Possible woodwork paint catastrophe??

[dave_88]

Hi, I was putting up some alcove shelving for the first time. Got down to the paint the timber slats (18mm softwood) and used a water based primer. This went on fine. Then as I had some left over matt emulsion from painting wall... (I know, what was I thinking??) Put two coats of that over the top. And i did the same with my skirting. Since been told this was mistake and that I should have used oil based coats of gloss after the water based primer. At the moment it looks fine, no bubble or cracks been 4 days since dry.

Can I expect issues for using the matt emulsion? Is it worth fixing? Can I just paint it over with a gloss finish? Or do I need sand down and repaint primer first. Also is there anything as a water based gloss, that could be put over the matt emuslion atleast on the skirting if not on shelving?

I Have alot of shelves and if possible i would prefer not to have to repaint

Many thanks for any responses.

 

[misterhelpful]

Don't worry about it. Whilst not the correct product or method for the job, thousands of people use emulsion on wood without major issues. The good thing is that you applied a primer first and most paints adhere well to primers, so the bond should be fine. That said, matt isn't the best or hardest wearing product, especially for shelving and skirting boards, so applying a better topcoat would be a good idea. Personally, I would use a nylon sanding pad just to key the emulsion and take off any nibs, wipe off the dust and then use your oil or water based gloss. Either would be better than matt emulsion, but the oil is obviously harder wearing (although more likely to yellow). You could also use a satinwood if you prefer, which is self undercoating and will therefore probably be a better all round option.

I suppose it depends on what the shelves are used for as to whether the emulsion will stand up to the challenge, but it certainly won't take any excessive cleaning very well.

 

[dave_88]

Thanks for your reply, would I still need to sand and key the skirting, if I use the water based gloss?

 

[misterhelpful]

Probably not essential, but it's always wise to sand lightly between coats on woodwork.