How to paint a stand black with a glass like finish

[spicytuna]

I'm in the process of piecing together my dream tank. I want the stand to be skinned in either black formica or paint it black. After a lot of research, most people experienced in woodworking suggest painting as appossed to formica.

I'm an auto mechanic but my early years were spent in a body shop. I still have a lot of stuff left over like paint guns, finesse, buffer. So with that said, what would you guys suggest?

I was thinking maybe 3 coats of black oil base with wet sanding in between each coat, then a few coats of clear afterwards.

 

[10reefman]

That sounds good I like to see some pictures when you finish it.

 

[crazylawyer]

The material you start with will make a difference. I'd use birch ply from a high end lumber yard. The big chains are selling sheets that have not been properly sanded; you wont see the waves until the gloss comes up. Oak or some softwoods would have to have the grain filled first-imagine coating an entire car with filler paste, sanding it off, filling again, sanding it off.

I never thought of it before, but you might consider a high build automotive primer. If they still make it. Last time I sprayed a car we used the same finishes in the furniture industry-nitrocellulose lacquers in high pressure guns. Got the brain damage to prove it.

 

[Reeftanker]

What type of wood are you using?
As posted earlier birch ply is very smooth not as much prep work needed to get a glass like finish compared to some other wood,thats what i would use.
I never tried to get a glass like finish on my stand so im not sure of the procedure to achieve the finish.I would try a small piece to practice on.Perhaps light sand,prime sand,paint and so on.Or try and skip the prime step and see what you get.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

I would mock up MDO; can't get much more uniform surface than that. High gloss is nightmarish; however, bondo is used very often in high end trim where paint is the schedule. I have seen it open up if a joint is unstable, but otherwise the painters love it. Skim coating the paper finish on MDO and certainly the ends and screw holes with bondo, paint, lacquer might be the finish you are looking for. Word of warning to be careful to pre-drill all the screw holes very well or you will see the bump especially in high gloss finish.

 

[Charfish]

I saw a show where dude made super-high-gloss, lacquered furnishings... he said it was like seven coats and buffed in between...especially at the end... try Googling lacquer finishing.

 

[williewilliams]

I have used lots of coats of hand rubbed poly sanded between coats with 1200 grit. All over a black base. You could hand laquer it, like old chinese furniture or pianos, but they have like a 100 or so coats. Its kinda tough to get a perfect gloss finish in black any imperfection shows.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

I would mock up MDO; can't get much more uniform surface than that. High gloss is nightmarish; however, bondo is used very often in high end trim where paint is the schedule. I have seen it open up if a joint is unstable, but otherwise the painters love it. Skim coating the paper finish on MDO and certainly the ends and screw holes with bondo, paint, lacquer might be the finish you are looking for. Word of warning to be careful to pre-drill all the screw holes very well or you will see the bump especially in high gloss finish.

DON'T USE MDO, I meant mdx!

 

[creefer01]

I like charfish's idea. Look into a lacquer finish. It does take many applications however the finish is superb and will give you the "piano black" type of look if that's what your're after. Most paint suppliers (sherwin williams, PPG, etc.) can get it though not many typically stock it.

I also agree with the idea of using birch. It will be best in terms of prep. When doing the lacquer finish, be sure to confirm with the product supplier, but last time I did it, I did it with an HVLP spray system and the first coat was 25% lacquer and 75% thinner. This penetrates the wood well. Let it dry, give it a light sanding, clean it up with a vacuum and tack cloth, then get the next coat going. This coat should be more like 40% lacquer, 60% thinner. Same process. Then coat with 50/50 lacquer to thinner, then 60/40 lacquer to thinner, then 75/25 lacquer to thinner. Continue to rough it up between each coat. After the second coat, move to steel wool with a low abrasive quality and simply work down to the least abrasive prior to your last coat. The last coat should be 95/5 lacquer to thinner. For success with this, it's an absolute requirement to have things clean and, better yet, be in a very clean environment with no likelihood of debris getting blown into the finish. If done right, the end result will be simply awesome.

Good luck.

 

[chriscobb]

I'm with WillieWilliams on how to finish......12000 grit between coats....I use the micro mesh wet down with water between coats....Lacquer provides a super nice finish dries quicker, but not as durable as poly.....Poly takes longer to dry more apt to dust particles while it dries.....

 

[turtlespd]

Just primer your wood with a polyester primer like PCL then block it and paint like a normal car. I also come from a autobody background and had something like this about a decade ago. If I had the time I would do it again but I would candy it lol.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

We did this inside and out in mdx, it holds up in extreme wet conditions. I'm not sure how well it would stand up by itself with a tank on it, but it is very easy paint and a pain to fasten together. The shop I worked for also did the cabnet work on these quality houses. Everything is lacquer; never did we sand between the tack coat and the 2nd; then everything was knocked down with a 220 and top coated. I polish my chisels with 600 grit.
http://www.architecturaldigest.com/AD100/2010/kelly_hoppen/hoppen_slideshow_062005#/slide=10
I see that high quality MDO has become popular with boat builders. They are using it for extrior marine cabin construction, so it must have some structural quality to it. I think either MDX or MDO would be a better choice if you want to deal with a small amount of graining.

 

[jscarlata]

i used an epoxy paint from KLASSCOAT to paint my stand...even using a brush it came out nice, with no brushstrokes and a nice glossy finsih that is easy to clean...

 

[jlanger]

I saw a show where dude made super-high-gloss, lacquered furnishings... he said it was like seven coats and buffed in between...especially at the end... try Googling lacquer finishing.

I agree with going with the lacquered finish.
I've used that technique on many projects that I wanted to have a black finish.
Sherwin Williams does carry black lacquer. They may have to mix you up a can, but it's worth it.
Another trick I use... I use the clear lacquer for my first two sealing coats, then switch to the black lacquer for the final finishing coats. Helps to keep the costs down as the black lacquer costs more.

 

[spicytuna]

Thank you guys for all the ideas, I think I'm going to hand lacquer it and wet sand between coats. I just don't have the room to spray it without making a mess of everything around it. I don't mind taking forever on it. This is gonna be something I keep for a vey long time. Should like nice with and ubba tuba granite counter