Brilliant white gloss paint making all woodwork look yellow

Llorien · 17 Nov 2008

I know this may be an obvious one, but about 6 months ago, I re-painted all of my downstairs woodwork brilliant white as the existing paint was looking dull.

I have just replaced my kitchen door frame as it was damaged and as such have just freshly painted in brilliant white to match the rest. The result has unfortunately been that unsurprisingly, all the woodwork around the door now looks dull in comparison to the bright new paint.

Do you think I should bite the bullet and re-paint everything again or will this fade in time and match the rest of the woodwork? Currently it looks nice until you look at the new frame!

Maffmoose · 17 Nov 2008

Llorien said:
I know this may be an obvious one, but about 6 months ago, I re-painted all of my downstairs woodwork brilliant white as the existing paint was looking dull.

I have just replaced my kitchen door frame as it was damaged and as such have just freshly painted in brilliant white to match the rest. The result has unfortunately been that unsurprisingly, all the woodwork around the door now looks dull in comparison to the bright new paint.

Do you think I should bite the bullet and re-paint everything again or will this fade in time and match the rest of the woodwork? Currently it looks nice until you look at the new frame!

Hi Llorien

Sorry if this sounds impertinent but did you give it a good rub down before to make the surface more porous. I painted straight onto old gloss once and it went yellow very quickly, since then I have always prep'd well and the results are superb. Also. yellowing is a certainty over time unfortunately. Although many paints now are designed to reduce yellowing it cannot be prevented. Is the wood work in direct sunlight for any part of the day, that also speeds yellowing.

Personally, I would bite the bullet and repaint, it would bother me, but I am a little OCD on things like that. Dont forget to prep well, even on small jobs, it pays off in the end.

This is not professional advice, just my own trial and error passed on.

Moose

Llorien · 17 Nov 2008

Thanks for the reply.

No, unfortunately I did not rub down the skirtings the first time, main reason being was that I didn't even think to rub down existing gloss paint as I stupidly thought it would be okay.

What is the best way to prepare gloss for re-coating then, sand down then prime? You're right, all the paint did go a bit yellow but it's not been obvious until I painted the new frame.

benno5 · 17 Nov 2008

all oil based glosses tend to yellow over time

some makes quicker than others,
an alternative is to use a water based gloss as these dont yellow

Maffmoose · 17 Nov 2008

Llorien said:
Thanks for the reply.

No, unfortunately I did not rub down the skirtings the first time, main reason being was that I didn't even think to rub down existing gloss paint as I stupidly thought it would be okay.

What is the best way to prepare gloss for re-coating then, sand down then prime? You're right, all the paint did go a bit yellow but it's not been obvious until I painted the new frame.

Benno is right, water based gloss yellows a lot less than oil based but unfortunately, it does still yellow (in my experience), its especially noticeable when you gloss next to it. Its a lot less messy to clean aswell, I use it a lot.

In terms of prepping, do you have a hand held orbital sander. I use one of those with an 80 grit pad, just enough pressure to make the surface of the gloss feel chalky. I have also used liquid sandpaper for larger flatter areas, although its very overrated and expensive. if you have or don't wish to get any of the above, good old fashoin medium grit sandpaper will do the trick.

Moose

chaotic · 18 Nov 2008

For what it's worth, I use Acrylic white which seems to resist discolouration longer.
Must admit, I use it because I can apply undercoat acrylic in the morning and top coat in the afternoon. The brushes can be washed out in water,the smell is not so unpleasant, but, the gloss is not so intense as oil paint.

As I keep on reminding my wife "I'm allergic to decorating".
Alas she takes no notice of my plea.

Happy painting,
Regards,
Chaotic

Llorien · 18 Nov 2008

Thanks for all the help guys, but one more question.

Does all this apply for doing the second coat on gloss? As in do I need to sand down between every coat?

Maffmoose · 18 Nov 2008

Llorien said:
Thanks for all the help guys, but one more question.

Does all this apply for doing the second coat on gloss? As in do I need to sand down between every coat?

No, only if you are painting on old gloss.

diynot

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Brilliant white gloss paint making all woodwork look yellow

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