How to achieve a professional looking SMOOTH, glossy finish when painting wood?

I am planning on painting solid wood bookshelves. I would like to achieve a nice smooth shinny white finish. How do I accomplish this? The shelves were only finished originally with a coat or two of varnish or shellac. I have sanded w/sand paper %26amp; wiped them down with liquid sandpaper in preperation. I am planning on priming w/spray primer, BUT how do I paint w/finish coats of paint to achieve the above? I plan on using hi gloss paint. I repainted a wooden fireplace not long ago, but it did not turn our nice %26amp; smooth, nor as glossy as I would have wished. Also, should one sand in between each coat? How do you prevent paint build-up in the crevices where shelves meet side panels? Any advice would be appreciated.





Thank you.How to achieve a professional looking SMOOTH, glossy finish when painting wood?
you don't say if you are using brush or spray to paint if brushing buy a high quality brush Purdy comes to mind if spraying do not get anxious to finish, light coats than wait to dry you can lightly sand between coatsHow to achieve a professional looking SMOOTH, glossy finish when painting wood?
you could add a drop of petrol to the gloss paint , when you brush on with a decent paint brush , the petrol vapours evaporate through the paint removing brush marks , make sure you have plenty of ventilation . an old painter decorater showed me that trick and does work !
You will need to remove ALL the varnish or shellac prior to repainting, if you don't paint will not adhere to it very well. You are planning on using a spray primer? Why not use a paint you can spray as well. When spraying do it in a sweeping motion but not real heavy or the paint will run! You can also use a roller ( a sponge type roller) and brush the corners with a natural bristle paint brush. Its harder to get a smooth of finish that you are looking for when you use brushes and/or rollers. You should sand lightly in between coats with a 220 grit buffing pad.and use a tack cloth to wipe it down to remove any dust. Make sure the paint is completely dry before buffing. By buffing between coats the surface will be smoother which the results will be far better. What ever you do, do not use 20, 80 or even 140 grit sandpaper for buffing in between coats! The smaller the number of grit the coarser the sandpaper is.
as a former paint contractor, no mater what materials you use, and how careful you are, you cannot get good results without putting 75% of your efforts into the prep stage. I don't know what type wood you are working with here, but I can tell youo that it is too bad they already have a coat or more of varnish, as this sealed the pores of the wood, making it nearly impossible for the primer to adhere, and provising something for the paint itself to stick to.


If it were my project, and I couldn't run out and buy more raw wood, I believe I would get a chemical stripper and attack the top surfaces of each board. That and a paint scrapper should get the bulk of former finnish off. Then I would sand each board with a progressive succession of sandpaper, starting with maybe a 140 grit, then 80 and finnishing with something about 20 grit. Before priming, run a tack cloth over all surfaces. This will remove everything you don't want on the surface and it is very cheap. You can make you own, but for 50 cents a pop, it's not worth it. After making sure your surface is bone dry, prime. Not a spray primer, use a brush type acrylic interior latex, and have the primer tinted to the same color you plan on painting the shelving. Paint with the grain only and allow to dry well. Then it's time to paint. I would lightly sand the primer coat, again, only in the direction of the grain, and lightly, just to score tha surface, with your 20 grit paper. Then run your tack cloth over all again. Won't be perfectly smooth this time after your done, and that's just fine. Now you paint. A fairly heavy coat, with the grain, always. Let dry competely, several hours maybe. Then, you lightly sand that coat, tack it, wipe it, then paint again, a nice even uniform coat of a semi-gloss or high gloss if you prefer. Keep in a clean, dust-free area for a few hours and you shouuld have the look you desire.


OR


Hang the wood in the garage and go get a can of aerosol high-gloss enamel spray paint and try that.


Two methods, one takes work and gets results, one is fast and you take your chances.