Spraying Primer

[Ben Davis]

I've got a bunch of shutter louveres to paint (like nearly 250). The shutters need to match the trim of the windows since they will be sitting right next to them. After playing around (a LOT), I could never get the color just right. After going to the local pain store, they were able to pull it up from the builder's records and get me a perfect match.

That's the problem... I'm stuck with a gloss latex paint.

The shutters rails and stiles are all poplar. The louvers are basswood.

I have an Earlex HVLP sprayer whicih I would love to employ on this arduous task. Can anyone recommend a primer? I've used the Zinsser primer in the past, and I think it's wonderful. I know I will have to thin this stuff down pretty good.

[Henry Ambrose]

Try to get a match in an oil paint. Surely they can do that.
It'll be so much better when you're done.

Poplar will fuzz some so be prepared for a little sanding. I'd think the Zinsser will be fine.

[Jason Roehl]

Glidden's Gripper. Great stain-sealing interior/exterior primer.

I will disagree with the comment on oil--exterior oil just doesn't perform well compared to today's top-quality exterior acrylics. Virtually all of the R&D for non-industrial exterior finishes is in waterborne products, and has been for 15 years or more.

You definitely want to have any bare wood relatively freshly sanded before applying primer. There's nothing wrong with using an HVLP, though for exterior coatings, you need some thickness, so consider not just one primer coat, but two since you'd have to thin it to spray it with an HVLP, then think 3-4 finish coats. I pretty much only use airless sprayers for exterior paints, with no thinning whatsoever to get the appropriate film thickness.

(I'm a pro painter by day...)

[Neal Clayton]

i agree with jason, from my experience with (often futile) attempts to get paint to last as long as what's falling off of my ~102 year old house .

modern oil paints still have their place, for wooden double hung windows and doors. they are resistant to abrasion, i'll give them that. but if i can avoid using them anywhere else, i do so. they don't fail gracefully. they must be meticulously maintained, once they start to peel and chip they trap water. acrylics fail the way paint is supposed to, by slowly losing pigment, not by the entire film losing adhesion.

in fact i would go so far as to say the entire idea of thick oil paint film over a primer barrier inherently flawed. it worked much better in the old days when the paint was applied without primer, and allowed to bond directly to the wood. unfortunately without the (in most ways superior) lead pigmented natural oil paint, you're stuck with it for wooden doors and double hung windows, but if you don't have to use it, skip it, imo.

note that this is the paint itself we're talking about. oil primer, absolutely, you should use it on anything outdoors. the superiority of oil primers versus water based primers outside is pretty well documented.

[Henry Ambrose]

Wait!

I commented assuming the shutters are indoors.
Are they outdoors? If so I'll go with the others and suggest latex over oil primer.

[Ben Davis]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, but I think Henry was the only one to read my mind! These are interior plantation style shutters. The trim I'm trying to mach is the high gloss window casing trim!

[Neal Clayton]

aha! in that case sure, oil it is .

[Ben Davis]

So just to be clear, I should be looking for an oil primer AND oil paint to spray?

[Henry Ambrose]

So just to be clear, I should be looking for an oil primer AND oil paint to spray?

The professional paint store where you found the match will likely have a primer that will be designed to work with the top coat they sell. That would be a good choice.

Or, as you mentioned, Zinsser BIN white shellac - would work great.

Whatever you pick, I'd tint the primer a bit to get it closer to the finish coat shade. A blue white primer with an ivory top coat might give you problems. (as an example)

[Ben Davis]

Already have the latex top coat from the paint store. I guess I became confused with some of the above posts. Should I go back and have them replicate the color in an oil based system, and then purchase an oil based primer?

[Henry Ambrose]

Already have the latex top coat from the paint store. I guess I became confused with some of the above posts. Should I go back and have them replicate the color in an oil based system, and then purchase an oil based primer?

If you have a color compatible primer and a top coat that's the right color there's nothing to stop you now. You can paint it with latex but I think you'd like the result better with oil. Oil will likely spray better but that does not mean you can't succeed with latex.

The oil enamel top coat will give you a nice hard finish that will stand up to handling and cleaning better than latex enamel. If the windows are painted with latex and you've matched that then you're as good as you'll get on a match. Oil will look very slightly different. It is, after all, a different material.

I guess its kinda down to deciding to spend more for more paint or not. And since you have shellac primer and latex top coat you could paint a sample and see if it works for you before you spend more money.

[Ben Davis]

Got it. Thanks for the help!