Painting with a Roller - Oil or Latex?

[javeryh]

Which will leave a better (smoother) finish on a primed plywood cabinet?  Does it really matter?  Obviously latex is preferred due to ease of clean-up but I'll suffer through a few coats of oil based paint if it will look better in the long run. 

Thanks!!   

[TOK]

I always use oil. Arcade authentic and more durable. Its actually hard to get in some areas now due to environmental concerns.

[Blanka]

Alkyd based (oil) rolls better in a vertical position, Acryl based (water) is better applied on horizontal surfaces! So depending on what orientation you surface has, or can have, I would base my choice on that too. Guess you won't use latex, as that is the very matte wall-paint family member of acryl paints. Alkyd is tougher if dryed well.

Another thing to consider is the dry-time. Oil based, especially the last layers, need 1 week of hardening before sanding and painting again, if you want to do it real good! The package says it can be repainted in 24 hours, but that is bullocks.
And priming with acryl, and finishing with alkyd is a good option too if you want to have fast drying time combined with the excellent mechanics of Alkyd.

[mvsfan]

I used a big 1 gallon can of Rustoleum flat black oil based paint, no questions asked.

my stepdad was a painter for 30 years and i kinda grew up knowing what to use.

that roll on rustoleum is basically made to stick to a car frame or something like that for 20 years or so without chipping, and if you do your prep right and get rid of any dirt and oil on it,  right, it does.

it also bonds to wood very well since wood is a heck of a lot more pourus and will absorb it better than metal.

with that said, you need at least 4 coats, and a lot of sanding and give it plenty of dry time between coats like 36 hours or so.

Im going on 8 years now since ive painted mine and ive had my own accidents like carrying a screwdriver and ramming it right into the side.

i can say first hand that if you decide to use this, it dents, it doesnt chip.

for me anyway, this is the most durable thing i could have used besides formica.

actually the only place anywhere where this thing is chipped or showing wood, is from when i won a decent amount of money and was able to buy a real hybrid makvision arcade monitor,

and i had to shoot nails through my beautiful paint to build a frame to hold the new monitor. trust me though, that 25" Tv i was using just had to go.

[Hogie1418]

that roll on rustoleum is basically made to stick to a car frame or something like that for 20 years or so without chipping, and if you do your prep right and get rid of any dirt and oil on it,  right, it does.

How do you prep it "correctly"? I always just wipe the surface off with a towel..

[spriggy]

When rolling.. I've always used high gloss oil based enamels.  I add 'terebine' to assist in the drying time... especially when rolling on colder days.  If you roll on enamels when it's extra cold, you'll lose some of the gloss.. and the classic slight orange peel effect may turn out more than just 'slight'.

My bartop is probably my most hammered cabinet .. ie carried to piss-ups, parties etc.  It had 1 coat mdf primer, 2 decent top coats of hg enamel.  Not a single mark on her after almost 5 years. 

[garnerb350]

I used latex when i was painting mine ( couldnt find oil-based)....I painted and sanded and painted ...did about 4 coats with differnt grit sandpaper...looks great on mine...

[mvsfan]

that roll on rustoleum is basically made to stick to a car frame or something like that for 20 years or so without chipping, and if you do your prep right and get rid of any dirt and oil on it,  right, it does.

How do you prep it "correctly"? I always just wipe the surface off with a towel..

i used an autobody grease and wax remover, plenty of wood putty and sanding, and i also used BC Grade plywood. You can find the grease and wax remover at any ICI auto body supply store, and just make sure that its solvent based. the water base stuff doesnt work well.

also, any Home depot sells BC plywood if you ask for it. Basically what this means is that the wood has one smooth side that you use on the outside of your cab and it has one rough side that youll use on the inside of your cab. it saves you a heck of a lot of sanding time.

also, to cut costs you can use a sheet of OSB for the floor and the back, and any other such parts that arent going to get painted or be in view.

[javeryh]

I ended up going with a latex paint.  I couldn't get the oil-based paint in the color I wanted.  I also couldn't buy a gallon because of environmental laws.  I did spend a little more for some high quality paint from Sherman-Williams so I hope it turns out OK.  I put the first coat on and it looks like total ass just like every first coat I put on anything.  I think it will look better once I put a second and third coat on there.  I'm a little bummed that it isn't going to be a hard enamel type finish but whatever - it should hold up just fine.

Quick question - has anyone put water-based poly over latex paint?  I did a google search and the opinions are mixed.

Thanks!

[Hogie1418]

ive put water based poly over latex on beer pong tables before. It always looked good to me. This is my first cab, sodoes everyone recommend poly over the final coat on a cab as well?