Need help with paint for DIY aquarium stand

[RL321]

A cabinet maker said to use lacquer paint, I talked to one paint supplier who said to use a primer then talked to another who said no primer necessary and also said I should use oil based enamel (also no primer). I am going to spray the paint on. The stand is skinned with oak plywood from HD with pine trim. I picked up a quart of oil based enamel and tested a scrap piece of the oak ply without primer and you can plainly see the the grain. I want it to be smooth with no grain showing. Does anyone have experience with this that can point me in the right direction as to which paint and to use prime or not?

[woodnaquanut]

It's going to take a lot of paint to hide the grain on Oak. Primer is not really there to hide the grain but is there to make the paint stick better to the substrate.

To get rid of the grain patterns you'll either need to fill the grain first (there are fillers - sorta like plastic, fantastic mud) or spray several coats then sand down and spray again.

Lacquer is not like paints you use for house painting. Pros like it because it dries really fast and many coats can be sprayed per day. You don't have to sand between coats like you do with Polyurethane. Special precautions are necessary as it's not healthy to breathe the fumes and it's explosive!

For others reading this, if you are looking for a grainless finish start with ply that has very little grain. The most commonly available would be Birch ply.

[BlackTip]

I am doing the same thing - finishing my stand. I have been reading about finishes, and it is overwhelming. Everyone has his own opinion and technique. And, there are hundreds of different products out there. It is overwhelming.

[RL321]

I just took a left over piece of the oak and put wood putty/filler on it with a putty knife. After it dries i'll sand and paint. Maybe it'll help.

[Reefinny]

I like to use appliance paint. Especially for the inside of the stand.

[EvenFurther]

If it was me, I would do a test panel with 2 or 3 coats of high build sand-able primer. Then sand well, prep, paint the test panel. Either way sound like you'll have a good amount of sanding.

[CStrickland]

Whatever you pick you should deff do some practice runs. Spray on is great once you get the hang of it, but the first few times its a drippy mess.The better you sand it the better it will look, so do follow basic woodworking procedure.

Then after you do it, take it to where the stand will be and look at it from the distance and light that you will be seeing it normally. A lot of things are way less noticeable that way, you may find that a little grain pattern that really bugged you in the garage is invisible in the living room. But if it bugs you now it's better fixed, you don't want something like that irritating you forever. Also, the color can look totes diff.

[jrill]

Go to ace hardware and get the self leveling cabinet paint. Perfect every time.

[blitz49]

What I did to get rid of wood grain was to paint several layers of primers and sand until the grain is gone. Took some time but came out smooth.

[fustilarian]

A bunch of coats of whatever on plywood shouldn't leave any visible grain as long as you sand it well before starting (use an electric sander), do several coats and let it dry completely between applications. Primer helps a bunch and would result in less coats and a marginally better finish but ends up costing more $.

I used Rust-Oleum 206999 Marine Topside Paint without the primer, marine primer was actually more $ than the paint. I should note that it was for the inside of the stand to protect it from water and humidity. The outside of the stand got the minwax treatment: pre-stain conditioner, dark walnut and helmsman spar urethane satin finish again for water resistance. I'm please with my results so far.