jlc791

I'm in the process of building a vanity cabinet, portions of which are going to be painted while the rest will get a clear finish (probably poly). Right now I'm working on the painted pieces, three doors and two small top sections and am having a problem with the paint on one of the doors.

All the pieces are made of the same recycled yellow pine and were primed before painting. The two smaller doors and the two top sections have developed a very good finish with three or four coats of paint (standard latex semi-gloss) but the larger door refuses to cure properly and has developed some blisters and bubbling as well as remaining slightly tacky even after 48 hours.

Any ideas as to why the difference on this piece that has been treated the same way or how I can get the paint to fully cure?

Thanks,
Jeff

Jim Tank

You could always cut the door the same size as the ones curing properly, then nail it back together when dry. Sorry bout that, it just slippeed out. The sap in yellow pine is like turpetine concentrate, and is often in the whole inner grain in small quanities so latex will have a hard time curing and may blister as it tries to cure as the sap is doing the slooow cure too, evaporating fumes are coming through the latex. Pine is one of those woods you need to use an oil base sealer or wash down with mineral spirits first before a latex product is applied. You could wait a couple weeks to see if it dries or sand & strip it off and use an oil based sanding sealer. But if the pine is not fully dried so that sap & moisture will not surface, you might just make a new door with less time & trouble.

Rick Mosher

A shellac primer like BIN is what you need for woods like pine that have sap. Blisters and bubbling would indicate adhesion problems. I wouldn't take any chances, sand it down and start over with a shellac primer.

jlc791

I believe the primer I used was BIN so that should be the best available from that angle.

Would there still be pitch issues after 50 years? This wood was the attic sub-flooring (that was never covered with a top flooring) in one of my two houses, both built in the mid-1950's.

Of course it also occurred to me that the damp weather we've been having here in NJ can't help (even with the dehumidifier in the basement). Right now I have other things to occupy my time so this is going to sit for several days before I get back to it. Hopefully by then it will show signs of improvement.

Thanks for the suggestions and advice.
jlc