Need advice on painting a TV cabinet

[Joel Wesseling]

I'm building a TV cabinet with Ultra core plywood, the plywood has a thin layer of MDF on both sides.
The ply end grain will be covered with 1/4" Poplar edgebanding. The doors are shaker style with poplar Stiles and rails with ultra core panels.

I will be spraying the unit with a white finish. Planning to use shellac as a sealer.

I'm looking at water based enamel paint at Lowes, it's made by Olympic.

Any suggestions for paint brand or type of paint to use here? Has anyone used Olympic enamel paint over MDF?

This will be the first time I've sprayed a color over an MDF project. I have sprayed shellac and clear finish over veneered projects, many times.

Thanks

[Robert Engel]

After years of messing around I just go to Sherwin Williams now.
They are much more knowledgeable about paint than the BB stores.

[Larry Browning]

Another suggestion would be Target Coating or General Finishes. Both are good brands designed to be sprayed on.
Neither brand is available locally for me, so I usually order online.

[Joel Wesseling]

Thanks. I'm looking at SW paint and also a paint from Home Hardware called Cabinet and Furniture paint. I have only used Target clear finish.

How does Latex enamel differ from regular latex trim paint?

[Mike Hollingsworth]

Gotta be careful with Latex. It sticks to itself. That's why I swear by oil for interior use.

[Prashun Patel]

If you are spraying, I'd use tinted lacquer. I've used urethane paint in my closets without adverse 'blocking', but if you are spraying I think you'll get harder, cleaner results with the lacquer.

[Mark Gibney]

There a fairly new formulation of paint by Benjamin Moore called Advance (think I've seen it referenced on here somewhere) that a professional finisher friend of mine turned me onto. It's water based but dries differently to latex. It levels out beautifully with no brush marks and when it's dry it's fully dry - I can place books on a shelf the day after painting and they won't stick to it the way it can happen with latex for a long time after painting.

I have not personally sprayed it, but my friend has. I cut it with a little distilled water and some Xtend.

[Joel Wesseling]

I've been spraying Varathane Diamond Wood finish on projects all summer. I love this product for ease of use and forgiveness, also I can scuff the first coat after 20 minutes of drying, then spray second coat.

My question is can I use the Varathane over white trim paint? Have sprayed trim paint with good results on foam crown mouldings.
If the TV cabinet is sealed well, then use trim paint, then varathane.
Have no idea how this will work or how it will look

As for lacquer, I would like to try it out - I like the optical clarity. I spray outdoors . What Lacquer brand should I try out?

[Joel Wesseling]

There a fairly new formulation of paint by Benjamin Moore called Advance (think I've seen it referenced on here somewhere) that a professional finisher friend of mine turned me onto. It's water based but dries differently to latex. It levels out beautifully with no brush marks and when it's dry it's fully dry - I can place books on a shelf the day after painting and they won't stick to it the way it can happen with latex for a long time after painting.

I have not personally sprayed it, but my friend has. I cut it with a little distilled water and some Xtend.


I'm preparing to try BM Advance on a project. I'm curious how much dry time is required before the piece can be handled. The store said it need 16 hours to dry completely.

I guess I'll find out when I use it.

[Bernie Kopfer]

I have sprayed be BM's Advance several times with good success. I use a Fuji 4 sprayer. The most important thing I have found is too thin the paint considerably almost 20%. After spraying the panels or wood they are dry to touch in about an hour. BUT the repaint time is 16 hrs and BM stresses that this time must be adhered to for optimal results. It does level out nicely and with Zizzner BIN primer sanded smooth I have been really pleased with the final outcome. And minimal odor. That said I would someday like to try the Target or General finishes products but am unable to figure out how to get them custom tinted.

[Joel Wesseling]

Thanks Bernie. Dry to touch in one hour is good.

[Mike Nguyen]

I used General Finishes White Undercoat as primer and General Finishes White Poly as top coat and liked it so much I painted entire garage cabinets.
Mike

[John TenEyck]

It's time for me to again point out that "latex" is a generic term for water borne polymer emulsion, nothing more. Latex wall paint and latex enamel are both latex paints, yet they have very different properties. You need to specify what type of latex paint for it to have any real meaning. The marketeers have taken to calling enamel trim paint "water borne", rather than latex, but that's all it is, marketing.

Specifically, yes, latex wall paint does usually stick to itself when used to paint furniture, and things layed on it will adhere as well. One the other hand, acrylic latex enamel trim paint, like SW's ProClassic (which they actually call latex), cures very hard and does not block (stick to itself). Not sure the BM Advance is the same, if not, I'm sure they make one. It's as hard as any oil based paint. The difference in performance between latex wall paint and the ProClassic type products is due to the different polymers used to make them.

If you want the ultimate in hardness and durability, your car was probably painted with a latex paint and clearcoat.

John

[Joel Wesseling]

I need some advice for 2 questions and I see that some points were made in this thread so I avoided starting new topics.

1) In Post #11, Bernie used Zinsser Bin Primer - I sprayed an Mdf cabinet with Zinsser Bin and it looks good. I'm sanding out the raised fibres now and I can create a very smooth surface. But do I want a extremely smooth surface?
I can sand the white bin with 220 or 320 grit and have a surface that is almost like glass but is that good for a applying a finish coat or should it be slightly rough? I applied the zinsser somewhat thick and this gives me a good layer of white pigmentation to sand without sanding through. I've sprayed a few ceiling fans and the metal parts come out amazing so I'm thinking the zinsser on the mdf can be sanded to almost look like the metal parts on the fan and I'll have a great levelled surface to spray over. But again is a really smooth base a good idea?


2) In post #5, Mike states that latex sticks to itself but then John states Acrylic Latex Enamel wont stick to itself.
I'm constructing several 4-5" thick rectangular frames(made from Poplar) that hold sound absorbing insulation that will be used as a drop ceiling. The frames will be painted, and when installed will hang side by side with sides pressed together. The painted sides of the frames will remain in contact for several years. Essentially the client wants to remove them when he moves.
So, I definitely need paint that doesn't stick to itself! SW pro classic? Oil? I have several unused cans of BM ULTI-MATTE 100% acrylic enamel that I pick up at a recycling depot. Maybe this could work, the color is good, pastel base f602-1B.
But, I'll purchase whatever I need to avoid panels that are stuck together..

[john snapp]

There a fairly new formulation of paint by Benjamin Moore called Advance (think I've seen it referenced on here somewhere) that a professional finisher friend of mine turned me onto. It's water based but dries differently to latex. It levels out beautifully with no brush marks and when it's dry it's fully dry - I can place books on a shelf the day after painting and they won't stick to it the way it can happen with latex for a long time after painting.

I have not personally sprayed it, but my friend has. I cut it with a little distilled water and some Xtend.

I would second the Advanced paint by BM. I used it on cabinets and it is fantastic. Not gummy like most latex paints.

[Jim Becker]

100% acrylics like SW ProClassic and the Bennie Moore equivalent are nice choices. But as John just mentioned, for colors, the BM Advance is a nice choice...I used it for my kitchen refresh last summer and am using it for the black finish on my current buffet/hutch projects. Advance isn't "latex" paint...it's an oil emulsion water borne finish which gives the great qualities of an oil based enamel with easy water cleanup. Dry time is slightly longer (the water carrier has to flash off plus there's finish curing time) and "slightly" more odor, but the finish is great.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v646/a-j-adopt/Woodworking/Furniture/Buffet-Hutch/IMG_7337_zpsmirpkm8b.jpg

[John TenEyck]

I've wondered the same thing about sanding BIN pigmented shellac primer. Will the topcoat adhere adequately if I sand it too smooth? To date, I've sanded it with 220 or 325 grit and haven't had any problems with Advance or GF's White Poly.

For your application I would stick with a really hard finish, like SW's Pro Classic Acrylic or GF's White Poly. Advance will block if you leave finished surfaced pressed together over a long period of time. Maybe not if it's allowed to cure for a couple of months first, but I'm not sure about that, and who can wait that long?

John

[Joel Wesseling]

Great help here, thanks!

I'll consider all the suggestions and experiment with the coatings.

[Joel Wesseling]

I used Beauti-Tone designer trim and door paint on the TV cabinet. The clients had 2 gallons and wanted me to use it, mainly because of their precise white color selection.

Based on the advice here I purchased a gallon on SW Pro-classic. Both of these are acrylics but the SW seems somewhat nicer than BT.
Unfortunately SW couldn't precisely match the BT shade. I really fell in love with the TV cabinet white.

Want to try a lacquer next - Have to do more reading on this.

[John TenEyck]

Looks like it turned out great, Joel.

John

[Joel Wesseling]

Thanks John.

When I went to SW store I was presented with Pro-classic Latex and Pro-classic latex alkyd. I remembered what you said about Advance blocking and slow dry time - this made me choose SW pro-classic Latex over Latex alkyd version.

Thanks again, Joel