Painting of cab

[Marky_1979]

Iv hand painted my cab and altough not completed the cp im beggining to dislike the finish i have whats the best way to make this thing look i bought it straight from a shop?

Im considering sanding it all back down to wood and sending the cab away to be done professionaly any idea's guys?

Seems a shame iv worked so hard on it and it just looks rubbish because of the paint job.

[Mark70]

what kind of paint did you use?
what colour?
what gloss?
what kind of wood?
how much prep work did you do?
what don't you like about the finish you have now?

Ways to remove paint:
-down to wood - maybe paint stripper depending on wood type
-lots of sanding.  really course grit then fine when you get down to the surface you're giong to repaint.

[ikyoto]

I will say that if your going to remove the paint use paint stripper!

Much easier than sanding by hand. On my cab I bought the previous owner took the laminate off of one side and left the glue on and painted over it! I started to try and sand it off, but the sandpaper just built up all that glue, then I tried using a scraper/strong putty knife, and it worked better but some of paint and most of the glue stayed, finally went to paint stripper and I got the side looking great!

If your worried about getting a smooth surface to paint on, for instance, maybe you could see some of the wood particles or something along that line, use bondo body filler (used on car panels) and sand that down smooth and then primer and re paint. Should look much better.

[disciple]

After painting a set of shelves black I can tell you matt or satin looks better than gloss.

And make sure you use undercoat and sand each layer down before applying the next coat, sanding makes all the difference.

[pmc]

And make sure you use undercoat and sand each layer down before applying the next coat, sanding makes all the difference.

Yup.

Search this forum for lots of info on applying paint.

If you used a 4" brush and painted like you painted a house, I can imagine that it doesn't look so good.

Use a foam roller or spray gun. Take your time so that you get the texture you want. Lightly sand with very fine sandpaper between each thin coat.

I got great results on the broad surfaces using Kilz primer and a good quality latex.

-pmc

[stratjakt]

IMO people make painting stuff sound a lot harder than it really is..

Here's my "system" which is pretty much universal for all paint types, stains, urethanes, etc..  And it works for painting anything.

- prep - the most important.  Sand, clean, and just because it feels smooth doesnt mean it is.  If you dont really feather out your bondo well, it'll show later..  And make sure it's clean and rinsed and dry.. Dont rush this..  A good finish is 9999999% prep work (give or take 9900000%)

- thin the paint.  If its water-borne enamel, with water.  If latex, with latex conditioner (floetrol), if oil based, with thinner.  I don't know what to thin Kilz with - floetrol causes some kind of crazy reactino that makes it into rubbery goop right before your eyes.  Make it thin thin thin so you get thin coats, and orange peels will flatten themselves out more while it dries.

- roll on the paint with your foam roller (or good brush), and while its still wet, get a dry roller (or good brush) and "knock down" the paint.  You arent spreading color at this point, but flattening it out, and sucking up all the little ridges.  Really good quality brushes can create a better finish than foam rollers in the right hands, though rollers are probably easier for the noobs.

- I only sand between coats if I really want a super smooth finish I can comb my hair in, or if its particularly rough.  If you knock the coats down like I mentioned before, it's not as necessary.

- after about 9.3 bajillion coats (or 3 or 4 or whatever) I might lightly wet sand with really fine paper - like 400 grit - if it looks a little splotchy, just to smooth it all out.  It doesn't have to look perfect, thats what the rubbing compound and a clean t-shirt and elbow grease are for- rubbing compound is essentially like 10,000 grit sandpaper.  Follow the directions on the can, and always test in an inconspicuous area..  Buff with a soft towel, or whatever. 

The glossier the paint the more work you need to make it look good.  It's really not that hard, it's not like you're putting a showroom finish on a porsche, you're just painting a plywood box. 

My advice to original poster is to lightly sand, add a few more coats, and buff/polish/rub the finish out.

(Or laminate it, I'm sick of painting things)

[Marky_1979]

its mdf and i used gloss which now im thinking was a bit of a mistake as doesnt look that good so this is whats made me think that maybe send off to be done properly as my skills aint that hot