SpudFiles

So my question is whether i can use some spray paint on a wooden stock i just made.
Do i need to do anything besides some light sanding?

More info:
Stock is made from pine.
Sanded with 120 grit sand paper.

You will need a wood primer or the Pine will absorb the spray paint, or you can just keep putting on coat after coat.

Watering down PVA glue and coating the whole thing then giving it a light sanding is usually enough to seal the pores, if you don't want to buy a commercial primer.

i think i got some primer from when i painted a door, ill see if that'll work. thanks guys.

also, can you describe what the watered down glue should look like? well it should look like watered down glue... lol... can you describe how thin it should be?

edit* does it matter too much? there would be 3 layers of paint and a layer of clear? will it peel off or crack or something?

chinnerz wrote:can you describe how thin it should be?

If you're using typical wood glue consistency, 1 part water to 1 part glue should be enough, not too thin though. Just enough to be spreadable with a paintbrush without piliting it on thickly.

Actually in a pinch, on wood a first coat of regular paint can usually act as a primer. Give it at least a day to dry. That'll raise the wood grain. Give it a good sanding down at that point, knocking the grain down. You may be back down wood in a few spots buts that's OK. Clean the sanding dust off with a damp cloth before attempting the next coat. The second coat may need some small sanding. Third coat should be your top.

Like Starman said. You can usually use paint as primer and whatever you use is going to raise the grain so you need to sand between coats. I usually use 220 grit wet sandpaper with water between coats. (Don't use water if you used a water based glue as the sealer!). It'll look like crap after the first coat and sanding process. Don't worry, the subsequent coats will fix things.

I would do the original sanding to 200 or so grit. 120 is still kind of rough. Many people stop at 120 and use the wet sandings to get it up to ~200 grit finish. (Some paints, like latexes, don't sand well, you should test it first.)

After your last coat you obviously don't want to sand. To remove any remaining raised grain or dust I find that a piece of paper shopping bag makes an excellent (and cheap) final sanding medium. It'll remove dust and nibs without really removing any of the finish.

If you want WAY more info on painting, www.airbrushtricks.com is a good place...

Their forum index page - http://theairbrushforum.com/oldindex.php

hmm, those are some good ideas. thanks guys!! i'm kind of liken’ the pva glue and water mix, mainly because it should be very thin, which important because i have some dint work around the foregrip and thumbhole, and im fairly sure regular paint is going to fill it a bit.


also thanks jrrdw for those links, some real interesting stuff on that site.

Some paints, like latexes, don't sand well, you should test it first.

sounds like a plan.

120 is still kind of rough

i also have 180, that is fairly close to 200

piece of paper shopping bag

do you think i can use regular printer paper? just because we use canvas or plastic bags in Australia

Regular paper will probably work though it'll be a bit slower since it is much smoother than grocery bag paper.

The old style brown wraping paper used for packages is the same as the bags.

Stiff canvas will probably work as well.