Latex paint dragging and clumping

[Chadi]

Hey everyone. I've been having problems with latex paint for some time now. When painting with Latex (tend to use Lowes paint but I also experience this with HD paint) after a little bit my paint starts to "pull". I don't know what the official word for what I'm experiencing is but what happens is....

If I'm painting a door for example I'll start at one corner and work around the perimeter. When i get back to the original corner (maybe in 5-10 minutes) that paint has started to dry and when i have to go back over it, it starts to "pull" like it is glue and i get a texture that looks like bad streaking. I get this issue as described but I also get it at other times. For example last night I was painting a door again. I used a roller for all the flat parts and came back with with a dry brush to get rid of the roller texture. It took me all of 5 minutes to get the rolling done but when i went back with the brush I started getting some pulling.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about and how to prevent it. I try to store my paint well but nothing i do seems to work.

Thank you,

Chadi

[radhak]

Not an expert by any means, but intuitively speaking, isn't that how it is expected to behave?

IIRC, re-doing paint (or even finish) before it completely dries up is a no-no. You need to wait for it fully dry, then do the second coat.

My technique is - paint a portion with even, sustained flow; if any spot was majorly missed, go over it immediately - if i missed it for more than a minute, i don't touch it; move on to the next portion.

Once the whole wall is done, wait for it to dry before re-coating.

[jhart]

I've done some paneled doors and find that I paint the panel first, then the outside edge of that panel and work my way down repeating the process. I've always been told to paint into a wet surface and then smooth it out. Seems to work well for me.

[crokett]

You need to change the way you paint and always keep a wet edge. Problem is you are basically trying to recoat before the paint is dry but it is too dry to work with. When I paint a door I work in a sections. What works for me is to paint an area that is sized about down to the door handle and then 1/3 the width of the door. Any larger than that and I get the problem you describe.

[mschrank]

Hi Chadi,

Yes, sounds like you need to work on technique a bit. Painting a raised panel door is one of my least favorite things to do.

Here's a link that might help.

Couple tips:

)Assuming you are taking the door off the hinges) Drive a couple of screws into the top and bottom edges, and rest the door on the screws between a couple of saw horses. This let you flip the door over to paint the other side before the first side is dry.

Don't forget to paint those top and bottom edges. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean you can skip them. Moisture will get in there and cause you door to warp...DAMHIK.

Good luck!

[GregW]

and a good quality brush and roller makes a world of difference. I've had real good results using the Wooster pro brushes from Lowes.

[Chadi]

Thanks

Thanks for all the input guys. I try to do things in sections but I always find myself going back to "smooth things over" but thats what gets me into trouble. I'll slow down a bit and brush into the wet paint. Thanks again for the advice.

Chadi

[mschrank]

Thanks for all the input guys. I try to do things in sections but I always find myself going back to "smooth things over" but thats what gets me into trouble. I'll slow down a bit and brush into the wet paint. Thanks again for the advice.

Chadi

It's OK to go back to "smooth things over," you just have to do it immediately after laying the paint down. Get the paint on the surface, then smooth it and go on to the next section.

[RockyJohn]

Technique and quality painting tools are just two of the four important things you can control while painting. Surface prep is necessary to make the paint adhere evenly, but what may also help is to modify the paint itself. I have found that adding Flotrol to latex makes a world of difference. I add floetrol and water if I'm spraying, and just a little floetrol if I'm brushing. I'm getting nice results. YMMV.