Sealing painted surface

[coachgrd]

Hi everyone. My wife wanted me to paint her one of those barn quilts. I'd like to apply some sort of sealer over the finished product. I used exterior latex over 2 coats of primer sealer. Thanks in advance for any recommendations!
Gary

 

[CCWKen]

Probably the cheapest but effective against UV damage would be to paint over it with urethane spar varnish. You can get it at any home center or hardware store.

Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane - Exterior Polyurethane Finish | Minwax

 

[KennyG]

Be very careful that the sealer is compatible with latex. Most are not. The last time I did this, the paint store guy swore the product was meant to go over latex. The latex cracked severely.

 

[EddieWalker]

Prep is the most important thing. Are you painting over raw wood or has it been painted previously? Not knowing what is already there, or the condition of it, I would suggests sanding it down to either bare wood, or to a smooth finish of whatever was used to prime and paint it originally. Old paint can be the best primer ever if it's already proven that it's bonded with the wood and lasted for decades.

Since this is something that is going to be intricate, time consuming and you want it to last, oil based primer is the very best. I prefer Zinsser BIN. It goes on like water, which makes it very messy. It sprays real good if you have a sprayer. Sherwin Williams also has a very good oil based primer for exterior use that is worth the money. There is NO OTHER brand that I would use.

Latex paint sticks to oil base primer really good. Depending on the number of colors you plan on using, oil based paint is always going to be better then latex. I've never tried to paint a pattern with it, so that needs to be considered. If you go with latex paint, stick with either Valspar or Sherwin Williams. Those are the only two brands that survived the reformulation a few years ago. Whatever was good before then, doesn't mean anything today.

Clear coats can cause more damage then the prevent. I doubt that I would put one over the paint. In fact, it would take a lot of convincing to get me to do that. I would talk to the people at Sherwin Williams before doing it, and even then, probably not do it.

 

[coachgrd]

To answer the questions...
The wood was pressire treated 1/2" plywood...dry to the bone, stored indoors for years. I gave it two coats of Kilz 2, then two coats of exterior latex for each color.

Thanks for the insight. I'll check with the guys at Sherman Williams, and for kicks see what the Lowe's guys say.

 

[EddieWalker]

I wouldn't waste my time talking to the so called pros at Lowes. They sell a good quality paint, but their knowledge about painting is very limited. Sadly you wont know if they are just making up a reply, or not. The Valspar Reps are there almost every day, and they know their products, but it's hit or miss when they are there. The manager at Sherwin Williams is who you need to talk to to get the very best advice.

Clear coats react to paint and the sun. The concern I have with them is that it's very possible that it will affect the color or cause premature failure when applied. Sun is your biggest enemy.

 

[rgr33]

I have found Kilz primers to be generally poor quality, agree with Eddie that Zinsser oil based primer is the way to go. In general, not a fan of water based primers.
It might be a good idea to do a test run of any clear sealer over the latex paint before going too far with it, I would be leery of a reaction between the two products. Also, spar varnish is a fantastic product, but has a tendency to yellow after aging. I would say for best and longest results, a Zinsser primer, followed by two coats of Benjamin Moore paint would be the best option,, it's more expensive, but worth it in the long run. A

 

[coachgrd]

Thanks everyone, for the very helpful responses.

 

[coachgrd]

Eddie...you every see Earl Campbell around town? IMO, Herschel walker #1 college RB of all time, but Earl is running a very close second.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've never seen him. He lives in Austin, but his family is still here and friends post pictures with him on FB fairly often.

Bejimin Moore uses Valspar paint. Go into any store that sells Valspar and tell them what Bejimin Moore color you want and they will mix it up for you. On their website they list all the Ace Hardware stores as places to get their paint, but Lowes is usually faster and easier for me. I get a lot of clients who pick paint color from magazines, and Bejimin Moore is very big in the decorator magazines.

 

[coachgrd]

I just got two answers, one by calling the toll-free help line at Sherman Williams, and another by calling my local SW store. The rep on the phone suggested a can of Krylon (owned by SW) clear acrylic lacquer spray, while the local rep suggested a product called Sher Clear at $70/gal.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Hi everyone. My wife wanted me to paint her one of those barn quilts. I'd like to apply some sort of sealer over the finished product. I used exterior latex over 2 coats of primer sealer. Thanks in advance for any recommendations!
Gary

Unreal My wife wants me to do the same thing so I just finished this one. This pic is before the final touch up. I plan to star another one this weekend and have several people wanting to buy one. So it looks like I will be adding to the furniture I'm building and offer barn quilts.

I started with 3'x3' and did a 2'x2'. I will start with 4'x4' once I paint the next two 3' ones. I did 4 coats of primer and 3 coats of color's. I don't plan on sealing since everything I read said if you use a good quality paint there is no need to seal.

Be careful with the sealer it must allow the latex to expand and contract, if not the paint will crack from the heat and cold.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Finished another one this weekend.

 

[EddieWalker]

Finished another one this weekend.

Those are nice. What do you do with them now?

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Eddie, we plan to frame and hang on the barn/workshop. The frame is basically treated 2x4 to help hang. Barn quilts are very popular in the mid Atlantic and northeast. Some are 8'x8' done in four sections. The 4'x4' are the right size for smaller barns and buildings.

Some people are starting to put them on their homes; 4'x4' and 2'x2'. You can drive through the country and mountainous regions and see them, some are very attractive.

If you are not familiar with them do a google search for barn quilts, images, and look at the pictures on barns and buildings.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thank you. I just did that and found quite a few images that where interesting. I've never seen it before, but like how festive it makes the barn look.

 

[TCJatko]

How about coating them with something like good old paste wax after they've thoroughly dried ? Provides some protection but should be easily removable if it starts to yellow.