spray. I can head down to Sherwin Williams to check out what they have.

Thanks for the advice.

Mike

[Rob Young]

Second the Zinser BIN primer.

An alternative to other suggestions is General Finishes Milk Paint (an acrylic, not casin based milk paint). Pretty durable by itself but better with a topcoat of poly. Brushes and rolls well.

And you could do real milk paint, no primer and layer colors to get interesting wear patterns. May look fake on a shelf since it shouldn't be getting handled like say a chair or bench. But milk paint wears well and also accepts oil based top coats for additional protection. 

Definitely stay away from latex wall paints. Too soft, will have issues with blocking. That's when stuff sticks to seemingly dry paint.

[jteneyck]

BIN shellac based pigmented primer is great stuff - if you can spray.  Not so nice to work with if you have to brush it though, at least for me. 


SW's makes a couple of easy to use WB primers that go on great with a brush.   One is called Multi Purpose, the other something like Wood and Wallboard.  I've used the Wood and Wallboard one under ProClassic with great results.  I'm about to use the Multi Purpose under Duration for some shutters.  

John

[Roly]

BIN shellac based pigmented primer is great stuff - if you can spray.  Not so nice to work with if you have to brush it though, at least for me. 


SW's makes a couple of easy to use WB primers that go on great with a brush.   One is called Multi Purpose, the other something like Wood and Wallboard.  I've used the Wood and Wallboard one under ProClassic with great results.  I'm about to use the Multi Purpose under Duration for some shutters.  

John

Pro Classic works good with a foam roller, looks like it was sprayed.   Roly

[Rob Young]

BIN shellac based pigmented primer is great stuff - if you can spray.  Not so nice to work with if you have to brush it though, at least for me. 


SW's makes a couple of easy to use WB primers that go on great with a brush.   One is called Multi Purpose, the other something like Wood and Wallboard.  I've used the Wood and Wallboard one under ProClassic with great results.  I'm about to use the Multi Purpose under Duration for some shutters.  

John

I've had reasonably good luck using a foam brush with the BIN primer. But you can't re-use the brush. Just toss it and use a new one if you do a second coat. The primer will level reasonably well but not as well as sprayed. So plan to spend some quality time with a sanding block if brushed.

[jteneyck]

Pro Classic works good with a foam roller, looks like it was sprayed.   Roly

Yes, it does.  I had to paint the side of one of my kitchen cabinets in place.  I used a foam roller and added maybe 3% water and 3% of BM's Extender to the Pro Classic.  Near perfection.  

John