Voodoo Molly Vintage Paint FAQ

The number of Vintage Paint coats depend on what you're painting, what you're painting it with, and your painting style.

On average you will need 2-3 coats for light to medium colours such as light blue or white.

For black or dark grey 3-4 coats will give you a great finish.

You will need 4-5 coats for bright colours such as red. To increase the coverage of bright colours, use Voodoo Molly Neutral Basecoat. 

• Yes, you should always clean all furniture before painting.

• We recommend lightly sanding furniture before painting. This will remove any loose finish (paint is only as strong as the surface you are painting!) and it will even out any rough bits. We recommend 120 grit sandpaper for most cases. 

• Priming is usually not needed when painting raw timber, or pre-painted or pre-varnished wood. See the next question for exceptions to this. 

• Varnishing with Vintage Clearcoat is recommended for heavy use areas such as table tops, or if you'd like to increase the sheen level of Vintage Paint.

If painting over most pre-painted, pre-varnished wood, or bare timbers that are low in tannin, you do not need to use a primer under Vintage Paint. The following primers are recommended for the following: 

Voodoo Molly Neutral Basecoat is basecoat/undercoat that is tinted a light grey colour. It will help you to achieve greater vibrancy and coverage when using bright colours such as Buttercup, Cherry Bomb, Sweet Tangerine etc.

Voodoo Molly Bondcoat Primer is used on smooth, hard-to-stick surfaces such as glass, ceramic, pvc plastic, laminate, formica. 

Voodoo Molly Stainblock Primer is used to prevent tannin stains from leaking out of raw redwood timber. Stainblock Primer is also effective on ink, nicotine and water stains.

Voodoo Molly Metal Primer is used when painting steel, iron, aluminium, zincalume and stainless steel.

Yes. Vintage Paint is a non-toxic, waterbased product that can be used on children's and pet's furniture.

If your finish is starting to chip, peel or scratch off, it may be caused by one of these reasons:

• The item has not finished curing. Vintage Paint takes 7 days to fully cure, so be careful when moving or using your project during that time.

• The surface had pre-existing flakey paint/varnish. Paint is only as strong as the surface you are painting. Ensure you sand the finish before painting to remove any loose paint or varnish.

• The surface is flexible or soft. Soft substrates like bamboo, cane, cork etc may be softer than the paint, causing the paint to stretch beyond its limit causing cracking.

• The surface had traces of dirt, wax, grease, or oil. Use detergent such as sugar soap before painting and remember to rinse off the residue.

• The surface is ultra smooth. Painting over surfaces such as glass, ceramic, laminate, formica, pvc plastic is hard to get adequate adhesion. Prime the surface with Voodoo Molly Bondcoat primer before painting.

• The surface had sanding dust. Each time you sand, clean off all the sanding dust before painting.

• High humidity, condensation. This will trap moisture layers between coats and may cause it to peel. 

• Painting in cold temperatures. It is important to paint in temperatures above 10C, and to maintain that temperature whilst the paint is drying.  

• Too many layers of paint. Adding too much paint will cause the surface to become soft. 

• Not stirring the paint enough. When paint is sitting idle in the pot, settling of the contents will occur. Ensure you stir paint well before applying. 

• Contamination. All equipment, like brushes, stir-sticks, rollers etc need to be clean before use to avoid any possible contamination to the paint. 
  

• Blistering or bubbling. Can be caused by a damp project, where some moisture evaporating through the paint layer. It sometimes happens when painting in direct sunlight. 
  

• Diluting the paint too much. Adding too much water can cause the finish to crack or flake, if its being applied on a non-porous/smooth surface. 

It's important to work quickly (but carefully!) when applying Vintage Clearcoat. It can dry very fast, so you want to avoid you to over-work partially dry paint. To eliminate this, work in rows to maintain a "wet edge" at all times. 

Yes, preparing your finish will give you the best result.

1. Remover any hardware such as hinges and knobs.
2. Lightly scuff with 120 grit sandpaper to remove any loose particles and to create 'tooth'.
3. Repair any scratches or dents with builders filler.
4. Lastly, clean, rinse and dry it really well.

Yes! It's lots of fun to custom mix your own paint colours. Hint: Classic White is a great white for toning down other colours. 

Yes, you can dilute Vintage Paint with water if necessary. Some reasons for thinning it out are

• When using in a spray-gun
• For applying the first coat to raw timber
• To create a whitewash/colour wash affect
• If the paint is too thick for your painting style

This sounds like you're painting bare redwood furniture, such as mahogany, kauri, kwila, cedar etc. 

These types of wood contain high levels of tannic acid. Tannin will bleed through your paint finish, no matter how many coats you apply, and will appear as a patchy stain. 

To stop this in its tracks, use Voodoo Molly Stainblock Primer. Yes, you can paint straight over the Vintage Paint that you've just applied so long as its dry.

Yes, you can paint over smooth surfaces with Vintage Paint, with the assistance of Voodoo Molly Bondcoat Primer. 

Bondcoat Primer is a high adhesion primer that can stick to hard-to-paint, smooth surfaces, such as glass, laminate, formica, PVC plastic and ceramic. 

Vintage Paint  and chalk paint are two VERY different products.

Traditional chalk paint is called 'distemper' paint. It is chalky, breatheable, textural and is used on interior walls and furniture. In its most basic form distemper is made from chalk (whiting) and a binder (glue size). It is not washable, even when dry. To be functional on furniture, chalk paint must be sealed with wax or varnish before use.

Vintage Paint on the other hand is a complex acrylic based paint. Unlike chalk paint it does not rely on a protective coat of wax or clearcoat for durability, nor can it be washed off once dry. Vintage Paint contains various ingredients to reduce brush marks, have self-priming properties, have longterm durability and provide fast curing times.

We recommend good quality synthetic brushes for applying Vintage Paint products.All our products are water-based, so you can clean brushes with water.

Vintage Paint will certainly stick to fabric (you just have to see the clothes in my wardrobe!). However I would test it out before committing as the resulting finish and texture may not be to your liking. Generally, paint will need to be diluted/thinned out before applying, and having a spray bottle of water is useful for pre-dampening the fabric. Adding a "fabric medium" to the paint is also advisable. 

We have a great range of supporting products suitable for furniture that is made of metal, glass, laminate, redwoods etc. These are Bondcoat Primer, Metal Primer and Neutral Basecoat. 

If your surface is chipped, flaking or generally in bad condition we recommended removing this. Paint is only as durable as the surface its painted on! 

Acrylic based paints should be stirred for at least five minutes, with a flat paddle to fully incorporate all the ingredients. If it has been in storage for a while, this will take longer to stir especially if the contents have started to settle. 

In normal temperatures, Vintage Paint is touch dry in 30 minutes and can be recoated in 1 hour. However in low or high temperatures, or in breezy locations this time will be different. 

Sealing before you paint is usually done to prevent stains bleeding through your paint. Common causes of stains are tannin bleed from redwoods, ink stains, water stains, nicotine. To seal the stains in, use Voodoo Molly Stainblock Primer.

Use Voodoo Molly Vintage Wax to provide a soft lustre. Wax is not a permanent coating, so you will need to reapply it every 6-8 weeks to maintain it. Wax can beused over paint, raw timber, antiques and leather, however its not recommended on tabletops. 

No, Vintage Chalk Powder is only an additive, which is mixed in with an existing paint. It does not contain any colour, nor will it change the colour of the paint you're mixing it into. 

Yes. Vintage Paint works beautifully in a spray gun. In most cases you will add a little water to dilute it to a spraying consistency, how much water will depend on the air pressure, size of the nozzle and the model you are using. 

• Ensure you are in a well-ventilated location and do not spray in temperatures below 10C.
  
• Protect the area from overspray. Its easy to create a temporary "spray booth" with plastic sheets. 
  
• After preparing your furniture, mask off the parts you don't want painted. 
  
• Dilute Vintage Paint as necessary to achieve a consistent spray, and do a test spray. 
  
• Apply in thin coats, sweeping the spray gun across the piece, beginning and ending each coat completely off the side. 
  
• Do not spray in one area for too long, otherwise the paint build up with create drips. 
  
• Clean your gun WELL when you have finished each coat. 
  
• Between each completely dry coat, use 180 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. Remove sanding dust. 
  
• Additional coats can be applied after 1 hour drying time, in normal conditions.
  

You can do most things with only 3 grades of sandpaper.

• 100 grit -- Furniture preparation 
  
• 120 grit -- Distressing
  
• 180 grit -- Smoothing finish between coats
  

The lower the grit number, the rougher the sandpaper is. The higher the grit number, the smoother the sandpaper is.

When distressing, try experimenting with different grits. A low grit gives a rough, heavily distressed finish, and can be useful for weathered looks. A higher grit gives a smoother, more subtle rubbed look. 

We recommend sugar soap for initial cleaning preparation, however other types of household detergents work well such as dish-washing liquid. Ensure all cleaning residue is rinsed off before painting. 

Yes you can, but only if you're wanting a textured, hand-brushed type finish. For most finishes, even distressed ones, we recommended a synthetic brush when applying Vintage Paint, such as Haydn DIY1000. 

Vintage Paint is non-toxic. You can safely paint both inside and outside your home. 

Vintage Paint does have additives to help reduce brush marks, however here are some handy hints for getting a lovely finish. 

• Use a new, good quality synthetic brush. Wash it before using.
• Use the widest brush that is practical for your project. A 50mm brush is good for most furniture pieces.
• Paint in a draft free location, that is of an average temperature. The quicker your paint dries, the less time the paint has to flatten out.
• Work quickly, but carefully, without over brushing partially dry paint. 
• Between each completely dry coat, lightly sand with 180 grit sandpaper. Remove sanding dust before recoating.

Yes, Vintage Chalk Powder additive can be added to any waterbased acrylic paint to make a self priming chalk paint. For best results, use a low sheen paint. 

Yes, you can apply Vintage Paint with a paint roller, sponge pad or foam brush. We recommended a flocked roller for most uses.