ThRoewer
New member
It holds paint just fine. Adhesion is absolutely not the problem. I'm painting this since March and have more than 20 coats of leveler, primer and paint on it.
The issue is the finish and chemical resistance of the final coat.
Stand build - How to get an even paint coat?
- Thread starter ThRoewer
- Start date
It holds paint just fine. Adhesion is absolutely not the problem. I'm painting this since March and have more than 20 coats of leveler, primer and paint on it.
The issue is the finish and chemical resistance of the final coat.
KingTriton1
New member
This is what I do. I first sand the crap out of my stand using 80 to 120,180,220,320 grit sand paper. A lot of sweat is involved here but it is important not to skip the order involved. I then prime with Kilz original complete, then again after a few hours. After about 24 hours I paint it with an oil exterior paint or top side from rust oleum. I use a 2'' trim brush for everything. Never ran into any issues. Good luck!
Polishing goes way beyond 1000 grit, and must be done using a lubricant. This means if you're polishing with sandpaper, you need to wet sand with water. You would also need to work your way from 1000 grit to at least 6000 grit (8-10,000 for the best finishes).
There is nothing terribly special about the Target products - they use the same acrylic resins used by other high-quality waterborne wood finishes, and they can most definitely be polished.
As I said in a prior post, the traditional polishing materials are ground pumice and rottenstone (used in that order) applied with a thick, wet felt pad. The abrasives are available at paint stores and home centers. The felt (3/8" to 1/2" thick) you may need to search a bit for. If you can't find felt, other heavy, smooth-faced fabrics can be made to work.
Stop throwing chemicals at it. At this point, nothing should touch the surface except water or polishing oil. If you need to remove wax (which you will), use only mineral spirits. It will not affect the finish.
Salt water is not corrosive to acrylic finishes. That's why we're able to have acrylic aquariums.
Also, note that waterborne finishes do not achieve full cure for at least 30 days. Until that time, they are susceptible to damage from any kind of alcohol, and may even temporarily become slightly cloudy from water.
There is nothing terribly special about the Target products - they use the same acrylic resins used by other high-quality waterborne wood finishes, and they can most definitely be polished.
As I said in a prior post, the traditional polishing materials are ground pumice and rottenstone (used in that order) applied with a thick, wet felt pad. The abrasives are available at paint stores and home centers. The felt (3/8" to 1/2" thick) you may need to search a bit for. If you can't find felt, other heavy, smooth-faced fabrics can be made to work.
Stop throwing chemicals at it. At this point, nothing should touch the surface except water or polishing oil. If you need to remove wax (which you will), use only mineral spirits. It will not affect the finish.
Salt water is not corrosive to acrylic finishes. That's why we're able to have acrylic aquariums.
Also, note that waterborne finishes do not achieve full cure for at least 30 days. Until that time, they are susceptible to damage from any kind of alcohol, and may even temporarily become slightly cloudy from water.
ThRoewer
New member
I found that out the hard way.
I will sand all surfaces smooth and then add a few more layers of paint
As a final finish I may just do a simple rub to remove roughness and then call it a day as the finish is actually pretty good and I rather like the satin look.
BTW: could the thinning of the paint with water cause a weakening of the coat or does it make no difference on the final result?
Thinning will only weaken the finish film if you over-thin, which in general, means more than 50/50. At the 10-15% ratio I suggested earlier, thinning will not weaken the finish at all.
You'll find that polishing with pumice and water can give you a glass-smooth finish, although it may not have the level of sheen you're after. Rottenstone will produce a much higher sheen (actually a gloss). To go beyond that requires extremely fine abrasives.
With either pumice or rottenstone, mix a little of the powder with small amounts of water to produce a thick slurry (a little thinner than toothpaste). I use felt pads about 3-4" square and 1/2" thick. They are surprisingly firm and stiff, and very easy to use on flat surfaces. I let the felt pad soak in water for just a few minutes before I start polishing. Don't use the same felt pad for different polishing media. Use a separate, new pad for each. You can use the felt pads over and over ad infinitum, just be careful to dedicate separate pads for each abrasive and keep them separate.
There are many "higher-tech" products for polishing available, but nothing works any better than these two products for 90% of wood furniture polishing.
Let us know how it goes.
You'll find that polishing with pumice and water can give you a glass-smooth finish, although it may not have the level of sheen you're after. Rottenstone will produce a much higher sheen (actually a gloss). To go beyond that requires extremely fine abrasives.
With either pumice or rottenstone, mix a little of the powder with small amounts of water to produce a thick slurry (a little thinner than toothpaste). I use felt pads about 3-4" square and 1/2" thick. They are surprisingly firm and stiff, and very easy to use on flat surfaces. I let the felt pad soak in water for just a few minutes before I start polishing. Don't use the same felt pad for different polishing media. Use a separate, new pad for each. You can use the felt pads over and over ad infinitum, just be careful to dedicate separate pads for each abrasive and keep them separate.
There are many "higher-tech" products for polishing available, but nothing works any better than these two products for 90% of wood furniture polishing.
Let us know how it goes.
38bill
Member
I have been using 0000 steel wool for years and it produces a great satin finish. If you rub it farther with a polish (or even a dry rag) it will look like glass so I don't understand what these guys have against using steel wool on a cured finish. You said that you have used a wax already. You must remove all of the wax if you plan to do any more painting. If you dont get every bit of wax off you will get fish eyes in the new coat of finish.
Kbel1969
Member
Use a good quality paint. Benjamin Moore satin impervo, and prime it with the alkyd enamel undercoater. Just a couple of splashes of mineral spirits in a gallon can is enough to cut it down for beautiful flow. It dries like it is sprayed on, and super easy to work with. Nothing beats an oil finish, and water is no match! It is by far the best paint you can by, trust me I've tried many by mistake, and this is a keeper! By the way, you won't have to monkey around trying to buff the finish either, if you paint in a dust free environment, you won't have to do a thing when you're done.
IF your still having trouble I'd say forget the paint you got and just polyurethane the base black, you can even do this, on a level surface, with a course paint brush and watch the lines disappear. Between color coats (let stand 24 hrs to cure, depending on product) lightly sand with 220 grit sandpaper, Wet or dry, for your second color coat to stick... Use a Clear polyurethane hard coat to finish (I think we used Diamond finish brand) and sand with 400 grit before your last clear coat. Buff and polish to your liking. Or skip the 400 grit and buff and polish after you have reached your preference of top coats. Three coats clear will give a real deep piano gloss in most cases.
ThRoewer
New member
It turned out OK, but next time I would rather use laminate - paint is just too much work and makes too much of a mess.
Ah. I'm super late to this thread. You could have just treated it like a car. Bondo with a skim finish, sand smooth and painted it like a car. I'm in the muscle car world. And know a few body shops. They would have done it for you for a few bucks. It's pretty easy after you understand paints and have the right tools. If you want to redo it. Lemme know. Your local to me.
