Dear Mr. Gedrys,
Usually I don’t paint my finished pieces but recently I wanted to do so. I tried numerous kinds of gloss or high gloss paint, usually latex, interior, exterior, all seemed to be called enamel (?) and every time without fail the brush strokes show through and the paint would not level out. My wife read Mr. Snyder’s article in FWW #117 and sure enough was able to get a smooth finish however we both recall that not so long ago you could take a can of paint, throw on a coat, and it would always level out nicely, many times with only one coat. Now we see that the paint directions call for two coats, rather than the “one coat” self leveling, no brush stroke, paint of the recent past. Have the paint manufacturers all changed paint formulations? Perhaps a government requirement? What’s up with this?
Thanks,
jim w
Replies
Jim,
I checked with a major paint manufacturer and as I thought, the use of the word enamel is just to denote a durable product. It is no longer confined to what we used to call enamels, which was oil based paints.
I'm sure paint formulations change periodically. ostensibly to improve the product. Sometimes the improvement is to make the product less expensive to produce yet (theoretically)perform as expected.
It may take two coats instead of one to meet your expectations. An easy way to improve the leveling characteristics in latex paint is to add some Floetrol. If using an oil based paint, the product would be Penetrol. Basically the are retardants. They will slow the evaporation rate thus giving the film more self leveling time. Follow the directions and don't overload the paint with them.
Good application techniques are also key to a good paint job
Peter Gedrys
Hi Peter,
Thanks a bundle for the info. We've been reading up a lot on finishing, well mostly my talented wife has, and for the most part we are able to do a very nice job. Still it seems to us that it was once possible to apply an easy, level, one coat painted surface. Now that seems to be a thing of the past. We had heard that deck paint has recently undergone reformulation to limit VOC's even more than they had been, and that the new paint didn't apply, lay down or fare long term as well as the former formulations did. It was also pretty much impossible to match the color even though they new paint came from the same manufacturer as the old formulated paint did. No surprise I guess but a hassle none the less.
Thank you again for your time and suggestions. We'll try some of the additives you mention.
jim
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