Every once in a while we want to put an opaque finish (paint) on a wood project.

One problem that occurs is "blocking" of water-borne finishes.   This is a property where the finish glues itself to objects or itself.  Faces or edges in contact glue themselves together.   Books (that sit for a long time) or lamps, etc. get glued in place.   Generally this is a problem with cheaper finishes.  And it's more likely for a partially cured finish.

 

What to do -- look for a product that has blocking resistance.  This usually means passing up the $15 a gallon paint at Wal*mart and going for a more expensive paint.  Though it might take some research through the vendor or  manufacturer's site to determine which products those are.  Paints with 100% acrylic resin, as opposed to other resins used in these paints, are most likely to have minimal blocking.  The labels and names (blah-blah) are likely to be of little help.

 

Another alternative, when possible, is to avoid water-borne products.   If you can spray lacquer, that would be an alternative.  So would using an oil-based paint if you are in an area where you can buy it.

 

 

Tales from the touch-up guy:

A few years ago, I got a call from an interior designer with a problem.   She had contracted to have a bookcase built for a customer.   It was painted with a gray paint.   The bookcase was just a series of different shaped boxes that stacked in various ways.   Within a few months, the boxes had glued themselves together.   I got the call to fix it.   I ended up having to actually pry the boxes apart with a pry bar to get some of them apart.   And they were so well glued that few places actually pulled off the top veneer from the plywood.    Got it fixed up and repainted the damaged spots.   Let it cure for a few days.  Then I applied a clear high-quality w/b finish.  Let that cure for a week.   Then I applied a furniture wax as a barrier coat.

 

Got family in next week, so I'm probably going to take off Christmas and New Year's Day posts.

 

 

More reading: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/ask-sherwin-williams/problem-solver/peeling-cracking/sw-article-dir-adhesion-block

 

Thanks for another informative post!