Painting pywood/popular cabinets

[Jay Rup]

I'm finishing up some birch plywood with popular face frame build-ins that I have also agreed to paint (white). What should I use for primer and finish paint?

Thanks,

Jay

[Phil Phelps]

I'd start with Fresh Start, Binjamin Moore's alkyd primer. Spray one coat, let dry and sand with 220. Repeat twice more. Then I'd use BM's Satin Impervo. I'd spray it too, and use two coats with an airless, or three coats with other spray apparatus.

[Howard Acheson]

If you are a standard DIY'er you can go to the big box and get either Zinnser's BIN Primer/Sealer or the comparable Kilz product. I like the Zinsser because it is shellac based and dries rapidly. When dry, sand it with 220 paper on a sanding pad. Now you are ready to apply your top coats. Oil based enamel topcoats are the longest lasting and can be cleaned the easiest. use a good roller and if you want the smoothest surface, use a paint brush. That's assuming you don't have spray equipment.

[Larry Fox]

I agree with Phil's recomendation. The BM Satin Impervo sprays really nicely and levels very well but you have to thin it quite a bit (at least I did) to get great results.

[Phil Phelps]

I agree with Phil's recomendation. The BM Satin Impervo sprays really nicely and levels very well but you have to thin it quite a bit (at least I did) to get great results.
My rule of thumb is five percent for an airless and about 40+ in a siphon or HVLP. Remember, atomization deminishes the sheen of any alkyd product. Someday I'm going to run a test on semi, gloss, and satin. I really like a satin finish, but sometimes spraying will almost make it eggshell. Uh, don't hold your breath on the results just yet :D

[Jim Becker]

My kitchen cabinets are made from birch ply with poplar face frames. I sprayed them with Target Coatings PSL (now USL) in matte white top coated with satin clear. The uppers were done with Fuhr International 9100 acrylic tinted to match a green we chose at the local borg and then top-coated with the same satin clear TC product. (Today, I'd just use TC USL as it's now tintable...the PSL was not at the time in 2003 when I did the project)

With my gun (a Wagner HPLV conversion gun), the satin is almost glossy, but not too much...

[Jay Rup]

Thanks for the responses. Not a DIYer but a carpender who got roped in doing the painting. I'll be using a roller and brush. Don't have the equipment for spraying. Any non spraying alternatives/recomendations.

Thanks, Jay

[Phil Phelps]

Thanks for the responses. Not a DIYer but a carpender who got roped in doing the painting. I'll be using a roller and brush. Don't have the equipment for spraying. Any non spraying alternatives/recomendations.

Thanks, Jay
Use alkyd paint, and enamel roller cover, and a good china bristle brush. And I wouldn't buy paint from the borg, either. Good quality paint saves time and money and lasts much longer.

[Kenny King]

Jim

When spraying the acrylic paint with you Wagner HVLP conversion gun, did you need to get a special needle for the more viscous paint, or did the standard needle work OK?

- Ken

[Jim Becker]

Kenny, the products like those from Target Coatings, etc., are "ready to spray" and work just fine with the standard #3 projector set that comes on the Wager 1qt gun. If you intend to use something thicker, you may need a more accommodating projector set. (And my reference to acrylics does not include latex paint, even though you'll often see the work "acrylic" on the label...not the same stuff)

[Kenny King]

jim

good info, thanks for pointing out the difference between "acrylics" and latex...

this SMC sight again proves to be very informative.

- Ken