Annoying brush marks

[Carmify (WavyGlass)]

This is SW Resilience Exterior Acrylic Latex. The brush marks are pretty obvious, considering the amount of prep I put into this window frame. I sanded until smooth and used tack cloth to remove the dust. I want a smoother finish--What am I doing wrong?

[Daniel Meyer]

In my experience brush marks in latex are a combination of a few things...

1) Crappy brush. Don't skimp on the quality and care of your finish brushes. Crappy brushes put it down uneven and streak from the get go...the highs are too thick and the lows are too thin and it won't "flow" into an even film.
2) Excessive heat or too cold in the painting area...paint needs a little time to "flow" into an even film and too hot and it drys before it can and too cold can radically slow it down.
3) Surface prep or primer it doesn't "like". If this is over bare wood, the wood may have pulled the solvent from the paint before it could smooth out.

I'm no expert, just my experience.

[cjd]

I'll add a another thing that has caused me to have some serious brush strokes- running my brush back over the paint after the initial swipe. I've used a lot of SW products and especially with the Duration line, it is very tempting to try to smooth it out. If you just leave it alone it will level better on its own.

I'll also second Daniel's tip about brushes. I used to use crappy brushes because I didn't want to take the time to clean them that well. Lesson learned.

Finally, I have had some luck with Flotrol when I have to paint in less than ideal conditions (e.g. too hot/cold). It doesn't take much and I had pretty good results. Again, I've only used it when I had to. I hear that Latex Xtender (?) is a better (and cheaper!) version of Flotrol. If you have to go that route, it might be worth a try.

[heartwood]

one of the many reasons we continue using oil paint--it stays 'open' to brush strokes much longer...it's only natural to dip the brush in paint, apply it to the surface then brush it out...i find that acrylic/latex sets up so quickly it doesn't allow for brushing out...most paint manufacturers make their own 'extender' but floetrol has been the 'go to' product for decades...the extender extends the time the paint is brushable and allows the paint to level out more evenly without seeing significant brush strokes...
...jade

[christiner (WavyGlass)]

ditto daniel meyer and heartwood....high quality brushes and oil based paint minimize streaks.

[Carmify (WavyGlass)]

Hi again,
Thanks very much for the input. Some background:
I prepped the wood window frame with SW Exterior Oil-Based Wood Primer, which flattened out nicely. Then I lightly sanded.
I painted in the delightful warmth of my 70 degree kitchen.
I'm starting to believe it's my crappy brushes. cjd, I also hate cleaning brushes and rollers. I'd rather take a bullet. I still, to this day, throw rollers away once I'm done both finish-coats because the nap never comes back nice again despite gallons and gallons of water.
With my brushes, I've just bought them at Depot and chosen ones that say For All Paints or For Oil Based Paints. I'm willing to pay more and take care of them, but I don't know what constitutes a good brush. Thoughts?
I may turn to oil paint if I can't find a brush I like....but.. good grief, waiting for oil paint to dry....

[Gothichome]

Camifly, just visited your blog, very nice. Glad your home survived the blog blow with minimal damage. Putting those awnings back on to the home I think would really make a statement and would make the home really stand out.

[heartwood]

purdy brushes used to be top of the line and, i would say, are still the 'go to' brush but the quality has changed marketly over the last few years...after painting only 30 or so sash, the brush has worn down by a 1/4 inch...i paint two coats on each side of the sash and do about 250-300 sash a year...that's a lot of brushes! there are some very fine european brushes available and they are pricey but if you are planning to toss the brushes at the end of a project, it may not be worth the investment...we use synthetic for water based paint and natural bristle for oil (china bristle)...

i always mark my brush covers with the date first used and L or D for light or dark paint...we clean the brushes with a three step method...separate & clean the bristles with with a comb, spin with a brush spinner, lay the bristles flat and put back in the cover...each time i am ready to paint, i dip the brush into thinner (oil paint) or water (acrylic/latex) making sure the liquid gets into the ferrule (metal band around the bristles) then spin out the brush...this helps keep the paint from hardening at the base of the ferrule...we always use a separate brush for primer and paint...

yes, oil takes longer to set up and one must use stinky thinner for clean up but, for me, it's worth the effort.....
...jade

[phil]

can you thin it by adding more water?

[mattswabb]

I was told by a painter that paints with a deep base flow better. I have 2 trim colors and the redish color uses a deep base and is so nice to use and flows out nice. I use flotrol in the lighter color and it helps but it's much harder to paint with. Both are the same brand, different bases.