Gloss - what's the correct finish?

[ClareBearUK]

My boyfriend and I have been doing some glossing, and I am unhappy with some of it. Of the photos in the link, the first two were painted by one of us, while the second two photos were painted by the other person. Which of these is the correct finish for gloss, and what's the cause of the incorrect finish? We both used the same paint (Dulux non-drip) and the same brushes (Harris no-loss).

Thanks

http://imgur.com/a/BgIyB

 

[ladylola]

Looks to me that the first two need a little more surface preperation and rubbing down first.

 

[dans0s]

really i have ocd and dont see much wrong apart from some of the tiles have paint on them dont worry that looks great

 

[misterhelpful]

First of all, those Harris brushes are pretty poor quality IMO so that doesn't help but if both of you used them and got differing finishes it could just be down differing techniques, how thickly the paint was applied, the use of over/underloaded brushes, brushes that weren't cleaned properly or as ladylola suggests better prep. It could be that one of you has done more painting than the other and has picked up the experience needed to get a more glass like finish.
There are so many variables it's hard to pinpoint the exact cause but the second two images are the type of finish that should be aimed for.

I trust neither of you used thinners or additives to ease the flow of the gloss. [/u]

 

[ClareBearUK]

The paint on the tiles was the previous owners, they didn't mask anything they did

We did a lot of sanding and filling on the door frame but couldn't get it flat at all unfortunately. I don't know why but even with an electric sander there were still big lumps on it. It was smooth but not flat if you know what I mean. The windowsill was perfectly flat and smooth though. The first coat on the windowsill looked better than the second coat does

First time glossing for both of us. I thought Harris was a good brand? Anyway I think my boyfriend didn't use enough paint on the brush so it didn't "melt" into itself to smooth out the marks. I used a lot more paint than he did. I can't be bothered to do the doorframe a third time but the windowsill is winding me up every time I walk in there.

Are we supposed to use thinners with gloss? The tin says not to stir the paint.

 

[misterhelpful]

I don't know why but even with an electric sander there were still big lumps on it. It was smooth but not flat if you know what I mean.

This suggests that the paint may have been following the existing contours and brushmarks, especially if the paint was applied too thinly.

I thought Harris was a good brand?

Not really, and the No-loss bristles are quite a thick synthetic, whereas I personally prefer a china bristle brush for oil paints.

Are we supposed to use thinners with gloss? The tin says not to stir the paint.

Sorry, I forgot that you used non-drip but thinners/conditioners can help even out some paints.

 

[JohnD]

picture 2 looks like either the surface was not smooth, or the brush was dragged through drying paint.

you could have applied acrylic undercoat, which dries fast and is easy to sand smooth.