# How do I prevent small pimples in my painted doors



## jcraw84263 (Jan 28, 2011)

I have two (2) questions:
I am painting kitchen cabinets using BM Satin Improvo C235 oil based white. I have yet to get a mirror-smooth finish. I keep getting little pimples on the finished cabinets (hundreds of them). I have tried everything: (1) used a China bristle brush; (2) used a smooth roller; (3) used a Wagner HVLP spray gun, thinning the paint, straining the paint, using a tack-cloth; sanded and then washed the dust off the doors, and dried with a paper towel. Sprayed paint on thick and thin, and no matter what I do, I end up with these fine pimples.


Even with the brush, I had fine pimples. That is why I went to a spray gun system, and I am still getting pimples throughout. HELP! How do I get a smooth finish?


Question #2: How do I get rid of the pimples without re-sanding and repainting the cabinet doors? I cannot find 1000 grit sandpaper at the big box stores.



Thanks in advance.


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## Aphid (Aug 9, 2011)

did you prime them ?


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## Brushjockey (Mar 8, 2011)

did you wash the doors first, before anything? Sounds like contaminates on the surface to me. Harder to fix once you have put a finish on.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

What did you thin the paint with?


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## jcraw84263 (Jan 28, 2011)

*Followed all of the preparation steps.*

The cabinets were originally out-dated brown (30 years old). I primed them using Bher oil-primer, sanded them, and primed and sanded them again, then used a brush to put on BM Improvo Oil-base white paint. 

Imperfections were there (small pimples and dust) so I sanded them using a Orbital Sander (220 grit), and repainted them (after washing and using a tack cloth). Imperfections were still present, so I sanded them again, and applied the paint-same results. When sanding, I am only sanding to get the imperfections out-get them smooth again.

I must have sanded the cabinet doors 5-6 times to remove the pimples and dust. That is when I moved into a dust-free enclosure, and used a HVLP Sprayer, first thinning with Klean-Strip Paint Thinner, and I added a touch of Flood Penetrol to the mixture.

The first spray, the material was too thick, so I had to sand the doors again using 100 grit. I then got the proper viscosity, and sprayed a second time. The finish is smooth and satin-like, but has fine pimples on the finished cabinet doors.

During the sanding process, I brushed the fine white powerd paint off, and put each door in a sink and ran cold water over them then wiped them down with a paper towel, and let them dry before applying the final spray paint.

Yesterday, I used 2500 grit and rubbed it across two smaller doors to get the tiny pimples out. But that left a streak or smuge marks. There is still a nice gloss to them, however, and they are smooth to the touch now. This was done on the cabinet door insides. 

I am trying to figure out what works best before I attempt to spray paint the door fronts. 

Thanks for your response.:thumbup:


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

jsheridan said:


> What did you thin the paint with?


good question. i have not used this product but i did read the product data sheets and it says "do not thin". this doesnt mean that it cant be thinned. 
not all paint thinners are compatible with all types of coatings. klean strip comes in several flavors of thinner. what type did you use and how much was added? who recommended this type of thinner?
if the thinner was not the problem in this case, i could be several different reasons. incompatable primer, moisture content too high, off gassing, applying product too thick, surface contaminates, reacting with old paint, re-coat times......


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## Brushjockey (Mar 8, 2011)

Don't put them under water to take dust off. I don't think this is the problem, but you will never see a pro do that. Use a tack rag, or a rag with a little mineral spirits on it to take dust off . ( Other readers- this is just for when finishing in oil)


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

Another waterboarder! Mustang, all oil products now say do not thin. They're not allowed to encourage people to increase the VOC's by suggesting thinning. Paint stores aren't either. I f'ing kid you not. It just sounds to me like there is water/moisture in the product. OP sounds like he knows his way around so he's not thinning with water, but it sure sounds like some got in there somehow. I've never seen a problem like that and I have loads of experience with SI. I'm stumped.


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## jcraw84263 (Jan 28, 2011)

*I'm stumped too!*

Hey Guy, thanks for the response.

For one, it is not the thinner, because if you read my long posts, I indicated that I got the same pimples using a brush, and not thinning the material - that is how I painted the cabinet frames.

It is not the re-coat times, because I only re-coat about a week later-after the last application. I do not submerge the doors in water, I only put them under the faucet. I do not believe its the primer because I used oil-based primer and paint. I can rule out thickness, due to the fact, that I apply the material thick on maybe five doors, and tone it down considerablely for the remainder doors - pimples are present in thick and thin applications. And there is no old paint, I sanded the doors prior to priming them.

I believe they are air or moisture bubbles, but I do not know how to correct these.

Tomorrow, as a test, I will be spray painting a large door, using the same methods as described above.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

jsheridan said:


> Another waterboarder! Mustang, all oil products now say do not thin. They're not allowed to encourage people to increase the VOC's by suggesting thinning. Paint stores aren't either. I f'ing kid you not. It just sounds to me like there is water/moisture in the product. OP sounds like he knows his way around so he's not thinning with water, but it sure sounds like some got in there somehow. I've never seen a problem like that and I have loads of experience with SI. I'm stumped.[/quote]
> 
> 
> I'm with you, moistue sure seems like the likely cause.


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

jcraw84263 said:


> Hey Guy, thanks for the response.
> 
> For one, it is not the thinner, because if you read my long posts, I indicated that I got the same pimples using a brush, and not thinning the material - that is how I painted the cabinet frames.
> 
> ...


I think that I would change your method a little and start with a mist/tack coat to allow the paint to out gas. After the paint becomes a little tacky, build your coating to a thin but even look. Wait on your recoat time and follow up with a full finish coat.


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## jcraw84263 (Jan 28, 2011)

*Might well be the oil -based primer!*

To test things out, I sprayed painted my basement door, which I had primed with a latex primer over eight months ago, but never finished it.

Sprayed painted the large door along with 12 cabinet doors. I did not see the pimples in the basement door, but the cabinet doors all had the fine pimples in it. Pained all in the same environment and used the same paint.


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