How to Hide Wood Seams in Bare Wood Furniture When Painting?

I purchased a piece of bare wood furniture (Aspen) for my child's room which I wanted to paint using a Nemo (the movie) color scheme. I first cleaned and light sanded the drawer faces, then I primed them using water based Behr Undercoat %26amp; Sealer.





I light sanded after the primer dried and proceeded to apply the finish coats using Behr water based semi-gloss enamel. I applied a couple of coats using a foam roller in order to achieve a relatively smooth finish without brush marks. I light sanded between top coats, and the overall finish is fairly smooth, however I can see where the pieces of wood were glued together to form the drawer face. Why are these visible? Did the paint soak into these areas or did I not sand the wood enough?





I am not sure what I did wrong, and what I need to do to correct this flaw. I was disappointed in the outcome and put this project aside, but I need to resume work on the project and get this completed.





At this point I need to know how I could have avoided this issue, and then what I need to do to correct it. Do I need to strip or sand the drawer faces back to bare wood, or can I prime over the top coat and start over?





I know some experts recommend oil-based paints, but due to the fact that I have already purchased these Disney colored paints I would like to use them if at all possible. I painted another similar Aspen chest of drawers for my other child and I did not seem to have this problem, at least it was not as obvious.





I chose the semi-gloss for durability, since this will be used in a child's room. To add protection to the top, I used a spray on Helmsman Spar Urethane. It seems to be holding up well so far. Are there better options which are easy to use for a novice, do not produce the dreaded brush marks, and will add a protective layer to the top of this chest?





Also, what about orange-peel effect in the paint? I can see this in my current project, but not sure what causes it. Am I applying the paint too thick? I have a random orbital polisher/sander and foam pads, and I have been told I can use automotive polishes and compounds to refine/smooth the final top coat. Will this tool be useful to remove the orange-peel or do I need to modify my painting techniques?





I took photos of the drawer faces to post with my question, but due to the semi-gloss paint I do not think the seams are visible in the photos. But they are easily visible with the naked eye.





What grits of sandpaper should I be using? I have 220#, 400#, and 600# wet/dry papers available which I use with a sanding block.





Sorry for the length of this post, but I wanted to provide as many details as possible.





Thanks in advance for any help I receive.


How to Hide Wood Seams in Bare Wood Furniture When Painting?
For interior wood it is not the end of the world that you chose wate-based paints and they are not the cause of your visible seams.





You do not need to strip the wood as you have primed and painted correctly, only that you are not happy with it visually.





If when you started painting the wood joints were perfectly flat then you simply need to add a couple more coats of paint.





Orange peel is usually applying the paint too thickly or adding further coats to early. To rectify this simply let the paint harden fully so it can be sanded down and all the suction in it has gone. When it is dry use a sanding block and some 180 grit paper ( adjust grade as necessary). Sand using the sanding block until the orange peel has all or virtually been levelled out.





Next time you paint, stretch the paint right out and apply several coats to compensate. I have done a lot of top work and I can make emulsion look like it has been sprayed on by overstretching the paint. That is the only way. One tip - get the paint on, stretch it out and move on - once paint hits the wood it starts to dry and therefore thicken - so you do not want to be going back over it as it thickens. How to Hide Wood Seams in Bare Wood Furniture When Painting?
Use wood putty then sand smooth. re-apply putty if neede then sand again