I want to paint my vanities white, HD suggested that I paint them with high gloss enamel. I do like the high shine, but I'm afraid of brush marks & roller marks. I've sanded them with 220 grit paper, & wiped down with denatured alcohol, now I'm ready to prime. Should I leave the paint coats to a pro, that can spray it on?

If your vanity includes a bathroom sink, then I don't know of any paint that will stand up to that kind of moisture on a continuous basis.

You might ask to see if anyone in your area spary paints epoxy primers and paints, and ask them to do it. That's about the only field applied coating that I would trust to stand up to being submerged and hard enough to stand up to mormal wear and tear they way any counter top would.

My counter tops are granite. This is a Master bath, & I'm not sure what u r saying. R u saying over the white paint, (high gloss enamel) spray an epoxy??

Sorry, I answer questions on several DIY Q&A forums, and I had this post confused with a girl on another board that wanted to paint her Corian vanity top; sink and all. That is, she wanted to know what kind of paint would stand up to being submerged under water frequently.

OK, here is a vanity with separate top and sink:

http://home4lifenow.com/wp-con...-bathroom-vanity.jpg

I'm presuming you want to paint only what's under the counter top; that is, the side, toe kick, doors and drawer fronts. Is that correct?

Do you know what you sanded down with 220 grit sandpaper? Was it a paint or a plastic laminate or some other material?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nestor,

I'm painting vanities, that r pickled maple, it's a stain. The lite sanding seem to work well. Then I wiped clean with denatured alcohol, that took the shine off, so primer would stick. Now I'm painting with primer, before painting. My question was should I use high gloss enamel, or latex paint & then put varnish or lacquer over the paint?

If by "enamel" you mean an oil based paint, then I would not do that. Oil based paints will yellow with age unless they're exposed to sufficient natural light (sunlight) to prevent that yellowing. Varnish and "oil based" polyurethane would do the same if you put them over a latex paint.

Also, it's never a good idea to put a harder coating (like varnish) over a softer one (like a latex paint). Doing that will make the top coating prone to "chipping" because the softer weaker coating below breaks much more easily than the harder stronger one above.

If by "high gloss enamel" you mean what Behr calls it's high gloss latex paints, I wouldn't use that either. Latex paints just don't have the durability to stand up to scrubbing to get stubborn marks or scuffs out.

I have no experience using lacquer, so I won't comment on using lacquer as a clear coat over latex paint.

What I would do is use a "latex" paint made by a company called Comex, which is a major paint manufacturer headquartered in Mexico. Comex sells it's paints through a number of paint store chains in the US and Canada. If you recognize any of these names as operating in your city, then you should be able to buy "Envirogard" paint from them:
1. Colorwheel Paints,
2. General Paint (in Canada)
3. Frazee Paint,
4. Kwal Paint, or
5. Parker Paint

Envirogard isn't called a "latex" paint. Comex calls it a "waterborne acrylic" paint, which is what all good quality latex paints are. Envirogard uses a cross linking acrylic resin just like a latex floor paint. The difference is that Envirogard crosslinks much more densely than the few latex floor paints I've given up on. It literally dries as hard and durable as an interior oil based paint in my experience using it.

I just don't know whether Envirogard comes in high gloss. I do know that it came in a semi-gloss when I first used it 20 years ago, and I know that it's still made and sold by Comex.

Because it's an acrylic paint, it's not going to yellow on you. Because it dries as hard as an oil based paint, it'll stand up to nicks and dings and hard scrubbing to remove stubborn marks.

The best way to avoid brush strokes is by spraying your paint. Most of the house painting companies in your area will have the kind of spray painting equipment needed to spray latex paints, and if you bring them your doors and drawer fronts alreay masked off with masking tape, the price should be affordable.

The Flood Company makes a "conditioner" for latex paints called "Floetrol" which slows the drying time of latex paints without lowering the paint's viscosity. So, the paint dries slower, but doesn't "run" on vertical surfaces any more than it would without the Floetrol in it. That slower drying time makes for better self leveling of the paint, thereby reducing brush strokes.

If I wanted to get the smoothest coating I could without spraying, I would thin Envirogard with Floetrol and apply it with a foam roller sleeve.

If I were you, I would see if there are any companies selling Comex products in your area, and go down to their place of business with some Q-tips. Get them to shake up a can of Envirogard and use the Q-tip to apply some of that paint to a paint mixing stick. It'll dry to the touch as quickly as any latex paint, but then it'll gradually harden up as it cross links. While you're priming (and I'd use an oil based interior primer) let the paint cure for as long as possible and see what you think of it's hardness.

in the auto paint industry, there is a saying... you can put anything over lacquer, but only enamel over enamel, nothing else stays on.

poly varnish is chemically like enamel. you would need a good urethane enamel to go on and stay on. you will find urethane based enamels at branded paint stores as a professional product (sherwin williams, PPG, etc.) you won't find them at a home center store that sells lumber and geraniums.

if they try to sell you a catalyzed product (two part mix) stay away if it requires "supplied air respirators." that means until the paint dries, it's badly toxic to breathe. you're not ready for that kind of stuff.

What, exactly is "enamel" paint???

No paint company ever made an "enamel" paint. Years ago, "enamel" paints were made right in the paint store by tinting a can of varnish in the paint tinting machine.

Varnish is nothing more than a drying oil like linseed or Tung oil with more and/or harder "copals" dissolved in it than oil based paint. Copals are dried up natural plant resins, like amber, and they dissolve in plant oils, like linseed or Tung oil. It's the increased amount and hardness of the copals dissolved in linseed or Tung oil to make varnish that makes varnish dry to a harder film than an oil based paint. Artists still use it in their oil paints today:

https://www.currys.com/product...Category=A012B004057

Also, years ago when "enamel" paints were made in paint stores, varnishes only came in gloss and semi-gloss, so "enamel" paints would dry to a glossier film than you'd typically see in a regular oil based paint.

Conseqently, that word "enamel" gradually came to mean a paint that dried to a harder and glossier film than an ordinary paint would, instead of a heavily tinted can of varnish.

But, because of improvements in paint binder resins and additives over the years, nowadays EVERY paint can be called an "enamel" because it dries to a harder and smoother film than that same paint did 10, 20 or 30 years ago.

So, some companies, (notably Behr) slap that word "enamel" on every can of paint they make, save for their dead flat latex paints. It's simply a marketing ploy to get the average homeowner (who knows squat about paint) to buy Behr paint instead of another brand. They think they're getting a better paint cuz it's an "enamel", and not just an ordinary paint.

Since varnish was replaced by polyurethane as the clear coating of choice in the 50's and 60's, Swschrad is correct that a modern enamel would be polyurethane based. Nowadays you'd make a modern "enamel" paint by tinting a can of polyurethane "varnish" in a paint tinting machine. And in fact, you can still buy such paints at any paint store. Just ask for a polyurethane floor paint.

http://www.decorireland.com/im...t_Yellow-500x500.jpg

Go ahead. Have some fun with it. Ask the nice man in the orange apron to explain what the difference is between a latex "enamel" and an ordinary latex paint. Ask if you can return the Behr paint for a refund if it doesn't dry harder and glossier than an ordinary latex paint.

Seriously, the word "enamel" on a can of paint makes about as much difference as a racing stripe does on a car.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nestor,

Years ago, I was the manager of a major brand house paint store, We never made 'enamel' "in the store". It arrived in the can, all we did was tint it.

Why are you comparing varnish with enamel paint? Too much to drink last night?, that whole post seems from Jupiter.

And before you want to get into a heated debate on how superior you are over me, ok you win, I have way too much work to do to play games.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Re-mdlr,

Thanks for sharing that with the group, Re-mdlr.
I don't want to argue either.

There are only a few kinds of "oil based" coatings:
1. drying oils like linseed, safflower and Tung oil (softest)
2. varnish
3. alkyds
4. oil based polyurethane, and (hardest)
5. I dunno how hard marine varnishes are.

...and they all cure exactly the same way so you can mix them together in various proportions and that mixture will still dry to a solid film.

All the other stuff, like Danish oil, Swedish oil, Melamine, oil based "enamel,etc. are all just mixtures or tweaks of the first four in the above list.

There is no such thing as "enamel oil" or "enamel resin", so if you got cans labeled "enamel" at your paint store, then the stuff inside those cans was simply one or more of the first four items in the above list either by itself or mixed together... like pure varnish or varnish added to linseed oil. Or, polyurethane by itself or polyurethane added to an alkyd tint based.

Originally "enamel" was made by tinting varnish in a paint tinting machine right at the paint store. Nowadays, an oil based "enamel" tint base is just alkyd and/or polyurethane used by themselves or mixed together. And you tint it to the right colour in a paint tinting machine just like they did decades ago.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nestor,

If a can of paint says "enamel", which they do, then I think it is fair to call it enamel, regardless of what it was called in the past. The history really doesn't matter when you are standing in the paint department of HD.