Best type of paint for cabs?

[Tornadoboy]

What kinds and brands of paint should I use to repaint some of my cabs? Oil based? What are the best brands, especially for primers?

This weekend here in the northeast we're coming out of the ice age briefly and I'm thinking of trying to knock off a few projects, in fact one of them is my Turbo mini so I might be able to get away with using spray paint on just that one.

 

[mhanlen1]

Oil is the most durable, but it's also harder to work with. Since it dries slower and it's thicker, there may be a tendency for it to leave those thin roller lines, so be careful. It can be painted on many surfaces and after it dries it's pretty tough.

My prior paint job was acrylic, and it seemed to really look nice after being rolled. Since acrylic isn't as durable, you may want to coat it with a Polycrylic. Polycrylic is also kind of expensive at $16 a quart. You may also want to use a primer with it too, since acrylic doesn't adhere to smoother surfaces as well as oil.

I haven't been doing this as long as the others here, but that's been my experience so far.

 

[javeryh]

BINZ primer is far and away the best stuff I've ever used.

 

[jawhn]

Please don't take this as negative - it's not meant to be - but there are tons of threads exactly like this on here already with more information than you'd know what to do with...

Good luck with the repaint. And I would steer way clear of the spray paint, personally...

 

[jay]

I've had problems with oil leaving the lines. I used foam rollers. After 7 coats I gave up. It's not noticeable unless you really look in the right light.

I'm fine with it. I'm not looking for perfection. Anything is better than what they usually look like when we bring them home.

 

[javeryh]

I've had problems with oil leaving the lines. I used foam rollers. After 7 coats I gave up. It's not noticeable unless you really look in the right light.

I'm fine with it. I'm not looking for perfection. Anything is better than what they usually look like when we bring them home.

I used a Sherman-Williams latex paint on my last cabinet (their flagship product - expensive but worth it!) and the roller marks were making me nuts. I was using a foam roller and trying to put on light coats. I must have put on 5 or more coats before someone recommended I switch to a 1/4" nap roller - it went on BEAUTIFULLY. No roller marks and what seems to be a pretty durable finish. I'm VERY happy with it.

 

[DanoND]

Friggin roller marks. I might have to try that 1/4" nap roller idea.

 

[nesjess]

I've always used Behr Premium Plus from Home Depot. I've never had any problems with it and have always had good results. I've also used Benjamin Moore paints as well which are more expensive but higher quality. I've always used latex-based as oil-based is not considered "green." Home Depot doesn't carry oil-based anyhow (at least in CA). I figured if I get good results, no need to try oil-based. Maybe I will someday just to see how it turns out.

The cool thing is I just read a review in the most recent issue of [url="http://www.shopsmartmag.org/]ShopSmart Magazine[/url] (my wife subscribes) on the best paints to use indoors and outdoors on furniture and such, Behr Premium Plus and Benjamin Moore scored among the highest. Glad I chose well.

 

[mhanlen1]

I've had problems with oil leaving the lines. I used foam rollers. After 7 coats I gave up. It's not noticeable unless you really look in the right light.

I'm fine with it. I'm not looking for perfection. Anything is better than what they usually look like when we bring them home.

Yeah. I rolled oil for the first time on my current project and would always get lines. My last project was interior latex Lowe's brand, and I got no roller marks whatsoever. But like you said, you only see it in he right light. And since I already had a quart of black it saved me from buying new vinyl for my kick panel- so I saved money.

 

[davez]

I only use Valspar Laytex Gloss paint with a 1/4" nap roller... Eather get Semi Gloss or High Gloss up to you...

best way to paint a cab... it looks the BEST!

last time 'What kind of paint do i use' question came up i got BLASTED that i use Valspar Laytex paint... But look at the pictures... Check out HOW NICE this cab came out! Valspar works EVERY TIME! A+++

heres sum pictures of the trasformation...

This is a VS cab i picked up for $50, the person befor me used some type of shit brown feels like sand paper spray paint on it,

so that shit brown sand paper spray paint needed to be removed so i started to sand it off

this is after i was done sanding, you can now see that it used to be a light blue

this picture is after i used VALSPAR LATEX SEMI GLOSS PAINT with a 1/4 roller
I still havnt removed all the tape from the other 2 screws yet, as u can see i have allredy removed 1 so far....
But look how nice it is... looks even better in real life!

only thing is i should of used primer on it first because this is 4 coats on each side, i used 2 quarts on this project.. maby some day i will post more pictures somewhere of other cabs that i have repinted with the BEST paint around VLASPAR LAYTEX!!!

 

[Phetishboy]

I only use Valspar Laytex Gloss paint with a 1/4" nap roller... Eather get Semi Gloss or High Gloss up to you...

best way to paint a cab... it looks the BEST!

last time 'What kind of paint do i use' question came up i got BLASTED that i use Valspar Laytex paint... But look at the pictures... Check out HOW NICE this cab came out! Valspar works EVERY TIME! A+++


this picture is after i used VALSPAR LATEX SEMI GLOSS PAINT with a 1/4 roller


only thing is i should of used primer on it first because this is 4 coats on each side, i used 2 quarts on this project.. maby some day i will post more pictures somewhere of other cabs that i have repinted with the BEST paint around VLASPAR LAYTEX!!!

Good old laytex.

 

[joeycuda]

Premium latex paint - 85%, 10% or so water to thin, 5% Floetrol, sprayed out of a HVLP gun. I never get roller marks that way.

Preparation is key. Latex paint has improved. Oil based has its pros, but it's also hell to clean up, and takes longer to dry. Also harder to sand, wet or dry. Latex wet sands easily, in case you need to fix runs or smooth the transition between the different color/layers.

Ideally, we'd use lacquer based paints and brass stencils, as done on the assembly lines 30yrs ago, but that is far from practical.

There's a high end pin restorer that uses all automotive style urethane paints. It looks perfect, but I aim to get it closer to the original finish, which wasn't that slick and showed some wood grain and imperfections. The quality of plywood used in a lot of these games was good enough, but often not great.

 

[jay]

I find oil clean up is a snap. I throw everything away.

I use those cheap inserts for the pan and I think the rollers cost me 7$ for a pack of 5. Just dump the crap into a trash bag and I'm done.

 

[joeycuda]

Sorry, what I meant by saying oil clean up is painful - when using a spraygun and mixing containers that I plan on reusing. Latex, by comparison, is very easy to clean up. I clean my spray gun in the bathtub, then spray some lacquer thinner through it, then soak the tip in thinner.

 

[Gary Vincent]

Has anyone had a problem with Lowe's Valspar latex staying tacky for weeks? I've noticed this over the past year or so with various projects starting with game cabinets, display stands and even a bathroom and a kitchen. I've used Binz primer, Valspar primer and one other brand and get the same result, paint that stays tacky for weeks. Never had this problem with Sherwin Williams and we're thinking of switching back.

Gary

 

[mhanlen1]

Has anyone had a problem with Lowe's Valspar latex staying tacky for weeks? I've noticed this over the past year or so with various projects starting with game cabinets, display stands and even a bathroom and a kitchen. I've used Binz primer, Valspar primer and one other brand and get the same result, paint that stays tacky for weeks. Never had this problem with Sherwin Williams and we're thinking of switching back.

Gary

Yeah on my last cab the Valspar did stay sticky for at least a week. I figured it had something to do with the humidity, because it was in a non climate controlled area, and it had been raining off and on.

 

[ElGwako2006]

only thing is i should of used primer on it first because this is 4 coats on each side, i used 2 quarts on this project.. maby some day i will post more pictures somewhere of other cabs that i have repinted with the BEST paint around VLASPAR LAYTEX!!!

I'm glad you mentioned this....4 coats ??? 2 quarts? and Valspar is "the best". YOu were probably better off not using a primer unless you got it color matched. You ended up paying more and gave yourself more work by using an inferior paint. sorry, This is why you got blasted for the product. Also, never buy 2 quarts. For a few dollars more you can get a gallon, sometimes it's even less to buy one.

no primer (though i would recommend on some surfaces to get a good bond),1-2 coats with less than 1 quart of a quality Ben Moore (Aura) or Sherwin Williams (Pro-Classic) paint.

I sware by the Pro-Classic paint. I painted my Daughters furniture with it and it still looks mint after 5+ years. The Aura is still a new product but I've used it on my kitchen cabinets and a few other jobs where I painted doors with it. It goes on nice and has held up well with the traffic so far. Doors get more traffic than arcade cabinets do so I'd feel comfortable using it. You can get deeper colors in the Aura paint as well.

What you think is good is actually just what is acceptable in your eyes really. Before painting professionaly i did a few paint jobs and thought it looked great then...looking back at them now i know it's not the case.

 

[javeryh]

I used a Sherman-Williams latex paint on my last cabinet (their flagship product - expensive but worth it!) and the roller marks were making me nuts. I was using a foam roller and trying to put on light coats. I must have put on 5 or more coats before someone recommended I switch to a 1/4" nap roller - it went on BEAUTIFULLY. No roller marks and what seems to be a pretty durable finish. I'm VERY happy with it.

Here are the results if anyone is curious (BINZ primer and Sherman-Williams Latex):

I am VERY happy!

 

[kjeffery]

Here are the results if anyone is curious (BINZ primer and Sherman-Williams Latex):

I am VERY happy!

did you roll or spray and the binz primer is latex also?

 

[metahugh]

I would never use Latex on a cabinet. Kudos to those of you having success with it. I stick with oil based paint, nothing is as durable (except for Urethane based paints).