Painted Shelves

[Stewart Crick]

I'm currently making several wall/shelve units for a client who insists on painting the pieces. My question is what kind of paint (i.e.: oil based, water based, latex etc) should I use for this? I've heard that latex paint will never really dry and that books and such will always stick to it. Does anyone have any experience with this situation?

Stu

[Jim Becker]

If you are going to paint them, use either high-quality oil-based paint with the proper primer (brush or spray) or consider using a water borne acrylic product, such as Target Coatings Oxford USL or Fuhr International 9100 acrylic. Both of the acrylics need to be sprayed and both can be tinted to the exact color you want. Jeff Jewitt at Homestead Finishing did a great job tinting the Fuhr for me for our kitchen renovation last year. At that time, the Target Coatings product couldn't be done in darker colors, but that has changed with the new formula, according to Jeff's web site.

I prefer the acrylics because they spray easily, cover well, are very durable and have low VOC and odor when working with them.

Avoid latex paints as they will, in fact, cause issues on shelving with "sticking".

[Stewart Crick]

If you are going to paint them, use either high-quality oil-based paint with the proper primer (brush or spray) or consider using a water borne acrylic product, such as Target Coatings Oxford USL or Fuhr International 9100 acrylic. Both of the acrylics need to be sprayed and both can be tinted to the exact color you want. Jeff Jewitt at Homestead Finishing did a great job tinting the Fuhr for me for our kitchen renovation last year. At that time, the Target Coatings product couldn't be done in darker colors, but that has changed with the new formula, according to Jeff's web site.

I prefer the acrylics because they spray easily, cover well, are very durable and have low VOC and odor when working with them.

Avoid latex paints as they will, in fact, cause issues on shelving with "sticking".

Jim,

Thanks for sharing your experience with me. Unfortunately I don't have a spray set up. Can I brush apply acrylic paint?

Stu

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for sharing your experience with me. Unfortunately I don't have a spray set up. Can I brush apply acrylic paint?


The Target Coatings and Fuhr products are spray only. There are acrylic paints out there, however. What you might want to do is go to a "REAL" paint store (not a home center!) and speak with them about your application. They may have something appropriate that is water bourne and can be applied with a brush. Otherwise, stick with oil based for your job.

If you have a 20 gallon or larger compressor, consider getting an HVLP conversion gun, such as the Wagner that I review on my site. It's excellent for the WB products I mentioned and reasonably priced at $129. That way, you can take advantage of a quicker drying finishing regimen and get that stuff out of your shop and into the customer's home.