Stubborn Brush Strokes

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Reelsix

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Hi - I am painting a new two-panel interior door. Solid pine stiles and rails and I believe mdf core/panels. It came primed. My issue is that I cannot seem to avoid patchy highly visible brush strokes on the panels.

Using semi-gloss Sherwin Williams super paint w/ Nylon brush. Sanded after the first coat w/ 220 sandpaper and added Floetrol to the paint before applying the second coat. Hoping this would fix the issue but still seeing visible brush strokes that are uneven and patchy. Allowed to dry overnight before applying the second coat. Applied long lay-off strokes too. Attached is a picture trying to show issue.

The panels did feel a little rough but did not sand as they came primed. Was this the mistake or could it be an application issue? Feels like I cannot keep it wet and sucks up the paint even on the second coat.

Should I prime the panels and start over?

Thanks
 

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I’m not a professional painter but having owned two homes built in the 1800s I feel like I was born with a paintbrush in my hand. Sounds to me like you are doing all the right steps and the floetrol should have helped. You need to keep a wet edge and brush into it and not rebrush over it. That’s my over simplified comments.



I sometimes add flat clear water based poly to paint to help it level and it also retards the drying time. I learned that trick painting my home theater projection screens on smooth finished drywall.

The easiest solution is to spray the door. Wagner makes some really great airless sprayers now and they start around 90 bucks and it will pay for itself for many years to come. These cheap sprayers got a bad name many years ago but now they have them down pretty good.
 
I’m not a professional painter but having owned two homes built in the 1800s I feel like I was born with a paintbrush in my hand. Sounds to me like you are doing all the right steps and the floetrol should have helped. You need to keep a wet edge and brush into it and not rebrush over it. That’s my over simplified comments.



I sometimes add flat clear water based poly to paint to help it level and it also retards the drying time. I learned that trick painting my home theater projection screens on smooth finished drywall.

The easiest solution is to spray the door. Wagner makes some really great airless sprayers now and they start around 90 bucks and it will pay for itself for many years to come. These cheap sprayers got a bad name many years ago but now they have them down pretty good.
Thank you for the reply. I was diligent on keeping a wet edge so not sure if that was the issue. I will look at clear water poly to prevent the drying issue. Yeah, I didnt want to take the doors down to spray them but that might have been my first mistake!
 
I just painted some vanity doors and base frame using a 4" foam roller and semigloss paint. It layed down smooth and looks like it was spray painted. You might look at using a roller pad.
 
Great. Think I might try that on the 3rd coat to see if it helps!
 
You might want to give it a light sanding before the next coat.

You might be over-brushing it. I commonly use BM Aura, and the instructions specifically state "Do not over-brush in attempt to smooth out brush strokes". Its supposed to level out on its own. But I know also that I have tried putting down high gloss paint and had real hard time keeping a smooth surface. My conclusion is basically that brush is slightly better than roller, but both are extremely challenging to keep smooth surface. I have been toying with the idea of getting a spray system for a long time, but then when I research, I find the cheap ones are no good, and its hard to justify an expensive system for the few times I would use it.
 
Thanks - that could be the case. I may need to get more paint on my brush to avoid over-brushing. Feel that I am making that effort but might not be enough. Hear you on the expensive sprayers! I got one of the Critter sprayers but yet to try it.
 
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