Advice on painting new bed

[Wade Holloway]

I am just about finished with building a floor bed with rails for my Granddaughter and is built with Soft Maple. She says that she would like it to be white with a semi gloss finish. The bed is for a almost 3 year old little girl. I am troubled on what to use for a paint that will be easy to apply and be durable along with being safe for a child. I am going to have to use a brush to apply the paint since I don’t have a sprayer. So what would be a good paint to use that will be easy to apply and give a good durable finish in a Semi Gloss White. Any advice and guidance will be greatly appreciated.

[Jim Becker]

All finishes sold today are "safe" once fully cured.

Sherwin Williams ProClassic is my go-to here. Brushes out nicely and the satin sheen is nice...half-way between typical satin and matte. "just right". Be sure to prime first. Unless you have to cover up any discoloration, the SW primer is perfectly fine for this purpose. Likely abrade it after applying to make sure it's smooth and then clean it thoroughly before moving on to your top coats.

[Wade Holloway]

Thanks Jim, there is a Sherwin Williams dealer here in town. I will stop by there this week. Thanks so much for the help, as usual I have a tendency to over think things. Again thanks for the help!

[Jim Becker]

My pleasure. ProClassic is just one option...Benjamin Moore has a similar product, etc. But I prefer the SW and have used it a lot over the years.

[Mike Wilkins]

I had good success brushing General Finishes milk paint in the Snow White color. Make sure to use a good quality brush like Purdy. After priming of course.

[Frank Pratt]

As an alternative to brushing, which I have a hard time doing a really good job on, you could try a very low nap or foam roller. Thinning the paint a little with Floetrol helps the paint level out. I roll it on in a light to medium coat, get it evenly distributed, & the very lightly over roll the surface to get a super uniform, fine texture. The light texture help hide the tiny imperfections in the finish. It is a very nice look.

[John TenEyck]

ProClassic goes on great with a foam roller if you thin it a little and add Extender to it. I painted some end panels in my kitchen that I had to do in place and it looks pretty close to a sprayed finish.

John

[Jim Becker]

John, my experience with the quality was similar when I refreshed the kitchen in our old home, although I brushed everything. There's almost no indication it had been brushed on.

[Tom Bender]

Brushing technique is important.

Horizontal is best of course but watch what happens at the edges

Having the right amount of paint on the brush is easier with a good brush

Practice on less visible parts first

Give it plenty of time to cure, it will harden up for days or maybe weeks

After the prime coat you can still do some woodwork, if defects show up. Be patient.