Painting cot

[Steve]

I have a white cot which has suffered significant yellowing. The room it was in before didnt get any sun. It cost £300+ when new so we are using it again for our second baby. Anyway, its currently dismantled ready to paint. I want it to still have a smooth eggshell surface and the only way I can think to do this is by spraying it. Especially with the railings which would be a mare to paint.

Suggestions welcome. Thanks!

 

[opps]

The fact that it yellowed makes me think that it was previously sprayed with an oil based paint, which is odd.

Firms used to use two pack paints to spray furniture but they don't yellow. Unfortunately they are pretty dangerous to work with (they contain isocyanides). Many, if not most have now moved over to waterbased spray finishes.

Given that you probably want to use the cot pretty soon I would recommend against painting it.

I have previously sprayed clients' beds with 2 pack, I could still smell the solvents weeks later.

Oil based paints take longer to cure than 2 pack.

Waterbased cures slower than 2 pack but faster than oilbased. There are supposedly "cot friendly" paints but I have never used them. The paint industry would have you believe that water based paints are safe- they are not- they are no safer than oil based paints. The key difference is that the latter release more Volatile Organic Compounds whilst curing.

I am the kind of person that used to smoke whilst spraying 2 pack acid cat. I don't normally subscribe to the "OMG don't do that" mantra, BUT babies are fragile and far more susceptible to suffering adverse effects from environmental factors that would not affect you or I.

Please proceed with caution- and for what it is worth, best of luck.

 

[Steve]

Baby isnt due til july. So weve got plenty of time yet, wont probably be sleeping in it til december.

Any brands or type of paint to look out for in terms of spraying paint? Any particular sprayer?

 

[TicTac]

Look for a can of multi surface spray paint.

 

[opps]

The two primary types of sprayer are HVLP and airless.

High Volume Low Pressure guns are either turbine or compressor fed. Given the airflow demands, small compressors are not suitable so turbine based systems are often more practical for people with limited storage space. The lower air pressure makes it difficult to atomise thicker paints such as waterbased paints. I use my HVLP almost exclusively for 2 pack paints. As previously mentioned, they are pretty bad for your lungs though. On the plus side they dry very, very quickly. I can spray a front door with 3 coats and pick it up and rehang it on the same day.

Bigger 4 stage turbines will cope with thinned waterbased paints if you buy a bigger needle but the price jumps up to £500ish.

An airless sprayer might be the better option if you decide to go down the waterbased path. They will vary in price from about £50 upwards. Obviously the cheaper models will have less grunt and a shorter life.

Either way, as tictac suggested it would be cheaper to use spray cans. It will be difficult to get a good finish so consider using a 20-30% sheen (ie an eggshell finish), they are far more forgiving of imperfections.

Watch out for dry overspray. If possible dismantle the cot first. Do not forget to sand it though, otherwise the finish will chip. 220 grit silicone carbide paper should be sufficient but you may need to degrease it using meths or similar first.

 

[Steve]

wow, its been a while since I asked this. I'm getting in the garden to spray this cot next week with the nice weather, and looking for paints. Would this one be ok?

http://www.leylandtrade.com/products/product-detail/acrylic-eggshell.aspx

I'm going to get a rather large pot of it as I want to allow for significant wastage using a sprayer. The datasheet says its suitable for spraying when watered down, and has low VOCs. How much would you say to get for a large cot with bars and solid ends as pictured?

And this sprayer?

https://www.domu.co.uk/vonhaus-paint-sprayer (its only for this one job, I'll sell it on once I'm done!) I'm guessing this is a high volume low pressure unit as described above.

(FWIW, I emailed the manufacturer about the yellowing, they couldnt really have cared less, told me to go to B&Q and ask their advice for paint choices!)

 

[opps]

I can't comment on the sprayer but the little cup thingy with the hole in the bottom (viscosity cup) should help you work out how much water to add. Count how quickly the drips come out the bottom and add more or less water accordingly.

I would strongly recommend buying some Floetrol rather than simply thinning the paint so much that you are spraying coloured water. Unfortunately Floetrol isn't cheap. Polypropylene Glycol is the key ingredient but I have never used it instead of Floetrol- no idea if it will result in the paint drying too slowly.

Heating the Leyland paint in a bucket of hot water will also help to atomise it (it will decrease the viscosity- ie make it thinner).

2.5L of the Leyland should be more than enough.

Experiment first though. Waterbased paints are more difficult to work with (because they are so thick).