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I suck at painting! Any tips to do better?
crashwg:
Ok, so I've been painting my MiniGalaga this morning and I'm not at all impressed with my workmanship.
I'm using a latex semi-gloss paint with a smooth finish foam roller and where the edge of the roller goes when painting there are thicker lines. Can I sand those off before the next coat? What can I do to avoid the same thing on the next coat?
Also, I've read a bunch of times that you should: prime, sand, paint, sand, paint... but what method should I use for the sanding part? After the primer I sanded by wrapping 180grit arround a couple sheets of paper towel to try and avoid deeper gouges caused by the corners of sanding blocks. Should I do pretty much the same thing between paint coats but maybe with a higher grit? What about wet sanding? Is that even an option?
All I can say is I'm glad I'm putting sideart on it eventually and I really hope that will distract people from the bad paint job.
SirPeale:
lighter coats, and don't push down so hard. That's what's causing the lines.
Are you using a foam roller?
MarkV:
I just started painting with an HVLP gun (woodwork, not MAME cabinets). It's amazing once one gets the hang of it in terms of speed/quality. $20 a day or so for rental. But anyway...
When sanding between coats, use something like the 3M foam sanders. They look like sponges (are softish like a sponge), but have various grits.
For the woodwork I'm working on - I prime, dry sand (220 grit) then I either prime again + dry sand (220 grit). The reason for the second coat is that the first coat sometimes reveals areas that I missed filling with putty/caulk. I'm dry sanding with a orbital palm sander.
So, after the priming is done, I switch to the finish coat. I use a finish coat and then wet sand with the 3M sanding sponge. This makes a very smooth finish, but takes the gloss off of it. I then finish coat again, wet sand, and do a final finish coat.
So, that's with HVLP, it's probably a little different, but the sanding principal should be the same.
OSCAR:
If you have to use latex for one reason or another (oil based enamels give a better finish, IMO), then try adding some Floetrol to the paint. Floetrol is typically available at any hardware store. What it does is extend the drying time of latex paint so it levels itself better before it dries. That's one reason I don't use latex paints if I am brushing them on, they dry so fast that they leave all sorts of marks and brush strokes. I hear some people swear by Floetrol and won't use latex paint without it...
spystyle:
I recommend painting your entire cabinet with a 3" nylon bristle paint brush (15$ Home Depot)
If you want to sand in-between coats I'd say use 100 grit sandpaper with an electric finishing sander ($20 Wal-Mart)
always paint from top to bottom,
dip you paintbrush in the paint pail half-way, then wipe against the pail on both sides before brushing it on to the cabinet
several light coats
I use Wal-Mart's semi-gloss paint (10$ gallon) and it looks great, it's cheap and washable.
Dig it ?
Craig