Advice for using solvent based paints?

Becka · 4 Sep 2010

Hi,
I'm using Zinsser all coat on a set of what looks like plastic coated wooden bookcases and it's really hardwork. The first coat was awful, full of brushstrokes and the second coat was better but I'm not going to be getting the nice smooth finish I was hoping for! Is there a way to minimise the brush strokes and get a more universal coverage?
Thanks,
Becka

opps · 4 Sep 2010

Hi becka.

BIN is a great product but as you have noticed it dries too quickly for certain types of work.

You can ****** the drying time by using pure alcohol. Not too easy to get hold of though.

Meths will help a bit

I have, in the past, resorted to buying a small bottle of vodka at 8 am to slow the drying time. You do get those "ah... parkbench candidate" looks however!

It you apply by roller it will make like easier- you will end up with an orange peel effect though. Over rolling will make it even more pronounced.

Be careful re the roller type. Many of the foam (rad) rollers will balloon in size and go floppy.

i stick to the Wooster rad rollers which I then clean in household ammonia afterwards

good luck

joe-90 · 4 Sep 2010

You are using the wrong paint. A cheap oil based undercoat is what you want. If you are using a dark colour use one of the grey undercoats.

When it's nice and dry sand it back lightly with 120 grit paper then finish with a topcoat of your choice.

opps · 4 Sep 2010

Opps...

sorry Becka- i misread your post- I thought that you were referring to Zinsser BIN- the shellac based primer.

The product you have looks to be the correct product for painting melamine. I haven't used it personally but it says that it is water based so some floetrol might help it flow/layoff properly.

http://www.zinsseruk.com/_assets/library/1212.pdf

a link to floetrol

www.owatrol.uk.com/docs/Floetrol.pdf

Apologies for not reading your post properly first time around

Becka · 4 Sep 2010

Thanks for the replies. The all coat I'm using is solvent based and not the water based. I used a foam roller and gave up because of the orange peel effect! What is the difference between a solvent based paint and shellac? I had read that the solvent based paints could be thinned with something called penetrol but that as well as being hard to get it may also cause yellowing - does anyone know if this is the case?
Thanks again,
Becka

joe-90 · 4 Sep 2010

There are thousands of products out there - most of them useless. It's a marketing game. I told you how to do it for less than two quid - if you'd rather not then that's up to you.

opps · 5 Sep 2010

joe-90 said:
There are thousands of products out there - most of them useless. It's a marketing game. I told you how to do it for less than two quid - if you'd rather not then that's up to you.

easy tiger!!!

The OP asked about a specific product. I admit that I have never used it but i guess it will help her if we address her question directly.

Hi becky

Penetrol is very similar to owatrol- they are made by the same people. The latter is a mixture of linseed oil and turps. i use it on a daily basis to ****** the initial rate at which oil based paints dry. It allows me to minimise tramlines/brushstrokes.

You only use a small amount of it so IMHO it is not likely to make the paint yellow any faster.

since 2010 the solvents used in oil based paints has decreased whilst the level of solids has increased- never the less the paints yellow even faster

Owatrol is more widely available but in decorators merchants rather than diy sheds. it will cost £15-18 for a litre. nationally the Dulux decorator Centre stooks it

opps · 5 Sep 2010

re shellac paints

Zinsser BIn is the best selling shellac based paint. it is alcohol based. Stinky when you apply it but the smell goes vey quickly

It takes about 3 to 4 days to cure where as oil based paints take weeks.

It is less prone to yellowing but a pain to apply to a high finish

joe-90 · 5 Sep 2010

An oil based undercoat is dry and sandable within 2 to 4 hours.

Why are you people obsessing about some high priced and under-performing specialist paint when a few pence worth of oil based undercoat will do the job better?

Becka · 5 Sep 2010

Thanks for the help. I think I might try the thinner and see if that make it a bit easier to work with. I'm using the all coat because I actually bought it to paint a new plaster wall and as it said it was suitable for purpose, I decided to give it a try on the bookcases.
Thanks again,
Becka

opps · 5 Sep 2010

joe-90 said:
An oil based undercoat is dry and sandable within 2 to 4 hours.

Not in my experience...

I have found that oil based undercoat directly over melamine doesn't pass the finger nail scratch test.

The OP is using a product that claims to be better suited to the job in hand.

Zinsser products are often pricey but they are generally of a high quality.

Becka · 5 Sep 2010

It definitely passes the finger nail test and as a bonus I bought 10 litres of the stuff on Ebay for £35.99, which I thought was pretty good!
Becka

opps · 5 Sep 2010

Becka said:
It definitely passes the finger nail test and as a bonus I bought 10 litres of the stuff on Ebay for £35.99, which I thought was pretty good!
Becka

V good price- I might even order some myself at that price.

joe-90 · 5 Sep 2010

Becka said:
It definitely passes the finger nail test and as a bonus I bought 10 litres of the stuff on Ebay for £35.99, which I thought was pretty good!
Becka

I thought you were complaining about it? Have I missed something?

Becka · 5 Sep 2010

No, I was asking if there was a better way to apply the paint. As I've already mentioned, I didn't buy the paint with this job in mind but it appeared to suit the purpose and has definitely stuck to the surface. As you've probably noticed, painting isn't my day job and I'm always aware that someone somewhere probably knows better how to do a job better then me. I'm more comfortable using water based paints but they definitely weren't going to work in this instance.
Thanks for the advice given, much appreciated.
Becka

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Advice for using solvent based paints?

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