Spray paint vs Painting with roller

[dalehitchy]

I was going to spray paint black and then stick some vinyl decals on my custom arcade cab.

After reading it seems like spray painting is a long process to get some sort of decent job. 3 or more primers, sanding each between. Then spray paining your colour of choice 4 times each time sanding it with high grit paper.

I would like a decent looking job but does using oil based paint and a roller give just as good effect? I know ill still have to sand between coats, but it seems like less coats will still give just as good an effect. It will certainly be cheaper just buying two tubs of paint instead of a few spray cans.

[Ian]

Spray paint has very few solids in each can. Thus it takes a few coats... However a lot of guys here come away with very good results. It just takes patience and time.

Since I work for Sherwin Williams I have to say that the MOST durable longest lasting best finish you can get (excluding some of the more industrial finishes ie car paint) with the least amount of effort is a prepackaged black can of paint. Now the main difference between oil and waterbased paints is really the durability and finish. Waterbased I would say is easier to use and clean up is way more friendly. However Oil Based paints tend to level out to a smoother finish because it takes longer for them to dry. Once fully dry oil based paints give a much harder finish.

My recomendation:
If you go to Sherwin Williams or any other paint supplier make sure the black you get is prepackaged (if the store adds tint that is a bad thing, it takes a lot of tint to turn a clear base into the color black and coverage will suffer)

Rolling will give you the best finish. I recommend either going with a mohair roller... or a high quality foam roller. Sherwin Williams has a mini roller called the Flockfoam roller. It is a heavy duty sponge roller that will work great for your cabinet. The cheaper foam rollers from time to time tend to melt with solvent based paint such as oil.

If you are going over a painted surface all you have to do is make sure its clean dull and dry. Then just paint.

If its bare wood I am a fan of priming first. Make sure if you are going black to have the store add tint (colorant) to the primer to gray it up. It sucks going over a bright white primer with black. A little color to gray it up will save you a full coat.

Good luck and I hope this helps... if you have any specific questions ask away or pm me.

Ian

[ivwshane]

I rolled my first cabinet using latex paint and foam rollers. I got a nice texture, almost felt like laminate but the paint job looked like crap. The last cab I did I sprayed, first I primed it with oil based primer (on mdf this is a must), and then I sprayed it using rust-oleoms painters touch acrylic. It turned out much better. You'll need three coats with sanding in between for best results.

Personally, if you can afford it, black laminate is the way to go, assuming you have a router.

[Locke141]

I don't know where you live but here in the traffic humidity should be taken into consideration with oil paint and dry times.

[Guywiththegun]

Personally, if you can afford it, black laminate is the way to go, assuming you have a router.

Just curious but doesn't laminate make the cab a little wider, leaving some overhang past the T-Molding? That's my biggest concern with laminate. This happened with a recent John's Arcade video (his Quantum I think) and he had to get wider T-Molding.

[wp34]

Personally, if you can afford it, black laminate is the way to go, assuming you have a router.

Just curious but doesn't laminate make the cab a little wider, leaving some overhang past the T-Molding? That's my biggest concern with laminate. This happened with a recent John's Arcade video (his Quantum I think) and he had to get wider T-Molding.

If you get vertical grade laminate it is almost paper thin.  I waited to route my T-molding channel until after I applied the laminate with my Felix cabinet.   This ensured that the outside edge of the t-molding was flush.  Any parts that are not covered are really hard to tell and are also on the inside (less noticeable) part of the cabinet. 

[vwalbridge]

Like wp34 said, laminate is best.

But if you are using water-based paint, then consider Floetrol

...if you are using oil-based paint, then consider Penetrol

Use these additives on a colder than room temp day. If you paint in a hot room the paint will dry too fast leaving a rough surface.

After using these additives I've found the surface to be "smooth enough"

[behrmr]

I did my Multi Williams with Rustoleum oil based semi-gloss paint (pic attached).  I thinned it with acetone per the instructions.  Then rolled it with a good quality 6" foam roller.  I got all of these supplies right at my Home Depot.  The results were good. There's a bit of a texture to it, which I like.  After that I never used latex paint again.  The finish with the oil based is really nice and uniform and is a lot more durable. 

If painting is intimidating then go with laminate, which gives a great durable finish and is super easy to do.  If you can't get the vertical grade and just want to buy black off the shelf from Home Depot it will make the cabinet wider.  You can go with the next size up t-molding and buy a "quad cutter" that is designed to trim t-molding flush.  Since your cabinet has curves, presumably, with a quad cutter you need to do a little more work with the cutter because it can't do curves so you have to sort of pre-trim the t-molding on a straight area of your cabinet.  I'm probably not describing this very well but it becomes pretty obvious once you get started.  Laminated cabinets look great.  I had never used a router in my life or laminate until I did my first cabinet and it turned out really nice.

Good luck.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I love oil based paint.  I've successfully used it on my black cabinets and I'm happy with the results.  I paint it with a 6 inch foam roller (more control and comes out great!), I sand with 220 grit in between, I use a tack cloth to clean up the dust without wetting the surface and paint it again.  Repeat these steps until it's super smooth.

Oil based paint takes a bit longer to dry (for me it's 24 hours in between sanding) but it cures quicker than latex.  The ONLY drawback to using oil in my opinion is that it doesn't come in custom colors.  So you can't color match anything.  In those cases I use latex.

Quick tip, if you hate cleaning up oil based paint.  Use latex gloves while painting.  Toss out the foam roller once it's done.  Use those disposable cheap foam brushes to get in nooks and crannies.  Also, buy tray liners for the paint tray so you can toss out the liner for easy cleanup.

Here's what I use:
https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-7777502-Protective-Enamel-32-Ounce/dp/B002GD28S6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1473961101&sr=8-5&keywords=rustoleum+satin+black+paint

Tack cloth:
https://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Tack-Cloth-12-Pack-TC12/dp/B00164CDZE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473961245&sr=8-2&keywords=tack+cloth

Foam rollers:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/6-in-High-Density-Foam-Mini-Roller-Cover-5-Pack-HD-MR-200-5-6/202097453

DeL

[theAEoN]

I've been using rollers on my cabinet and have been getting great results with a 4" foam roller. I tried yesterday a 100% Nylon roller recommended for "Smooth and semi-smooth finishes" and it was trash - absolutely terrible orange peel texture. The high density foam rollers leave a little bit of rough texture that is easy to sand smooth with some 320 grit.

Sand between EVERY coat.

If you're going latex for a primer, give it 24 hours to dry before you sand and be prepared to go through paper as it likes to clump up on it.

[UEDan]

Satin oil based paint and rollers.
I've actually gotten good results with cheap 99c store rollers(I didn't care to clean up, new roller with each coat).
Very durable paint as well. Just watch for drip marks if you slap on too much at at time.

[gildahl]

Personally, if you can afford it, black laminate is the way to go, assuming you have a router.

Just curious but doesn't laminate make the cab a little wider, leaving some overhang past the T-Molding? That's my biggest concern with laminate. This happened with a recent John's Arcade video (his Quantum I think) and he had to get wider T-Molding.

I used laminate on the outside and yes I had to use T-Molding that was a bit over-wide.  However, I just used the sharp chisel method (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=86699.msg911119#msg911119) to shave off the extra, which worked amazingly well and gets the molding about as flush with the surface as you can possibly make it.  For inside surfaces that showed I used Benjamin Moore's "Aura" acrylic applied with a roller over Benjamin More's Enamel Underbody as a primer.  In hindsight an oil based paint probably would have been easier (maybe?), but the result was still really nice.