Working with Cedar / Oil Paint

[Kaizen]

We don't have a lot of cedar up here so I'm new to working with it. I am working on a farm stand and I had to make some doors to lock below the selling area. I had some 2x6 cedar kicking around so used that. It looked fine before i planed it down but i found several areas that had tear out and it was like an onion that just kept peeling. Is this normal or maybe just becuause construction grade? I tried to stableize with epoxy.
Then I needed to paint it and i read i needed an oil based sealer/primer so i did that yesterday afternoon. The doors sat out there all night and this am i went out and dried the dew drops before applying a thick coat of Tractor supply oil based paint. Let it cook the day in the sun and now i have this??? The are bubbles like popping bubble wrap. The panels in the middle are plywood and you can see zero bubbles. So what am i missing? Does cedar off gas?
It looks like when you do a deep pour epoxy and have to blowtorch the bubbles.
Going to try and sand it down and do another coat to cover?

 

[cgrutt]

Don't know but could "letting it cook in sun" caused outer layer to skin over and trap the solvents in paint which bubbled while evaporating? Was the primer fully cured? Moisture in wood off gassing in sun? Almost looks as if its reacting with something left on surface, possibly moisture?

 

[four.cycle]

Cedar is full of oil.
I believe you have to seal it first in order to paint it.
My best guess at the moment, anyway.....

 

[strutaeng]

HoLee Molee Batman! That looks pretty bad.

What epoxy product did you use? Did you read on the instructions how long to let it cure? How thick did you apply it? Brush or roll it on? What are your temperatures?

Painting cedar with an oil/alkyd is not a problem generally.

Either moisture was trying to escape when you put it in the sun or the epoxy wasn't fully cured. I'm surprised the center flat panel did have that issue. Is that plywood or the same cedar wood?

Let it cure/dry until the finish is hard enough to sand flush, then try again. Don't put it out in the sun to dry. I avoid putting pieces that I just painted in the sun, except in the winter months when I actually need the heat.

Edit: i missed the part of the panel being plywood, so I'm gonna guess the moisture content of the cedar was pretty high. Was that "green" sawn cedar lumber?

 

[Kaizen]

Don't know but could "letting it cook in sun" caused outer layer to skin over and trap the solvents in paint which bubbled while evaporating? Was the primer fully cured? Moisture in wood off gassing in sun? Almost looks as if its reacting with something left on surface, possibly moisture?

The primer was applied at 4pm and had over 12 hours. It was dry to the touch. I applied the paint at 7am and it was in shadow for about 2 hours so maybe. Just strange how the same setup on the center panel had no issues.

 

[Kaizen]

HoLee Molee Batman! That looks pretty bad.

What epoxy product did you use? Did you read on the instructions how long to let it cure? How thick did you apply it? Brush or roll it on? What are your temperatures?

Painting cedar with an oil/alkyd is not a problem generally.

Either moisture was trying to escape when you put it in the sun or the epoxy wasn't fully cured. I'm surprised the center flat panel did have that issue. Is that plywood or the same cedar wood?

Let it cure/dry until the finish is hard enough to sand flush, then try again. Don't put it out in the sun to dry. I avoid putting pieces that I just painted in the sun, except in the winter months when I actually need the heat.

Edit: i missed the part of the panel being plywood, so I'm gonna guess the moisture content of the cedar was pretty high. Was that "green" sawn cedar lumber?

The epoxy was just used to try and stabilize and fill the onion peeling I described. It was not used all over where I had this issue. It was cured and sanded before the oil primer was done. The center panel was mdo plywood.
The cedar has been in my shop for a couple years and felt bone dry. Popping some of the larger bubbles last night i felt uncured paint under them while others were all dry. I'll take the sander to it and see if i can smooth it out and try again but in the shop this time. I really want to use this oil as this is going to be outside its whole life and the more protection the better.

 

[cgrutt]

The primer was applied at 4pm and had over 12 hours. It was dry to the touch. I applied the paint at 7am and it was in shadow for about 2 hours so maybe. Just strange how the same setup on the center panel had no issues.

What do the TDSs (Technical Data Sheets) say about curing and top coating? What paint and primer did you use? Was it new or previously used?

 

[Kaizen]

What do the TDSs (Technical Data Sheets) say about curing and top coating? What paint and primer did you use? Was it new or previously used?

Definitly a paint issue. I have a paint refrigerator that keeps it above freezing in winter and I consolodated cans into those paint bags to save space. I thought it was tractor supply paint but i just went and scraped it off and even the flat part i could scrape off. I didnt think i ever bought paint that needed a catalyst but that is what its acting like. The primer under it is holding fast so not a total loss. If i can get it less gooey i should be fine. Appreciate the help from everyone.

 

[strutaeng]

Was that just one coat of the oil paint? Rustoleum says you need to let it cure 24 hours before adding a second coat, but in the warm summer months, I've done 2 coats in one day (1 coat morning and 1 coat evening.) I've never had bubbling problems.

I use a lot of oil Coverstain and that one you can topcoat in as little as 30 minutes if it's warm enough. But 1-2 hours if it's colder.

I once had the second coat of a 2 part urethane wrinkle up on me on a plywood countertop I was finishing. I called the rep for Mohawk and we concluded I applied the first coat went on too thick, and it was too cold (around 50-60F IIRC.) Had to strip it and start over. I just waited for warmer days and second attempt was a success.

You may want to try this: if you have another piece of that cedar, wrap some clear polyethylene plastic and set it out on the sun and see if you get moisture trapped. Similar to doing the same test on a concrete slab to see if you moisturize transmission potentially affecting moisturize-sensitive flooring.

 

[PCustoms]

@Kaizen already been asked and you didn't answer, what epoxy did you use?

How long did it cure?

 

[Skiff Builder]

An old boat painter I knew (who used alkyd enamel) would never paint before 10:00 am

He would occasionally add Japan Drier (1-2 oz/gallon) to cut dry time when needed.

On my alkyd work, I find 3 thin coats best over primer.

Good luck with the next coating(s)- at least it wasn't a 30' boat hull to redo!!

 

[Kaizen]

Was that just one coat of the oil paint? Rustoleum says you need to let it cure 24 hours before adding a second coat, but in the warm summer months, I've done 2 coats in one day (1 coat morning and 1 coat evening.) I've never had bubbling problems.

I use a lot of oil Coverstain and that one you can topcoat in as little as 30 minutes if it's warm enough. But 1-2 hours if it's colder.

I once had the second coat of a 2 part urethane wrinkle up on me on a plywood countertop I was finishing. I called the rep for Mohawk and we concluded I applied the first coat went on too thick, and it was too cold (around 50-60F IIRC.) Had to strip it and start over. I just waited for warmer days and second attempt was a success.

You may want to try this: if you have another piece of that cedar, wrap some clear polyethylene plastic and set it out on the sun and see if you get moisture trapped. Similar to doing the same test on a concrete slab to see if you moisturize transmission potentially affecting moisturize-sensitive flooring.

It was just one coat but the stuff was like painting with glue. Could have been too thick and it skimmed over or the paint itself had an issue. As i said above, days later i was able to scrape it off like it never cured. Came off ok with MEK and then eastwood restorer took it down to wood. Got a new gallon and did it in garage this time and looks to have worked great.

 

[Kaizen]

@Kaizen already been asked and you didn't answer, what epoxy did you use?

How long did it cure?

ecopoxy. It was a fast set and I did not use it all over the door so that was not it. It sat for 4 days before i sanded it down and primed the door.