Preparing pine for painting

[Dengue]

I have some 19mm pine boards with faces glued together, giving 38 mm edges, and need to paint these in a glossy white finish. What is the best way to seal these edges and ends (and faces) prior to painting with waterbased paint or with enamel paint out of spraycans?

My first attempts with the enamel spray can were a disaster, despite spraying on a primer coat first after careful sanding. Lots of pores on the faces, and edges and ends still quite rough.

I imagine pine requires a combination of sanding sealer and grain filler before the primer goes on

I would welcome all suggestions and ideas

[mailee]

Well Jill, to get a smooth glossy finish on Pine you will need to seal the wood well first. Again you can use sanding sealer but it will take a few coats to get a smooth grain free finish. A much better bet is to use one of the polyester body fillers that are used for car body repair which can be sanded down to a very fine finish and it will also fill the grain. It is also pretty flexible so will move with the wood and not crack. I would however not bother with the spray cans for your finish as these are far too thin and will require multiple coats to build up a good finish. A much better idea would be to have half a litre of finish made up at the local body shop supplier and spray it with whatever spraygun setup you have or could hire. I have sprayed Pine in the past when a glossy finish is required but I have a commercial shop and use a 2 pac AC laquer which is made for use on wood, this does however require air fed masks and the like so is probably beyond the DIY'er. I hope this is of some help to you.

[Dengue]

many thanks, Mailee, I shall follow up on these - there are some good suggestions here