Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Refinishing ?
Kevin French
>I'm refinishing an old table, is there a way for me to tell if the paint on the legs is Oil based or Latex. I'd like to just lightly sand the legs and repaint them with oil based paint.
It was painted with the legs attached to the top and there is some faint 'Bleeding' thru of the paint that leads me to beleive it's oil based and talking with the previous owner of the table he says that he doesn't think it has been in a very long time.
But is there a way to tell?
Re: Refinishing ?
George in Lowell, Mich.
>Lacquer thinner should disolve oil based paint but I don't think it will affect latex.
George in Lowell, Mich.
try this...but...
Steve Kubien
>A little paint thinner/mineral spirits on a cleam white cloth, rub it into an inconspicuous area and see what happens. If the colour ends up on the cloth, it is oil-based. If not, it's latex. But....
You really do not need to do this if you are planning on using oil-based paint. It will go over either type very happily. If you choose to go with latex/water-based (and with today's paints, there is NO reason not to), apply a latex primer first to the lightly sanded and cleaned original surface. Decent latex PRIMER will stick to oil paint with no problem.
As for the bleeding through... I assume it is a knot that has bled? If so, a coat or two of shellac will stop this in most cases. You are best to scrape through the original paint/finish and then use the shellac. This helps eliminate the possibility of the original finish bubbling or flaking. If I was painting it, I would use BIN by Zinsser. It is a white pigmented shellac and is not to be confused with white, dewaxed shellac. It's very thin and looks like milk.
Good luck,
Steve Kubien
Ajax, Ontario
advice
bill tindal, E.TN
>1. as has been stated, latex is a good primer for oil paint, so not to worry. Scuff it if it is gloss.
2. Solubility in this or that solvent is not a good test. There are a great many formulations for latex paint. Latex is a description for the process for how the paint was made, NOT what it was made from (the polymer that is the film former). So, depending on the chemical composition of the particular latex it might or might not be soluble in this or that solvent. I would expect the non-crosslinked latex formulations to be readily soluble in lacquer thinner because they will be poly(vinyl acetate) or poly(styrene) based. Oil paint is not soluble in anything once it cures. It will swell and soften in some solvents.
And acetone does the opposite
Charles R. Smith
>Acetone will usually dissolve a latex paint (e.g., the stuff you put on the walls of your home), but will leave alkyd/oil finishes untouched. At least that is what the people at the local paint store told me, and it worked on my walls.
Charles in Victoria (where the daffodils are about to bloom)
Re: try this...but...
Kevin French
>Thanks
Steve there is a reason I want to use an OB paint, -It's the paint I have that matches some of the other things I've refinished.
The 'Bleeding' I was refering to was the paint seeping between the leg and the frame of the table.
Re: try this...but...
Steve Kubien
>What? Colour matching? You mean everything in your house isn't such a wide variety as to resemble a rainbow? Sounds like luxury to me. Now that you bring it up, that would be about the only reason for using it that I can think of. YMMV
As for the bleeding you are talking about...would a little thick CA fit the bill? Should be thin enough to get into the crack/seam and I think it would effectively close it up. Just an idea
Good luck
Steve Kubien