Sap/ Knots in skirting

[HappyHacker]

I am about to commit heresy so those of a sensitive disposition should look away now.

I got fed up with the poor quality machining, knots, cupping, warping etc of the skirting I could buy locally so I moved to MR MDF. Wonderfull stuff.

I tried a few different suppliers for the real wood stuff but it all appeared to be made down to a price. The poor quality machining was not always obvious until a coat of undercoat had been put on and then the wavy surface became very obvious. I could sand the flat bits but it took a long time and was still obvious on the mouldings which were impossible to sand smooth. The one supplier that normally has good quality only had one straight undamaged length of the profile I wanted out of about 30 in the rack. I think they had built up a pile of rejects.

Agree with recommendations for BIN. The only problem I had when using it was that to was going off so quickly it was dry almost as soon as I had applied it so could not brush any brush marks out.

 

[Quickben]

Think I'll use BIN... as I said I'm using Crown Trade Satin which is water based. No problem over BIN?

No, it should b fine.

 

[rafezetter]

I think normal knotting stuff limits what you can put on top... oil based only IIRC. That's maybe just the stuff available up here so read the label. There was a reason I ended up using BIN (it blocks just about everything) instead as it'll take anything and, with the lightest of sanding, gives you a very smooth surface to work on.

This - knotting can leave a visible mark if you only put on a couple of coats of pant and don't knock it back (pretty common home DIYer mistake)

Zinnser is a great primer (it's become my fave for customer work now) sands back great, doesn't really clog either and you can build up several layers in pretty short order to get a great smooth finish for laying on gloss (or satin), especially the darker colours which show up more flaws.

Out of the tin it's a bit thick and needs thinning with meths - more thinning than oil paint as it dries so fast it can't really self level like oil does - I go for single cream viscosity and it lays off lovely with a good brush

But don't hang about using it - lay it on & lay it off pretty smartish or you'll have a "dry edge" to deal with.