Interior paint touch up problems

[Cooked Rice]

I'm trying to touch up some door casings in my new home, but I'm having issues with brush/roller marks and poor flowout/leveling. Builder basically told me I'm SOL for minor cosmetic things after I took possession.

Paint is Cloverdale Super II waster-based acrylic. semi-gloss, straight white base with no tinters.

I first tried using a 1" brush (Purdy Uniform Flow) but got brush marks.

Then I tried a 2" high density foam mini roller (Bennett) and it too left me with a textured effect after.

I have some 4" Bennett fabric rollers I bought for the walls which I have not used but I thought foam left a smoother finish? Maybe I'm not putting down the paint wet enough for it to self-level?

I'm 99% sure the casings/trim were sprayed during construction, but even the Eggshell roller finish on my walls are smoother than my touch-up results :dunno:

As a reference, I reviewed the work of the painter that did the touch-ups after my walk through and noticed even he had brush strokes in his touch up work. He too was using Cloverdale Super II.

Any advice?

[C_Dave45]

They didn't use lacquer on the trim?

Almost every new house I've worked in, they use lacquer. But even the painters that are using a quick drying acrylic always spray the trim. Usually with a HPLV sprayer. You just won't be able to get the same finish with a brush or roller. No way, no how.

['93 SR-V]

You might want to see if cloverdake offers that in a spray can. My builder used cloverdale paint and I was able to get my trim colour tinted into a spray can that I used for touch ups. It was a much smoother finish than my foam brush baseboard hack job.

[Cooked Rice]

I actually don't know what they originally used to spray the trim and doors. It still feels "tacky" even though it was painted late last spring. I sanded down the areas with 220 fine and recoated with the 2" foam roller and then quickly wiped the excess paint on the edges off with a damp rag. It looks okay now, but I may try to see if the aerosol option is available. On a second note I hear waterborne alkyd levels much nicer, the Super II is almost like pancake batter...

[jwslam]

Originally posted by Cooked Rice
Then I tried a 2" high density foam mini roller (Bennett) and it too left me with a textured effect after.
Are you pushing hard on the roller? :dunno:

[superflychief]

Try something like the Sherwin Williams Pro Classic or the Benjamin Moore Advance. Both flow very nicely. But really your issue is that the frames were sprayed. There is virtually no way to match that finish without spraying. I can get very close with a foam roller, but really you should redo the entire frame surface so that your finish is uniform. Even getting a perfect match in a spray can may not touch up perfectly as it's in one place. If you do get the can, just sand and redo the whole edge in question.

Greg

Straight Edge Painting
P: 403-837-7451
E: [email protected]
W: www.straightedge.ca

[Strider]

A bit hard to find, but get a bottle of Floetrol (I had to go all the way to Home Hardware/Home Building Centre in Airdrie). Makes a huuge difference... People demand 1 coat coverage these days, and a lot of paints seems to cater to that with the "pancake batter" consistency. I found 3-4 coats with floetrol thinned paint left a way nicer finish.

[masoncgy]

Benjamin Moore's Aura lies flat... I use it all the time to paint kitchen/bathroom cabinets. Works great and no brush/roller marks... just don't overwork it or stretch it too much... put it on evenly and let it dry.

[raceman6135]

Originally posted by Strider
A bit hard to find, but get a bottle of Floetrol (I had to go all the way to Home Hardware/Home Building Centre in Airdrie). Makes a huuge difference... People demand 1 coat coverage these days, and a lot of paints seems to cater to that with the "pancake batter" consistency. I found 3-4 coats with floetrol thinned paint left a way nicer finish.

Rona sells something similar, called Wagner Paint Easy. I've never tried it, but it sounds like it works on the same principle of thinning the paint without diluting it.

http://www.rona.ca/en/paint-conditioner

[Masked Bandit]

Floetrol...wow that takes me back, like 17 years back when it first came out. We sold a ton of that stuff. That seems like a lifetime ago.

OP, touching up little spots on a sprayed door frame is going to be almost impossible to match, but just cut the paint with water (~20%) and do the entire face of the frame.

[craigcd]

Originally posted by C_Dave45
They didn't use lacquer on the trim?

Almost every new house I've worked in, they use lacquer. But even the painters that are using a quick drying acrylic always spray the trim. Usually with a HPLV sprayer. You just won't be able to get the same finish with a brush or roller. No way, no how.

Not to hijack the thread but is a HPLV sprayer easier to use than a standard sprayer and achieve the same finish?

I am going to spray my doors and jams and was going to borrow a friends commercial "Titan"brand sprayer. Maybe a HPLV sprayer would be easier and have the same finish......

I am dreading cleaning the Titan one after use.