computer desk glossy fail.... what next?

[Ryan Brucks]

Hey guys,

I made myself a new L shaped computer desk last week. The top is made from two separate sheets of 2'x4' MDF. Desk has crisp chamfered edges. I wanted this to come out with a hi-glossy shine and smooth finish, to match some modern-ish furniture in the room where the desk will be. Think almost like a pure white solid surface countertop.


So I tried this paint product called "Glidden door and Trim" that has "Gel-Flow" technology. It's specifically labelled as "no drips, no brush marks" and I got to see an actual sample of wood painted with it at HD. What imrpessed me about it was how hard the cured paint was, hard enough to resist a finger nail mark, unlike latex etc. That appealed to me since I hate when desks get little marks in the paint and I have a 3 year old daughter who will try to mark it at some point. So I tried it out.

The "no brush marks" claim was true for me, but the "no drips" was not... the vertical edges don't look so good and there is some beading up on the bottom of the chamfers... while the top of the chamfers are often lacking in paint. But what really bothers me is how inconsistent the surface on the top of the desk look. In a few spots its smooth, but in most areas its incredibly lumpy still. Not small sandy lumps, thing BIG LOOONG wavy lumpyness that shows up mostly in reflections. It's not terrible in diffuse light, but the second a reflection comes near it looks awful. Those are usually the areas where I had to meet the area I started laying down paint with where I finished... and when I tried to 'feather' out the marks it only seems to have made it worse. The directions say to "back brush" the stuff but I think the best way is to wait until the paint has dried about 10 minutes THEN to the backbrushing. Hard to describe but its a very unique material. And it seems backbrushing works better without paint on the brush, and ONLY with synthetic brushes (natural bristles puncture the thin dry topcoat instead of pushing the stuff under).

Now this stuff sands HORRIBLY... as in almost not at all. Might get better with time (almost like the bottom layers still too mushy), but it tends to fray the paint some. I'm sure its possible to get a good result with just the right technique but it seems fussy to me. Not to mention stressful to apply for some reason. The reviews go both ways so maybe certain batches were not stored properly etc and I got a bad one.


I might just buy two new sheets of MDF (20 bucks vs all night sanding something that won't sand? hmm easy choice) and start over on the top. What should I use?


my first approach was going to be the standard Kills oil primer -> Exterior glossy latex -> Minwax Polycrilic finish

Good primer choice? Any particular latex going to be better/worse for this? What about the poly?


As above, I'm trying to have the smoothest least-textured finish possible. Will the polycrylic by itself give the paint enough durability, or should I use something other than latex for the middle coat to make it harder?



Thanks to to anybody who read this far
Ryan

[Dustin Brown]

I can't really be of any great help other than possibly why the surface is not flat. Did you use any kind of quick drying sealer on the surface of the MDF? Do you think the MDF absorbed liquid from the paint and swelled up creating the "lumps"? If the mdf was flat and you put a self leveling compound on top, it should come out smooth and mostly flat.

[Ryan Brucks]

I think my problem was touching it too much with the brush while it was drying.

my problem was the front edges of the desk were running pretty bad (despite the no drips label) and I had to keep re-spreading the paint there... and doing that messed up the paint on the top... so then I would re-touch the top etc. funny but the "back" of the desk where I painted quickly and didn't obsess came out much cleaner. Also I didn't use the highest quality brushes so that probably didn't help.


still not sure what I'm going to do. This stuff will take a few more days to be cured enough for sanding if I want to try that, but I was just thinking it might be faster and easier to use something else.


When it comes to painting/finishing, there are so many options (even without entering the world of spraying which I have not) that it's a bit dizzying for someone like me who always obsesses


another idea is to sand down the lumpy spots and paint another finishing surface on top of this desk. I dont' want to spend another 20 bucks on a quart of this Gel junk and risk it screwing up again.
Maybe sand it down, just paint some Behr flat, Polycrlic water based, and finish with a layer of Rustoleum spray on Crystal Clear Enamel (from the can since I dont have spray gear and don't want to yet).

[Ryan Brucks]

and the MDF was perfectly flat.

i used killz oil primer and waited about 2 days to sand. I even turned the desk at an angle to the light so I could sand out the smallest little dimples... thats why it was so dissapointing to see large warbly waves in the final product.

[Scott Holmes]

I suspect the wavy lines are brush strokes that almost flattened out.

FYI: exterior paints are formulated to be softer and more flexible than interior paints.

Regarless of what the manufacturer claims on the can. Remember the guys writing that stuff are PAID to make it SELL. They majored in English and/or writing in school. Most likely they're not painters or woodworkers.

Gel stains and gel finishes can't flow out as well as a thinner product. Just seems contrary to the laws of physics to me. I think the big push for gel products (oil based) is because there is less solvent in them and thus lower VOC. As for a gel paint who knows... a Marketing guy probably thought it up.

You need to make sure the paint is completely dried before you put anything else on it. Many of the aerosol acrylics are solvent based and will most likely blister the fresh paint.

Sealing the MDF with Zinsser (Bullseye) dewaxed shellac or BIN primer will prevent any swelling of the MDF. Since you want white I would say the BIN primer would be a good choice if you re buy the MDF.

Another option is milk paint which dries very hard. Clear coating it can make it a gloss.