painting softwood

[marcros]

I have some stair parts to install and paint. I was planning to prime them before installing.

Top coat is (yet to be purchased) white gloss
Any suggestions for what type/brand primer and gloss to use? Do I need to put something on the knots to stop them coming through- I seem to recall a product called knotting in the past.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Yes Knotting! I use Langlow Brand

Primer I use Crown Trade Wood Primer.

Gloss I use Crown or Dulux Trade.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

sound advice- sand first, don't sand through knotting. don't cut costs on materials, it's false economy. i like to undercoat as well, because you can leave it indefinately (life takes it's toll) a few dents, scratches don't matter much -fill them sand everything with a fine paper. 95% of your job isn't the last coat. (if you have anything really knotty, get some aluminium primer)

 

[Benchwayze]

+1 for the aluminium paint.

 

[marcros]

is the aluminium primer instead of the knotting?

 

[Eric The Viking]

is the aluminium primer instead of the knotting?

Yes and no: in my limited experience, aluminium primer is really wonderful stuff, but it's thin. You might need two coats.

It will coat almost any wood surface - oily isn't a problem. But, although it deals with resin ooze, it doesn't have the 'bung it all up' quality of knotting. I always use it for ground floor skirtings (and do the backs!), but if the wood is really bad, I use knotting under the worst bits too, as you don't want to take the risk. For stairs, I think I'd do the inaccessible backs of the knots too, so that they don't shrink and come loose, even though the front is treated.

Call me a pessimist, but I do this stuff for me and, on the occasions when I've employed a 'professional' painter I've been disappointed, seeing the brown outline of a knot develop over about six months!

Cheers,

E.

PS: I've had aluminium-primed painted wood last well over 10+ years, even with modern paint, but I think it works best with oil-based finishes over, rather than acrylic. Call me old-fashioned if you will!

 

[marcros]

cheers. The wood isnt too badly knotted, but with knotting and aluminium primer about the same price, I wondered whether it was an either or. A couple of coats isnt a problem- its only a couple of pices of hand rail and base rail, and some stop chamfered spindles, all of which can be done prior to taking them in the house.

Edit: I was looking at the price of a litre of knotting. Since found that even 125ml will last me several years but is only a couple of quid.

 

[ProShop]

cheers. The wood isnt too badly knotted, but with knotting and aluminium primer about the same price, I wondered whether it was an either or. A couple of coats isnt a problem- its only a couple of pices of hand rail and base rail, and some stop chamfered spindles, all of which can be done prior to taking them in the house.

Use a good blocker, Crown do one in their pro range

 

[deserter]

Instead of Crown use Macpherson and instead of Dulux use Glidden that's they're trade ranges e acrylic the same paint in different tins, I used to sell paint for a living before I retrained so have visited both companies for training and seen the factories of ICI. As for alluminium wood primer it is a very good product but does depend which top coat your using, I would never recommend it under a water based paint, that's not to say it hasn't worked for others but the odds are against you. One last thing if you do opt for tha ally primer make sure you don't ever shake the tin, always stir it and keep it stirred whilst you use it, but it is a suspension of alluminium and I shaken can become volatile and explode. To highlight the point a colleague of mine was going to paint the old warehouse doors one day, they were painted with a lead based paint some twenty years previous so he chose ally primer to block the less paint, as I said we were in a paint store so he decided to be lazy and chuck the tim in the mixer to save time stirring after 10 seconds or so he managed to blow the door of the machine and paint the manager, several thousand pounds if stock and a quarter of the shop silver.

 

[No skills]

Brings back memorys, cans of coke in the paint mixer - peoples lunches. Fun times.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Instead of Crown use Macpherson and instead of Dulux use Glidden that's they're trade ranges e acrylic the same paint in different tins, I used to sell paint for a living before I retrained so have visited both companies for training and seen the factories of ICI. As for alluminium wood primer it is a very good product but does depend which top coat your using, I would never recommend it under a water based paint, that's not to say it hasn't worked for others but the odds are against you. One last thing if you do opt for tha ally primer make sure you don't ever shake the tin, always stir it and keep it stirred whilst you use it, but it is a suspension of alluminium and I shaken can become volatile and explode. To highlight the point a colleague of mine was going to paint the old warehouse doors one day, they were painted with a lead based paint some twenty years previous so he chose ally primer to block the less paint, as I said we were in a paint store so he decided to be lazy and chuck the tim in the mixer to save time stirring after 10 seconds or so he managed to blow the door of the machine and paint the manager, several thousand pounds if stock and a quarter of the shop silver.

Interesting. I have Glidden and Macpherson in stock as well as others like johnsons etc. So which is better Crown Trade (as you get from there trade centres) or Macphersons, Dulux Trade (as you get from there trade centres) or glidden. I have seen them on the shelfs but as a few quid more and knowing the good quality of there trade paints I have normally always gone for the centres trade paint rather then another brand.

 

[deserter]

All I can really tell you is the majority of the pros would rather use Glidden/Macpherson then the Crown or Dulux. Most agree that Dulux emulsions are far too thick and don't water down well, where as with exception of weather shield the gloss is too thin, a lot actually use weather shield inside to get the best shine. As for Crown and Macs they are pretty much the same product. Leyland/Johnstones is a Kalon product whom make most DIY shop paints, some decorators swear by it but a lot more say its worse than coloured water to use. If ever you wanted a posh F&B colour your a lot better asking someone to scan the brochure and mix the paint into one of the 4 good brands I mentioned, far better coverage and durability will be the result.

One last tip, when using liquid gloss always stand the tin in a pot (painters kettle) of warm water you'll get way better results this way. I painted my windows a while back and a few weeks later a guy was canvassing the street for upvc replacements, I happened to be outside as he passed my house and feeling left out asked why? "you obviously have very good quality upvc already by the look of it, should last another 20 years easy" was his reply he wouldn't believe they were painted timber.

 

[DeanN]

The Trade Centres (Decorating Centres) will stock both the premium brand (Crown/Dulux Trade), as well as their trade brands (Macphersons/Glidden). As mentioned above, many of the pro decorators prefer the trade brands due to cost (cheaper) and quality (hard to tell the difference from the premium brand). I personally like the Macphersons acrylic primer/undercoat, and their eggshell is also very good.