Paint & Products

For the past 3 years, I’ve been using white oil based primer on almost all of my furniture painting projects. (See Primer Comparison post). But I kept running into a design problem. White oil based primer prevents from doing any kind of finish distressing – except for white painted pieces. Distressing dark painted pieces is impossible with white primer underneath.

So I’ve started using one coat Clear Boss Primer for it’s terrific adhesion properties on dark paint color pieces like black. I am liking it a lot. Clear Boss goes on silky smooth, dries level without brush ridges plus a little goes a long way. But, TWO COATS of expen$ive BOSS are required to block tannin, a requirement for light and medium paint colors. For those projects, I revert back to the inexpensive one-coat white oil-based primer until now.

Wanting the flexibility to distress any color paint project AND spend less money than the required two coats of BOSS lead me to give this a try.

First Prime Coat Clear Based Shellac

This product cheaply takes care of the tannin problem. It’s an easy Ammonia water clean up, dries level without brush stroke ridges BUT as discussed in my earlier blog, it can produce an unwanted paint crackle or two.

Second Prime Coat Clear BOSS

1 single coat of CLEAR BOSS on top of Shellac takes care of it’s adhesion weakness.

It’s My New Standard Prime Method

I LOVE the results. I choose not to distress sand this piece but at least I had the option if I wanted. No tannin bleed through (and this is cherry wood), brush stroke ridges greatly reduced and it’s CLEAR enabling me to finish distress any time I want. Plus both products glide on quickly and easily. Plus Plus easy clean up with ordinary ammonia for the Shellac and soap/water for the BOSS. I’m kicking the can of oil-based primer to the curb!

Don’t grab just any can on the shelf. The good news is, I’ve narrowed it down for you to 2 hard working inexpensive primers to keep on-hand. Sorry, there’s not a one kind fits all.

UPDATE 2024

See my latest post on getting a better tannin fighting prime job that won’t cost an arm and a leg.

1. All-Purpose Latex Primer

Nope. I don’t keep this on-hand. Any brand all-purpose water-based primer helps paint adhere to your project. This is one of two reasons to use primer. The second reason is to block stains.

They all claim to block stain, but I learned the hard way, they don’t. It is soooo disappointing when, after two coats of paint, at the first top coat the nasty wood stain appears. That’s when it shows up, at top coat. Funny, not funny.

The stain that water-based primer does not block comes directly from the wood called tannin. I’ll never forget the first time it happened to me. I kept painting over the stain thinking it will disappear. Never did until I re-applied a different kind of primer.

Almost all furniture has mild to severe tannin staining depending on the age of the piece and wood type. Figure the older the wood, the more tannin. Cherry, mahogany and old oak seem to be the worse but I take no chances. Maple and pine have tannin too. The picture below is a water-based primer over mahogany.

2. Did You Know Shellac Blocks Tannin?

I switched to using shellac as primer. It requires ammonia for brush clean up. That doesn’t bother me plus it has a few other things going for it. It comes in clear and white pigmented, it’s not expensive, it dries really fast and it blocks tannin but, for paint adhesion it’s not so good.

I noticed paint crackle effect after using shellac as a primer. Why? Shellac produces a very smooth slick finish as it dries, perfect for paint crackle. It’s not horrible but it shows up here and there, just enough to be annoying. Plus, it goes on with drag and non-uniformly because it dries so quickly. So, nope. I keep this on-hand for to spot blocking only.

3. What About Boutique Primers like Dixie Belle and General Finishes?

I love them! Dixie Belle brand primer is “BOSS”. General Finishes makes “Stain Blocker”.

I love they are water based AND block tannin. Pigment and coverage is awesome with both. They go on so smooth, no tugging or dragging. Dry time is only a couple hours! Brush cleaning is super easy with soap and water. Only two bummers.

First, they require 2 coats. I can deal with that – just barely. Here’s why I don’t keep them in my studio, they very expensive, around $45 per quart. Holy smokes. Flipping furniture has barely any profit margin for a cup of coffee.

4. Kilz Oil-Based Quick Dry – My Winner.

2020 brought many things. One of them is Kilz quick dry oil-based primer. It performs in one coat, blocks tannin, inexpensive at all hardware stores, and goes on easy, (maybe a bit gooey). It IS very stinky and requires mineral spirit clean up. Ventilation is highly recommended. I guess no primer is bummer free. Since it covers in one coat and is affordable I keep this primer on hand.

6. Super Adhesion STIX

Stix is a water-based super bonding primer. I also keep this one on hand despite it’s inability to block tannin. Here’s why . . . on occasion I’m painting a piece with a laminate or near laminate veneer. Stix’s super boding quality is necessary for a good paint job. Since laminates don’t contain tannin, there is no need to block them.

I hope this helps beginner painters and anyone else struggling with primer. This post has been on my mind to write for a few months and today’s winter weather is perfect for a good write. Enjoy!

New GF product! Brushable, Water-Based, White Enamel in NEW FLAT sheen – contactless delivery or pick up available. Combined with Stain Blocker, also water-based, you have the two best products for painted cabinets and cupboards.

Shelter-In-Place is the perfect time for this project – the one that’s been on your list for years, right.

Get kitchen make-over for under $100.

But will it last? Is it good?

Yes, it’s enamel, water-based for easy clean up! It is the most hardworking paint that is made to take the rough treatment from heavy use in the kitchen.

General Finishes has several YouTube video’s for achieving the clean, solid white finish.

Basic Power Prep

You can do this! Materials you need are probably already on-hand.

• 3M scrub pad
• Household Cleaner – Krud Kutter works best
• Rinse and wipe-off clean rags
• Sanding sponge surfaces for best results.

Prime and Paint Tips

1. Use a new GOOD flat (not oval) brush. If you can get 2, one for the primer and one for the enamel, you’ll get better results. A Wooster or Purdy synthetic brush are easy to find at local hardware stores but, my KellaChic Supply Shop has a line of brushes specially made for this kind of work. Consider the synthetic shorty 2″ angled brush. There are plenty in stock now.

2. Remove doors and hinges in small groups (soak hinges in a weak solution of vinegar water to clean). I painted in groups of 4-5 at a time. That way your kitchen isn’t totally destroyed.

3. Prep, prime and paint the cupboard and cabinet bases (according to instructions on the can) .

4. Prep prime, and paint doors starting at the inside panel and ending with the outside frame.

No Top Coat Needed – No Yellowing

Yeah, you heard right. General Finishes does not recommend a final top coat. The enamel is hard enough to withstand the knocks without it plus there is no chance of yellowing in the future.

Finishing Touch

New knobs will rock your makeover. Menards has some cool ones at reasonable prices.

As a retailer of General Finishes paint products, I see it as a pleasure to use them and report my experience. This is my tale of Lamp Black Paint and Winter White Glaze. In all of my experiences, the GF glazes are the most different from other brands.

Antique Radio Cabinet Re-purpose to Liquor Cabinet

Before it can be repurposed as a liquor cabinet, it has to pass the shelf test. Will a typical bottle fit? It does perfectly!

Inspiration Piece

The image below is the goal look for the cabinet courtesy of The Glory Collective Painted Furniture, found on Pintrest.

Look How Dirty

First things first, clean it down and sand any imperfections. This loaded rag shows why it is worth taking the time to ALWAYS clean before paint. This shows one wipe and a lifetime of smoke junk. Ew!

Lamp Black Base Coat

My war with black paint is over. The first trick is using the best black paint on the planet. General Finishes Lamp Black is the smoothest toughest there is. The second trick is using a applicator sponge to apply topcoat. It’s fast and shows no application brush marks at all.

The One Big Difference Using GF Glaze Effects

A barrier coat of GF High Performance Top Coat is necessary before glazing. The barrier coat enables better work-ability of the glaze. I’ve used glazes before so I have an idea what to expect – even wrote a post about tips and tricks.

Though GF Glazes have great pigment and smooth consistency . . . they dry too fast on me. On this piece, I didn’t dawdle wiping it off. The glaze dried faster than the speed to remove it. I used dry extra thick paper towels. I am going for a slight white haze (not streaky) leaving some in the details.

As a result, seriously, the glaze behaved like stain! (This YouTube video shows the struggle). It took a sanding sponge, water spritz, and a 3M pad to get off what I wanted. Maybe the barrier top coat was too thin? Next time I’ll try using damp cloth to wipe or diluting the product first. To it’s credit, it dries to a hard finish!!!

Without and With a center stencil . . . yeah, needed it.

This piece comes fairly close the the inspiration look. It is very different from other pieces I’ve done. There was some doing getting used to achieving a more shabby look but it paid off in the end.