oil-based primer too thick,..now what

[jimb]

I am building a desk. On the desktop (which is 3/4in. mdf board), I
put a good thin coat of oil-based white primer. After letting it dry
overnight, I sanded down the brush strokes and it looked great...very
smooth.

So, I figured a thicker coat where the brush stokes might lay out
smoother and less sanding would be better...And this is where I think I
screwed up... I put on a second very thick coat of primer. Now 24
hours later, I started to sand and I found the thicker areas are still
not dry. A couple area lifted the thin dry layer to expose wet paint
underneath! Am I now waiting days for this to dry or is there a faster
solution? (I am figuring the former...)

Any advice will be appreciated.

--jimb

[peter burke]

Let it dry
"jimb" <jbarb...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1125755854.7...@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

[TakenEvent]

"jimb" <jbarb...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1125755854.7...@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Next time use a roller or a sprayer, and don't apply thick coats. What
brand of primer did you use? It will dry eventually.

[jimb]

The brand is Behr. I just bought a sprayer today. So, lesson learned
here is that multiple thin coats are good,... thick coats are bad.

It is two and a half days later and I can still move the thicker
streaks with my finger. I actual tried sanding it on a couple test
sections and, man, it is ugly! I am not touching it for another 12
hours; heck, at this rate, I am thinking about leaving it for another
week. For the final coat, I will eventually be painting it with a
white enamel using the sprayer this time. How do people use brushed
and not get brush streaks.

--jimb

[Stephen Hull]

In message <1125882678.3...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
"jimb" <jbarb...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>The brand is Behr. I just bought a sprayer today. So, lesson learned
>here is that multiple thin coats are good,... thick coats are bad.

This usually applies when building up multiple paint layers.

>It is two and a half days later and I can still move the thicker
>streaks with my finger. I actual tried sanding it on a couple test
>sections and, man, it is ugly! I am not touching it for another 12
>hours; heck, at this rate, I am thinking about leaving it for another
>week. For the final coat, I will eventually be painting it with a
>white enamel using the sprayer this time. How do people use brushed
>and not get brush streaks.
>
>--jimb
>

Brushing without I presume you mean brush marks not streaks will depend
on the paint, Some oil based gloss paints for example cannot be applied
successfully without brush marks no matter how you try. Brush marks are
usually associated with heavier pigmented paints, primers and undercoats
for example which are designed for maximum coverage not for flowing out
properties.

Putting it simply gloss paints contain more oil than pigment and should
in theory flow out completely leaving no trace of brush marks but this
will depend on the type or quality of paint.

In your case though the oil based paint being applied too thick will
remain wet underneath the skin for a considerable amount of time because
it's sealed in by the outer drying skin and it could be weeks depending
on the paint thickness before oxygen can penetrate right through in
order to dry thoroughly.

I would suggest you use a broad knife/scraper to cut through or scrape
off the excess layer of skinned paint this will then allow oxygen to do
it's job and dry the paint film thoroughly.

As previously mentioned the oil paint skin will dry eventually.

Steve.

--
Vehicle Painting Pointers: http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk
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"Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble". Henry Royce

[TakenEvent]

"jimb" <jbarb...@yahoo.com> wrote in message

news:1125882678.3...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

With most products, brushes will leave brush marks. Most oil products will
lay down a bit before drying, ridding itself of most brush marks. A few
latex products come close to that, but they are difficult to work with.

I would suggest scraping off the excess paint, letting the film dry, and
then sanding the whole thing. You may need to start over using the correct
techniques. Hope this helps.

[jimb]

Yes. It eventually dried. I sanded it down and then put on 2 coats of
enamel paint. It looks pretty good now. It is not perfect but close
enough. I did what Stephen Hull said to scrape the thicker parts that
were not drying and I left it in the sun for a couple days. I could
have sanded more and put another coat or two of primer and i am sure
that would be perfect, but I could not wait any longer. Thanks for the
advice. Hopefully, this will help some other poor sap that makes the
same mistake I did. Live and learn.