Good paint for the job?

[MaltiK]

So I decided I wanted to paint over the metal brackets I used, so I am thinking I need a new idea for paint.

It needs to be this color:



It needs to be the same color/opaqueness as the white of the guys head.
yes I liked beanie babies... and yes I was a baseball champ in 2002 (i was 10 )

And heres what my canvas is:





I believe it is Pine, if that makes any difference to the selection of paint



The caster is not screwed in, because I need to first see if the motors will have clearance, and everything would be flat. Yes I know thats alot of brackets (14), extra sturdiness!

So any suggestions? I would like to avoid putting on multiple layers... but if I must. Also should I use a lacquer to make it weather/water proof?
And should I finish off with some spray lacquer to give it a glossy look?

[madchimp]

It all depends on what kind of finish you want. If you don't mind it looking like you slapped some paint on a board then just about anything will do. If you want it to look nice and hold up at all you should prime it first. I usually go with spray enamel nice and easy yet you can get a nice finish to get a decent finish you need a couple coats of primer and a couple coats of paint. But if you really want it to look good you need to do a good job of sanding and cleaning before the primer and light sanding between coats and probably 3-4 coats primer and paint then a couple coats of none yellowing clear coat will really make it shine. If you do everything right people wont be able to tell it's wood. It's all a matter of how pretty do you want it.

[MaltiK]

So I will proably sand it once, apply primer, (sand it again?), then apply said paint?

I will most likely bring the head to Home Depot or something to get the right color.

Is all Primer the same? What is a recommended one for my needs?

For instance:

This one covers metal as well as wood, so I think it would be ideal for me:

https://www.hardwareworld.com/7769-Hp-Rusty-Metal-Primer-p9W7C2A.aspx

or this

http://www.castlewholesalers.com/RUST-OLEUM-1981830-PAINTER-S-TOUCH-White-Spray-Primer-12oz.html

Are they good choices?

I was searching google for "metal wood primer"

[madchimp]

I usually try to go with some kind of enamel base spray paint. I usually try to use the same brand primer as I use paint and I normally go with the brand that has the paint in the color I want so I would get them both at the same time. You also want to pay attention to the paint finish you usually have three choices flat matte and gloss. Flat is dull looking gloss is smooth and shiny and matte is kind of in between. The first sanding should be pretty thorough try to get things as smooth as you can then clean it with a damp rag to get all of the sanding dust off of the piece. If you do go with spray paint make sure you are working in a well ventilated area I usually paint outside and move the piece inside to dry you don't want over spray all over your workshop! It also helps to have blocks to set your piece on and don't try to do the side its sitting on you will probably have to do the first coat of primer to all but that side let it dry then put the first coat of primer on that side. once the first coat of primer is completely dry use very fine sand paper to very lightly rough it up and remove any drips and runs you may have had in the primer. shouldn't take much sanding between coats just enough to fix any mistakes and help the next coat stick. You can get away without sanding between coats as long as you don't have runs or drips but it is better to. once you have minimum two coats primer do the paint the same way and you should end up with a pretty nice finish. Like i said in my earlier post if you really want to make it shine once the paint is dry give it a couple coats of non-yellowing clear coat.

[MaltiK]

Alright, so do you believe either of the links I provided are reliable primers, and would any wood paint work?

[Admin]

I recommend a white spray paint with a glossy finish. Do it in really thin layers because if you spray too much it'll glob up and run.

When you go to Home Depot, just open up a can and try it out on a sample piece of wood that you bring with you.

[madchimp]

The spray primer you liked to would work and for the paint i would try to stick to the same brand spray paint.

[MaltiK]

I recommend a white spray paint with a glossy finish. Do it in really thin layers because if you spray too much it'll glob up and run.

When you go to Home Depot, just open up a can and try it out on a sample piece of wood that you bring with you.

So I shouldn't use a primer or lacquer? Because lacquer is to give it a glossy finish, and primer is pre-painting to make it smooth, should I just search for a paint with glossy finish and only a couple layers of that?

[SmAsH]

plus primers help the coat grip the wood!

[MaltiK]

So I should do this:

sand -> 1 layer primer -> white paint, till opaque -> laqcuer

[madchimp]

sand thoroughly -> prime min 2 coats maybe more depends on coverage -> paint min 2 coats again maybe more depends on coverage -> two coats of clear coat for shine

with primer then paint then clear coat if done right can give you a finish that looks wet Thats how i use to paint my models and model rockets. When I did pine wood derby I didn't use the clear coat but still had a nice smooth finish the other kids thought my car was metal. If you want a paint job to look nice it takes time. If you want to just paint directly on the wood it will work but you get what you put in. Paint on wood will look like paint on wood.