Clear coat over paint?

[Vic Batt]

I am new to this whole woodworking thing.  Just bought a skilsaw and a drill and slapped together a box for my daughter's stuffed animals.  Could have probably bought something cheaper and definitely better looking, but I wanted her to have something built by me.  I plan on painting it some sort of purple and putting a bunch of stars over it.  Then I want to clear coat it so it won't get hurt if she sits a cup on it.  There are a lot of choices in the paint aisle.  My question is if I paint this thing with latex paint, can I cover it with a can of clear coat, or do I have to find something special for latex paint?  Thanks!

[HomerLee]

This should do the job:

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImag...bb5aff.pdf

I have a spray can of Varathane "Diamond Wood Finish", it says it is crystal clear, waterborne, and can be applied over paint. I haven't tried it yet but intend to spray it over a painted bay windowsill  that my wife keeps houseplants on.

[fredhargis]

Some basic things about this. If by "latex" you refer to wall paint, skip that altogether (exception in a minute). Latex is good for walls, and pretty much nothing else. Clear coating solves the blocking problem it has (maybe) but it's still a very soft paint for furniture use. The exception may be the ones that area 100% acrylic. Which is the paint you want...use a good quality acrylic (or an oil based enamel) paint and it actually wouldn't need to be clear coated. The paint will be quite durable and should hold up very well. Some of the acrylic paints are labeled "acrylic latex", as long as they are 100% acrylic they should work.

[Cooler]

I've used both oil based and water based poly over latex paints.  I've found that matte finish latex works best for this.  I've recently tried General Finishes' imitation milk paints and they brush out to a perfect, brush mark-free flat finish that is perfect for top coating.  

The advantages of top coating is that you can wash off fingerprints and other soil easily without damaging the finish. 

The oil based brushes on nicer, but imparts an amber tint.  The water based remains clear and without any color cast.  You can add dye to the top coat and a purple dyed top coat over a purple finish might look dramatic.

Here is the Transtint color chart:  http://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/wp...rt_all.pdf

[Ed in NC]

I would use an interior water based acrylic enamel. It is intended for interior doors, woodwork, trim, etc. It usually comes in gloss, satin, semi gloss, etc., so you can get the sheen you desire. It dries hard, washable, stain resistant, even scrubbable. I think it is prefect for your project, and requires no clear coat. Sherwin Williams makes an excellent product, and I have used it several times. Also comes in quarts, I believe. (I am not affiliated with SWP in any way, just like their paints).......Ed

[Vic Batt]

Thanks fellas! You gave me just enough to be dangerous in the paint department. I am going to look for some sort of enamel that can be tinted purple. I'm thinking two coats, then I am going to spray it with a can of water-based clear coat. Mostly because I am going to put some stickers with my daughter's name on it, and I want to give them at least some protection when the inevitable juice disaster occurs.

The transtint purple in the link is the color I am going for, so if I can't find what I want at the Home Depot, I will try to find some of that. Maybe for box 2.0, when I figure out how to hide the screws instead of painting over them.

[Cooler]

A clear finish that is tinted gives a very different effect than an opaque finish in the same color.  The clear tinted material looks a lot more like candy apple paint of years gone by.  A much richer appearance in my opinion.  

But it won't hide imperfections, so you might want to put down a coat of white, grey or black paint underneath.  

This is an interesting video; I like the effect.

http://guitarkitbuilder.com/how-to-apply...in-finish/


<iframe width="460" height="259" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FCgrnqACavk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[HomerLee]

I have a spray can of Varathane "Diamond Wood Finish", it says it is crystal clear, waterborne, and can be applied over paint. I haven't tried it yet but intend to spray it over a painted bay windowsill  that my wife keeps houseplants on.

I used it today and it appears to have worked very well. Nice finish and easy to use. No discoloring at all, and claimed to be twice as durable as conventional wood finishes.

[daddo]

I use poly over latex wall paint for patio chairs. The more coats the deeper it looks. I use satin. If you use satin first, then the gloss for the last coat, you can get your shine.

[Cooler]

lYou can test the hardness of a finish by using a home test based on the ASTM film hardness test:  https://www.astm.org/SNEWS/SEPTEMBER_200...ept02.html

Basically they take standard lead pencils of various hardness levels from about 2B to 5H and see which ones will scratch the finishes.  This was the standard method for testing for close to 100 years.  

https://pencils.com/hb-graphite-grading-scale/

You need equipment to get an exact result, but you can get a relative result just by trying out the various pencils on the surface.

Addendum:

I just received a quotation from a metal finishing vendor for epoxy e-coat (electrolytically applied epoxy) and the finish was rated as "2H".  Epoxy is a very hard finish, much harder than the polyester powder coating we usually get.  The downside for epoxy (industrial finishes) is that it is only available in gloss, and only in black and (and this is the big one) it is not UV resistant and will fade badly in the sun.