dadiOH wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
Matt wrote:
I have a new interior door and I have some new acrylic paint
from Lowe's. Whats the best way to paint it so that there is
a smooth finish?

I bought a fine brush, but I don't have the technique down
so that I can lay the paint smoothly. I also used a roller
that paints it evenly but doesn't leave a very smooth surface.

Fill the wood surface if necessary
Brush, not roller
Thin the paint a bit
Do not rework the paint - lay it on, brush it out, move on
Several thin coats
Sand between coats

You're a regular whose advice and expertise I respect so I am being
neither facetious nor rhetorical whan I ask, how do you sand it? I've
never encountered a latex finishing paint (other than flat) that would
react to sandpaper in some manner other than gumming it up.

I think it's all the granola in my diet that keeps me regular.

The OP should certainly be using a semigloss or gloss paint if he's
painting a door and that sands just fine. If you're trying to sand it
before it's dried and hardened sufficiently, it's more problematic.
Once the brush strokes are there everyone wants to hide the dead bodies
as soon as possible, but you have to wait until it's dry before you can
proceed with any correction. It also might be a problem with the
sandpaper you're using. Garnet paper is meant for sanding bare wood
and will clog very quickly. Sandpaper that is stearate treated works
much better. With any sandpaper, wiping the surface with a damp cloth
or tack cloth after sanding is a must or you'll get a furry surface,
and then it's back to square one.

There may be some misinterpretation of what is meant by sanding. The
sanding is meant to knock down any nibs and smooth the highpoints of
any brush strokes. It is not meant to sand until the surface is dead
smooth. That's the function of the primer and paint (and possibly
filler if necessary) being built up in several coats and why it is
slightly thinned so it will lay down better and not leave brush strokes
in the first place.

Here is a link that gives a pretty good overview of where we are with
the different choices in paint.
http://www.hometips.com/cs-protected/guides/paint.html
And this one from Sherwin Williams specifically addresses how to
achieve a smooth finish:
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/pro/..._7807_4170.jsp

R