What type of paint are you guys using?

[Paul McGaha]

For painted pieces, Like shelves and small tables, probably made of poplar, what type of paint are you guys using?

There are several paint stores nearby like Sherwin Williams, Home Depot, Is there a better source?

The last couple of painted pieces I've done I've used the milk paint from Woodcraft. While I was happy with the application and the finished product that stuff is pretty expensive.

PHM

[John TenEyck]

I just completed my first painted cabinet. I used SW ProClassic acyrlic paint over their wood primer on poplar, maple and birch plywood. Wonderful results. I had to thin both of them about 18% in order to spray them with my gravity feed HVLP gun. But once that was done they sprayed and leveled just fine, and I had no problems with runs on vertical surfaces. Both of them dried in an hour or so and was ready to recoat in less than 4 hours. The primer covered in one coat and sanded very easily w/o gumming up the sand paper. The cured paint seems very hard and the semi-gloss I used has the sheen I was looking for. I have no experience with other acrylics, so I can't compare, but I was competely satisfied with SW ProClassic.

The ProClassic wasn't cheap. The primer was about $8/qt, and the ProClassic was around $55/gallon. Lucky for me, I walked in on the first day of a 40% off sale.

[Steven Hsieh]

At big box stores, I know paints there is cheap but your paying lower quality.

Go to you local paint shop and get real paint.
Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, Dunn-Edwards, Pratt & Lambert Paints
There's more brands i cant think

It depends what your willing to spend.
Every brand has a low grade, mid grade, and high grade paint.
Keep in mind that their lower grade paint does not mean it is better than big box stores.

[Phil Thien]

There was a thread recently with a beautifully done wall cabinet by Keith Ouellette. He used porch and floor paint. Now, I had previously used porch paint for a workbench (the base) I had made (at the suggestion of a couple of users on another forum). But I had never considered it for fine cabinets. Don't know why, the stuff is tough, leaves a nice finish, isn't that expensive, is available in one million colors, etc.

Here is Keith's cabinet:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?163221

[Homer Faucett]

I use Sherwin Williams Industrial Enamel-Acrylic or ProClassic (similar products, different color selections). Brushed or sprayed, it's good stuff. Instead of the SW primer, I usually use Zinsser Dewaxed Shellac or BIN. Most wb paints you buy at the borg are going to be prone to blocking.

[michael gates]

I have used Chemcraft, Azko Nobel, Becker Acroma, ML Campbell, They are all good. For painted, I now prefer Zinssers shellac based primer tinted to my color if possible for a primer than top coat with tinted lacquer.

The zinssers blocks stains, If you want a good stain blocking primer which is important with painted projects it will cost you, The zinsers does very well for the least amount of money.

[David Thompson 27577]

SW now has an acrylic alkyd paint.

Yup -- a water-based oil.

I used it on a pair of china cabinets, and was quite impressed. It cleans up with soap and water, and can be thinned with water. It dries about as quickly as latex, but takes somewhat longer to fully cure. When brushed on, it brushes more like a latex than an oil.

During the cure (maybe three days) the blocking will bother you. But once it's cured, there is none.

And as I recall, it was about $60.

[Neal Clayton]

is it enamel?

there's pretty much no other good option but oil enamels for outside windows/doors (my primary use of paint). there's the abrasion, and while acrylics do fail more gracefully, they just don't build a tough/slick enough film.

i use SW all surface enamel typically.

to be honest, Paul, if you like look of the milk paint, it's superior to most modern paints in many ways imo.

[Rich Engelhardt]

SW now has an acrylic alkyd paint.

Yup -- a water-based oil.


Glidden had that back in 1960 something...
It was called Super Spred Lustre.

It had "issues" though and was pulled from the market.
The oil/acrylic would seperate when it got too warm - as in the heat of Summer in the back of the delivery truck...
The one store I worked at in the 1970's became the collection spot for all of the stuff. We had thousands of gallons of it on skids in the warehouse.

By playing around with it, I found out if it sat, the oil would all seperate at the top & it could be poured off. Once the oil was poured off, the material could be all put back into a working consistacy long enough to spray it on by using a high speed drill mixer.

LOL!
I must have sprayed that warehouse 30/35 times over the course of one Winter when things were slow....

[Steven Hsieh]

Oil/acrylic concept is nothing new. It just with VOC regulations manufactures are pushing it.

Rich would you say the technology have improved?

[Rich Engelhardt]

Things have improved a bunch!
Well,,, where aqueous & powder coat materials are concerned.
Solvent based are a whole different story.
The last alkyd enamel I used brushed on like chewing gum - even after being treated w/Penetrol.

The last oil poly I used stunk so bad it nearly drove us out of the house..