Oil paint vs latex paint for cabinet

dyno

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I am in the process of finally working on making a Renegade cabinet after a few years of trying to get to it. I got a NOS CPO so I finished the control panel today. I am going to be painting the cabinet and was wondering if I should use an oil based paint or latex paint. I already have a can of red oil paint that I could use or could buy a can of painters touch apple red which is latex, I know oil is more durable but also more of a pain when it comes to clean up. I will be rolling the paint with foam roller. I thought I would try to get some opinions of which is better to use from those of you who have done some cabinet painting.
 
I use automotive paint. Sprays better, shines better, more durable and if can be buffed to a hellatios high gloss shine if desired.
 
Nothing wrong with rolling it on. If done right and patiently, the results can be very rewarding. As for paint type, I just finished re painting a Neo Geo cabinet in red using latex and I nearly set the cabinet on fire with frustration. The paint is a pain in the ass to roll on and always seems to leave roller marks no matter how lightly i roll it on. I used some latx paint conditioner and it helped somewhat but did not turn out perfect, not too mention the cure time on the latex is ridiculous. 1 week now and the paint is still tacky.

If I had to do it all over again, I would use oil base. Sure it's harder to clean but the results are far better IMHO. I used oil on my SF2 Red Z back and turned out amazing. First time rolling it on too.

Hope this info helps. :)
 
The only positive experience I've had with latex is the Pewter Luster metallic finish at Lowes (Valspar??). You buy a gallon base coat, then there's a quart of the metallic that's sprayed over that. It's a near perfect match for Robotron silver. Mine sprayed on really nice and slick.

I tried using latex on a pinball project and it seemed to stay tacky. I mistakenly used latex black (to match the finish) and it sprayed awful.. not smooth and not a deep black. I was so unhappy with it, after stenciling the whole game, I sanded it back down..

If AT ALL possible, I would use satin, oil-based, when possible. It flows better, and when it finally dries isn't tacky or sticky. Remember, the prep is 98% of the work. Use primer, sand, primer, sand, primer, sand..you get the point.
 
What about running latex paint through a wagner paint sprayer? I have the $100 model (Wagner Control Spray Max HVLP 518080). Im assuming I have to thin it out to flow through the sprayer better. Now that I got this sprayer hopefully I can retire the stupid rollers forever.. LOL
 
I tried using latex on a pinball project and it seemed to stay tacky. I mistakenly used latex black (to match the finish) and it sprayed awful.. not smooth and not a deep black. I was so unhappy with it, after stenciling the whole game, I sanded it back down..

If AT ALL possible, I would use satin, oil-based, when possible. It flows better, and when it finally dries isn't tacky or sticky. Remember, the prep is 98% of the work. Use primer, sand, primer, sand, primer, sand..you get the point.

I think the issue you're having is more to do with humidity then anything. Couple hours here and it's not tacky at all. Very light coats, and sanding between coats will also improve the final results.

The best thing I could suggest to the OP is to try both types of paint and see what kind of results they get and then decide what's best.

Another alternative would be not to paint at all, but to use vinyl.
 
I think the issue you're having is more to do with humidity then anything. Couple hours here and it's not tacky at all. Very light coats, and sanding between coats will also improve the final results.

The best thing I could suggest to the OP is to try both types of paint and see what kind of results they get and then decide what's best.

Another alternative would be not to paint at all, but to use vinyl.

Well, this is months later. Maybe tacky isn't the right way to phrase it. Latex paint just stays a lot softer than an oil based finish, even after curing.
 
True, but I clear coat, so that usually takes care of that issue.

My Robotron project has sat over a year. I did the silver base coat and it looks awesome. I used latex to spray the red and blue and I just hate how it came out. I will probably buy another stencil set, sand it down, shoot a couple more coats of the pewter metallic, then use rattle can oil based for the red and blue. Latex with stencils is terrible, in my experience.
 
My Robotron project has sat over a year. I did the silver base coat and it looks awesome. I used latex to spray the red and blue and I just hate how it came out. I will probably buy another stencil set, sand it down, shoot a couple more coats of the pewter metallic, then use rattle can oil based for the red and blue. Latex with stencils is terrible, in my experience.

You shouldn't mix types of paint. You'll want to use all oil or all latex.
 
You shouldn't mix types of paint. You'll want to use all oil or all latex.

Oh, I kinda agree..which is why I was set on using latex for the red and blue layers. However, after the way that came out, I sanded down the latex stencil work I did on my Stern - Dracula pin. I resprayed the base coat, which is satin latex pinkish purple. I then did the yellow (1st stencil layer), using sun yellow RustOleum rattle can. I nailed it..perfect. The latex base coat will be fine, but latex just didn't work well with stencils.. they didn't pull up as clean, I had tearing on the edges of the paint, not as smooth etc.. After that successful experiment, I think using the pewter silver latex on Robotron as a base, then doing the stenciled red and blue in oil base will work fine.
 
I did latex paint on my latest restore, and i think im only going to do oil from now on, its just too fragile, one bump and it's down to the primer.
 
Thanks for all the input, still sitting on the fence on what to use. If I do go with the oil baes paint I assume the primer I use must be an oil based primer?
 
Thanks for all the input, still sitting on the fence on what to use. If I do go with the oil baes paint I assume the primer I use must be an oil based primer?

You can roll a cab and have it turn out just fine. And you don't need oil based primer for an oil based finish. A few years ago I fixed up a beat up old Defender cab that was headed for the dump. It was already a jamma game. I sanded it, primed it, rolled it with an oil based black, and ran a brush the full length of the cab after the roller. It turned out nice. Technically it may not be anywhere near as nice as some of these guys that spray the paint on their cabs, but like you I don't have a nice spray gun and don't plan to buy one anytime soon.

Here's the link; I think you might agree it turned out pretty nice.

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=101614
 
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