Hey Guys,
My wife and I are building a house that probably should have been done by now. We've had weather delays, all the usual, and a new baby. At least we're getting close now. We chose to "try" to finish the cabinets and paint the place ourselves. I know, it's a job that sounds easy that really isn't and we found that out last night!
We have about 130LF of custom knotty alder cabinets. We're using Sherwin Williams bright cherry stain and Minwax semi-gloss poly. I started by doing one of the bathroom head knockers in case I screwed it up. I applied the stain with a brush and wiped it off with a rag ten minutes later and let it dry. We wiped it down with a tack cloth and applied the first coat of poly. It looked good, but it had quite a bit of dust in it. After it dried, I sanded it with 220 and cleaned it up with a tack cloth again. I then carefully applied a second coat of poly and it looks good. Not being a pro, I assume that one's done.
So, I move on to the laundry room. Oh no....:no:
I did the same thing. I puttied a few holes, sanded, stained, and that all went well. I applied the first coat of poly to the cabinets, and both sides of the door. (We removed the doors to do the work) The poly was smooth, but of course had some dust in it, but not much because we took care and cleaned the entire house before starting. At this point, I took a week or so off because we had a baby. I came back yesterday to work on them. I sanded the first coat of poly on all of the doors. I let the dust settle and cleaned them all with a tack cloth. Then, I started applying the second coat as I had done on the head knocker. After the first few doors, I kept thinking that the poly was thicker than when I first used it. (I later figured out that it was)
Okay, so I added a little paint thinner to it. The people at Sherwin Williams told me a lot of the pros do this on the first coat because it makes the poly dry faster. Well, here are my results:
The first half of the doors are glossy, but have paint brush strokes all through them. There are a couple of small runs, but very few. The second half of the doors (after adding about 1/3 cup of paint thinner to about 3/4 gallon of poly) have more of a satin finish, but no brush strokes. I was hoping that this second coat would be the final coat as it was on the head knocker, but that obviously isn't the case.
So, that's my problem. I don't think it's a matter of skill, but more of a lack of knowing how-to. So, here are the qustions that I have:
1) I brushed on stain and wiped off. Is this the best practice? (I have a 3000psi Graco sprayer)
2) I brushed on the poly, is that the best way?
3) I used Minwax poly. Is that a good choice?
4) How do you eliminate the brush strokes in the poly, or how do you keep it from thickening over time? Use quarts instead of a gallon? What do you suggest?
5) Is there a way to fix the brush strokes in the finished coat without damaging it and having to apply another coat?
6) I'm still getting a little bit of dust in the final coat. How is that normally handled?
I appreciate any advice! I'm on paternity leave and vacation time right now, so I'm trying to get as much done as possible while away from the office.
Thanks!
David
My wife and I are building a house that probably should have been done by now. We've had weather delays, all the usual, and a new baby. At least we're getting close now. We chose to "try" to finish the cabinets and paint the place ourselves. I know, it's a job that sounds easy that really isn't and we found that out last night!
We have about 130LF of custom knotty alder cabinets. We're using Sherwin Williams bright cherry stain and Minwax semi-gloss poly. I started by doing one of the bathroom head knockers in case I screwed it up. I applied the stain with a brush and wiped it off with a rag ten minutes later and let it dry. We wiped it down with a tack cloth and applied the first coat of poly. It looked good, but it had quite a bit of dust in it. After it dried, I sanded it with 220 and cleaned it up with a tack cloth again. I then carefully applied a second coat of poly and it looks good. Not being a pro, I assume that one's done.
So, I move on to the laundry room. Oh no....:no:
I did the same thing. I puttied a few holes, sanded, stained, and that all went well. I applied the first coat of poly to the cabinets, and both sides of the door. (We removed the doors to do the work) The poly was smooth, but of course had some dust in it, but not much because we took care and cleaned the entire house before starting. At this point, I took a week or so off because we had a baby. I came back yesterday to work on them. I sanded the first coat of poly on all of the doors. I let the dust settle and cleaned them all with a tack cloth. Then, I started applying the second coat as I had done on the head knocker. After the first few doors, I kept thinking that the poly was thicker than when I first used it. (I later figured out that it was)
Okay, so I added a little paint thinner to it. The people at Sherwin Williams told me a lot of the pros do this on the first coat because it makes the poly dry faster. Well, here are my results:
The first half of the doors are glossy, but have paint brush strokes all through them. There are a couple of small runs, but very few. The second half of the doors (after adding about 1/3 cup of paint thinner to about 3/4 gallon of poly) have more of a satin finish, but no brush strokes. I was hoping that this second coat would be the final coat as it was on the head knocker, but that obviously isn't the case.
So, that's my problem. I don't think it's a matter of skill, but more of a lack of knowing how-to. So, here are the qustions that I have:
1) I brushed on stain and wiped off. Is this the best practice? (I have a 3000psi Graco sprayer)
2) I brushed on the poly, is that the best way?
3) I used Minwax poly. Is that a good choice?
4) How do you eliminate the brush strokes in the poly, or how do you keep it from thickening over time? Use quarts instead of a gallon? What do you suggest?
5) Is there a way to fix the brush strokes in the finished coat without damaging it and having to apply another coat?
6) I'm still getting a little bit of dust in the final coat. How is that normally handled?
I appreciate any advice! I'm on paternity leave and vacation time right now, so I'm trying to get as much done as possible while away from the office.
Thanks!
David