I forgot to mention I used Pro Classic Alkyd paint. They also makes this paint in a waterborne formula. Would that one be better through a sprayer? What is the benefits of alkyd vs. waterborne?

Thanks,

Gwen

I'm glad to hear you say it can go through an HVLP sprayer. The guy at SW said it's too thick. So, do you think it's something a non-pro can do? Or is there a "trick" to it?

Gwen

Yes it can be done with an HVLP sprayer but not with a cheap unit. You'll need to spend at least $300 on a unit and $500 to $600 would be better. It does take some practice and usually some experimentation with thining the paint to get a good finish.

If you're willing to go to the expense and time you might want to consider using a waterborne lacquer like Target USL. The waterborne spray lacquers are easier to spray, tougher, and, I believe, more elegant.

Jan9 is right....but I also have to add some caveats, if you don't mind.

I own a very, very high-end unit. 2K and better. 4-stage turbine and all that. I can just about spray any latex (one of the harder things to spray), unthinned, with my unit. $600 wouldn't come close to covering that cost.

The point is that yes; the better, bigger the unit you get, the better your control is. But that's all kind of an aside. SW Polycrylic Waterborne Acrylics CAN be sprayed via HVLP sprayers. But it's also like anything else; it's really not the sprayer, or even the product; neither one is going to overcome an inability in one area or the other; a bad finish product or a bad sprayer, to get a good result.

Go out to SW; spend $12 and get a quart of the SW product, read the instructions and everything you can on HVLP spraying, and spray it. Give it your best shot. Good finishing in ANYTHING (cars, furniture, walls), is the result of the finish and the equipment, yes, but it's MOSTLY the result of the person doing it and their technique. It's an art. Give it a shot. Tell us what you think.

Spraying (whether HVLP or airless), takes skill, and takes practice, and takes the right hand. You don't pull a sparyer of any kind out of the package and match auto-quality finishes the first time out. Practice. Practice. Practice. Then tell us what's going on.

Give it a chance. Yes, there are a lot of finishes I'm SURE are better, technically; but the FINISHER is going to be the person who makes it happen.

So where are we in that department?

Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate the help, since we're so new to all this stuff.

Okay, well, my friend who sprays cars for a living came over and sprayed a test cabinet for us. He sprayed one side with SW Pro Classic waterborne, and one side with SW Pro Classic alkyd. We waited 24 hours. The waterborne side looks really good! At first we thought it would end up being terrible, since it started out with an orange peel finish. But it leveled out *almost* completely. You can BARELY see dimples if you look only at a certain angle and in a certain light. The alkyd side is also only slightly orange peel-y, but you can see it more because it's shinier, even though technically both paints are semi-gloss.

Our friend showed us the technique. Basically, he said make your arm like a painting robot. Don't bend the wrist, move the arm straight back and forth, and go past the edges in each pass. My dh practiced.

I must say, when he first sprayed each side, I really thought they both looked terrible. Once they dried, though, I'm impressed! MUCH better than the brushed cabinet we did. And this paint covers amazingly well. One coat over primer and it's done.

However, we also got a pro to come out and bid the job, just to compare and keep our options open. He hasn't emailed the quote yet, but once he does we'll decide if it's worth it to put all the many hours of work into ourselves (mainly it's the sanding I hate), or if it's worth it to just pay the man and be done with it. I also have two others guys coming out for comparison purposes.

I'll keep you updated!

Gwen

Do, please. I'm thinking about painting my kitchen and/or bathroom cabinets.

Hello! I am looking for some cabinet finishing expertise. I am an artist and am planning a project where I will create a bit of artwork on cabinet doors. A bit of painting with special effects such a gold foil. The end result must be very smooth and deep- amost as if there is a glassy clear surface on top. I thought to begin with an underlayer of this enamel paint as it claims to be self leveling. The only problem is that I was not planning on using a sprayer. I was only going to use a roller. I was exciting when I read that it would not show roller marks, but you all are making me doubt that claim. Further, I was thinking of a series of clear coats of ??? product on top with sanding in between. I am also a wood worker and have used a variety of oil and water based clear finishes which all required sanding in between. The starting situation is the following. The cabinets already have an old coat of Lowes latex on them- it was rolled on and has a slightly nubbly texture. Any ideas, fellas, on the kinds of products and techniques I could employ from start to finish? I would truly appreciate some help here.

I brush it on and the finish is like porcelain.

Brushing waterborne paints isn't something you learn overnight. And the best brush is the Chinex brush, not
a China bristle brush.

Spray or brush. It looks the same for me.

Michael

I forgot to mention the primer.

I only use SW Classic primer under Pro Classic.
Yes, it's the expensive primer, but it holds the gloss
much better than any of their other primers.

Michael

When you spray, the paint really should level out completely. If you get an orange peel look or have pinholes, your paint is not atomizing properly or you are just not putting it on heavy enough. Instead of doing one heavy pass with the sprayer you want to fog on lightly several layers to build up the paint film. The trick is not to go so heavy that it sags. That's really what the pro painter knows that a DIY'er can't really know...when to stop. If you do get sags, they can be very hard to fix so you really want to avoid that.

I lightly sanded, then used the SW Pro Classic primer and then the waterbourne paint with a 4" foam roller and there are absolutely no roller marks!! I love that paint!!

Hi! I'm in the process of painting my kitchen cabinets as well, and really appreciate all the advice and tips the pros have put out here. Based on everything I've read, I've been using an HVLP sprayer, with SW alklyd primer and SW Pro Classic. I thinned it with Penetrol and am using a 2mm tip. The spraying is going well (getting better with each attempt anyway!)

My question is on nightly cleanup. I'll be painting for a couple weeks and I'm learing how time consuming the nightly flushing and cleaning with thinner is. When I sprayed my exterior a few years ago with latex and an airless, I just put the gun in a bucket of water each night, pulled it out in the AM and kept going.

Is their any option like that for oil-based with an HVLP, or any way to store it each night without the full cleanup, knowing you'll be using it again the next day?

Thanks!
Kevin

Yep, soak the gun in paint thinner overnight.

Kevin o anyone else, I would love to know how the SW alkyd is holding up over the yrs. especially with thinning and spray painting. I am concerned the thinning will effect the formulation and it ight not hold up as well. We are getting ready to paint our solid oak cabinets.

What size tip would you recommend for spraying these paints? How do you thin the paint for best results?

Oil is going to yellow over time