Paint Finishing Help Oil over Latex

[Jason Pearce]

THis is my first post and I just love the info on this forum. Forgive the length of my post, but its the only way I can detailed what I am going through.

I just started woodworking as a hobyy and have finished building my first project which is a cabinet for my 55 gallon aquarium to sit on.

The cabinet face frame was made from Birch plywood as I originally wanted to stain it to match my cherry hardwood floors. Well, the staining didnt turn out so good as it was very splochy.

I was then recomended to paint it black with latex paint. After several different attempts (brushing and rolling with Floetrol) I did not like the texture that painting left.

My next decision was to sparay black oil enamel paint ontop of the latex and as this was my first attempt at spraying, after a few rounds I was able to get the hang of it sort of.

The problem I have now is that some sections of the wood accidentally got sanded through the latex layer of paint and through the primer. So when it gets sprayed with the oil enamel that section is not smooth and you can see the wood marks and pores through the paint. I think I have to re-prime the wood but I was trying to avoid sanding the entire wood all the way down to the repaint with the primer. There are also some areas on the wood that have little dents in the paint that was caused when I set the boards on a jig that I made to rest on top of finishing nails to help speed the drying time when I was using the latex. I think I will have to sand those out as well.

So basically my question is, can I spray an oil base primer on top of everything then fill in the dents with wood putty? Then sand to get super smooth. Once its dry can I then go back and spray on the oil enamel paint. Or should I just sand off all the layers of paint (latex, primer, and oil enamel) and start entirely over again?

Thanks in advance to any helpful information you can send me my way before I have to go ask the "advice" of my local Sherwin-Williams guy.

- Jason

[Todd Carpenter]

Hi Jason,

Welcome to the creek!

To answer your question, yes you can prime over the latex/bare wood and then fill with putty, you don't need to strip to bare wood but you certainly can. Depending on the putty you're using, you can probably fill before you prime - just check the directions on the putty.

HTH
Todd

[Phil Phelps]

As Todd said, yes to oil over latex. When you fill any imperfection in the wood, you need to prime what you fill. So, sand the area and fill and sand the places that need repairing, prime the entire area and paint with your oil paint. Now, when to set the aquarium on top? Hint. At least a week.
PS. I would have used black laminate.

[Brian Kent]

The people at my paint store tell me that I can prime under the putty, and then over the putty again to help the putty stay secure. I don't know if it is needed, but I'll just pass that along.

[Phil Phelps]

Originally Posted by Brian Kent

The people at my paint store tell me that I can prime under the putty, and then over the putty again to help the putty stay secure. I don't know if it is needed, but I'll just pass that along.

You prime over the putty to keep it from bleeding through.