Cant get shiny finish on paint

[Ziggy Stardust]

Hi everyone. Ive decided to replace all the internal doors inside my house, Ive got them all hung and fitted pretty good. They are all medium weight doors from Buildbase with two large panels, one at the top and one at the bottom, then the usual 5" or so outside edge all around the door. Sorry but I dont know the correct terms. Im now at a stage to paint them. Im removing them into my garage one at a time, easy enough as the pins just push up out of the hinges. My problem is I cant get an even shiny finish on the doors. Im using White Dulux gloss paint, not the gel paint, the pourable one. Im using a 4.5" roller that says for gloss paint on it. The doors came with a base coat of White on them so Im painting directly onto this. Ive now given the door a 4th coat of gloss thinking it`ll shine evenly now but its not. WhenI approach the door, its still flat on the trestles, I can see dull patches here and there and I cant understand why.
When I apply a coat it looks ok coverage wise but as soon as I stand back I can see straight away that it doesnt look shiny everywhere even though the dull bits have got the same ampount of gloss on them as the shiny bits, its approc 90% shiny, 10% less shiny. Its not dull but its easily noticable that its not an even shine. Another problem is you can see the edges of the roller line, its like tram lines all over, Im not painting it like that though but its showing up the final stroke of the rollers all over, aaargh, why is it doing this? Cheap rollers? Do I need wider rollers? Do I have to use a brush, then I end up with brush strokes probably. Im just thinking here, I bought a fast drying gloss, could it be that? Is it all down to the fact I should have given it an undercoat first or am I doing something else wrong. Ive painted plenty of doors before but to be truthful I think this is the first time Ive used gloss and the fact the doors are new I thought they would look nicer.
Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks for reading. Steve.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Just a quick update. Ive bought dearer rollers from ANZA for gloss paint, will recoat tomorrow and report back. Steve

 

[misterhelpful]

I was a bit confused until I got to the point where you said it is a quick drying gloss.

You really need to apply and lay off this type of paint very quickly otherwise it begins to dry and brushing/rolling into areas that are beginning to dry will give the dull, streaky patches you describe.

Let the doors dry completely, give them a light sanding with very fine sandpaper and then apply a fresh coat of the gloss with a good quality synthetic bristle brush. Work quickly and this type of brush will give a much better finish than the roller.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Thanks misterhelpful, I think you've hit the nail on the head there. This does seem to be the problem. I have a few good quality brushes but first, as I've got plenty of time I will do a little experiment. I will try another coat tomorrow with the more expensive rollers and when it dries I'll give it a good look over. If its still patchy I'll use the brush. Even if its ok I'll use the brush on the next door anyway. Could you tell me this? The doors have a base coat of white paint on them already, would you still give them a good quality undercoat still or is it not needed?
Thanks for your really helpful reply.
Steve.

 

[misterhelpful]

If the doors are only factory primed, I like to apply a coat or two of acrylic primer/undercoat before applying the topcoat(s), lightly sanding between each coat (not forgetting to dust off!).
If the doors are 'Pre-painted' (already finished) but you want to apply a different type of finish, you can skip the primer/undercoat and just lightly abrade before painting.

 

[vibrobullit407]

Great advice from Mr H I would just like to add for a better finish you could add floetrol to the gloss this will give it a slightly longer drying time. I would also always lay off with a brush rather than leave the roller marks. After dusting off it is a good idea to use a tac rag to remove all dust particles. Floetrol will help the brush marks fall out due to the increased drying times!

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Thanks guys, its really appreciated. The next door will get an acrylic primer first then a sand down with a fine grade paper, a thorough dusting then a gloss coat /coats with a synthetic brush. If I think its still not 100% I'll try and find some floetrol and add that.
I'm glad I came here and asked the question otherwise I'd be in my 6th top coat.
If I'd originally bought a normal gloss instead of quick drying I'd probably not have this problem.
I may as well throw another question at you now. Is the non drip gel like gloss any better than the runny paint, sorry for the ignorance on the technical terms.
Thanks again lads, I'll post my results.
Steve.

 

[misterhelpful]

Oil based glosses are now yellowing very quickly because of the 2010 VOC changes so, for your paint to stay white, you are better served with water based/acrylic glosses. (I'm assuming this is what you have, as they are quick drying and most oil based versions now take ages to dry).

IMO, the non drip versions of oil based gloss don't tend to give as much of a sheen as liquid glosses but can easier and more forgiving for the DIYer to use.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Very interesting misterhelpful, thanks. Sorry about my hours of replying but Im working nights, hence replies in the middle of the night.
Ive just coated it again and the more expensive roller has left a better finish but Im thinking also, maybe its just a bit too cold to get the best results, Im thinking its about 10c here in Aberdeen but inside the garage probably a bit less which wont let the paint flow as well as a warmer day.
Anyway the finish now is a lot more even, hey maybe thats because its on its 5th coat of gloss. The next door will give me a better idea. Im going to give both sides an acrylic undercoat then use the roller on one side and use a new synthetic brush on the other side then check the results. I will again post back results. Again a massive thanks to everyone thats pointed me in the right direction, CHEERS.
Steve

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Hi Guys, Ive got to confess that it was my fault all along my gloss paint was patchy. You all helped me so much and gave me valuable tips on getting a great finish on my second door that I only felt it fair that I let you know what the problem was. Damp! Remember I said I was painting them inside my garage, well its a breeze block garage and obviously (now its obvious) it was damp inside after the cold wet winter. The dry door must`ve acted like a magnet without me realising it and after each coat the damp kept coming to the surface and spoiling the gloss finish. I didn`t think the garage was damp, stupid really, its only got an asbestos roof and now I realise sometimes the roof on the inside would be wet depending on the outside conditions. The roof was dry this time but the humidity inside must be very high.
Ive started the 2nd door inside the spare bedroom, Its got one coat of undercoat like I was advised on top of the manufacturers base coat and one coat of gloss and its looking 100% better than the first door. Im using 4" rollers for gloss paint and getting a great finish. It still needs another gloss coat but thats ok.
One thing Im not convinced with though is the quick drying paint especially the undercoat, its too quick drying, I mean 15 minutes and its basically dry.
Oh Ive brought the first door back inside the house, Ive given it a quick rub down with a fine sandpaper and Ill coat it again in a couple of days when its bone dry.
Thanks again and hope others might learn from my silly error.
Steve Fletcher