Orange peel

[boomer]

After some great advice on here about making some simple but nice kitchen unit doors i've made a practice piece,All went great untill the painting ,i used enamel paint just like Niki said but after 2 coats(small foam roller) its got a orange peel effect which as wrecked it & disshearted me,what can be the possible causes for this please.What other paint & varnish would be suitable for kitchen use.

Thanks for reading.

 

[DomValente]

Probably too much paint and the wrong sort of roller, what did you use.

 

[boomer]

Thanks DomValente i used International Japlac muti purpose enamel & a small foam roller,i think i should of thinned the enamel down a touch it does look thick ,im going to try an eggshell paint on a scrap piece of mdf but what would be a decent varnish to use.

 

[toplink]

The best thing to do is after putting the paint on with a foam or glossing roller is just to lay the paint off with a brush using light upward strokes.
This will work well for all paints, even high gloss, especially on MDF kitchen doors I've done dozens this way.

Simon

 

[wrightclan]

Boomer, you can also get orange peel, if you apply the second coat too soon. The first coat may feel dry to the touch, but not be fully cured enough. Then the solvents in the second coat can soften the first coat, and 'raise' the first coat, giving an orange peel effect. (Got the T-shirt on that one.)

Brad

 

[edmund]

Boomer, I'd second all the points made above. The orange peel effect is invariably caused by applying a too thick layer of finish. The old adage of 'less is more' applies! Many layers of thin coats are infinitely better than fewer thick coats. I think that a foam roller for the finish you've chosen is probably the root of the problem. A natural bristle brush is the simplest, and very effective, or if you have some spraying equipment that will work very well.
If you are trying eggshell (presumably acrylic eggshell?) if this is water based it will most likely show brushmarks (also if you are painting mdf you should seal it first).
I can recommend Michael Dresdner's book on finishing if you want read up on finishes and finishing http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Woodfin...ef=sr_1_1/026-4070539-7315627?ie=UTF8&s=books. Good luck!