kitchen laundry benchtop painting

g'day everyone,
thanks for taking the time to read my post.
I'm new here and just a real amateur at this.
I'm going to paint my beech kitchen and laundry bench tops (that i bought from bunnings) with an oil based Cabothane as i was advised by the buntings staff member to use.
now I've used my router to make a nice bullnose on the front edge but when i go to paint it i don't know where to stop painting the topside, around the bull nose so that when the first coat is dry and i turn it over to do the other side i won't have a bad edge/seam/join between the two sides/coats.

hope this makes sense and thanks in advance i really appreciate any help anyone can give.

Cheers.

Hi Dave, and welcome to the forum.

As these are wooden benchtops it is very important that whatever you do to the top must be repeated on the bottom, or they may warp. So, I would be coating the undersides first.

Now, did you rout a drip line underneath? Basically it is a simple groove, say 3mm wide and 5mm deep somewhere under the front edge. It's purpose is to act as a sort of barrier to stop any liquids that run off the bench front from tracking underneath and ending up inside the cabinets. As soon as it meets the groove it can't move any further and drips off at that point.

So, now you have a line on the bottom that you can coat up to. Once the underside has dried and you flip the benchtop right way up you can coat the top and the front and the small bit underneath to the drip line all in one go. Just be sparing on the coating.

I can't comment on your choice of finish as I don't know exactly what it is; I suspect it is a form of varnish?

Thanks Chief Tiff for the great advice, excuse my late reply.

As these are wooden benchtops it is very important that whatever you do to the top must be repeated on the bottom, or they may warp. So, I would be coating the undersides first.

Yes i assumed i should do both sides and the edges too, to sort of make a water tight seal all round. I'm also doing the bottom first so i can practice my brush strokes and get my technique down (even though i'm a good painter i've never used this stuff before).

Now, did you rout a drip line underneath? Basically it is a simple groove, say 3mm wide and 5mm deep somewhere under the front edge. It's purpose is to act as a sort of barrier to stop any liquids that run off the bench front from tracking underneath and ending up inside the cabinets. As soon as it meets the groove it can't move any further and drips off at that point.

A Drip line you say? what a brilliant idea i totally get it but just never thought of it. I'll add that to my list thanks!

So, now you have a line on the bottom that you can coat up to. Once the underside has dried and you flip the benchtop right way up you can coat the top and the front and the small bit underneath to the drip line all in one go. Just be sparing on the coating.

I can't comment on your choice of finish as I don't know exactly what it is; I suspect it is a form of varnish?[/QUOTE]

Yes I got the Cabothane from Bunnings Hardware on their advice, its a water based polyurethane made by Cabots, hence the name.

Thanks for taking the time to help.
Dave

Agree with the drip line as stated above.

Depending on the size of your shelf and whether the ends remain visible, there is an easy way to do both surfaces. If the ends are not visible when the tops are placed, drive a roof screw in the middle of each end, these form an axle which allows you to spin the shelf when hung between 2 saw horses or supports. Another roof screw is is placed towards the rear of one end and another towards the front of the other end, these 2 just hold to stop it spinning while you are working on the top or bottom.

Should the ends be visible, then screw a batten to the underneath towards the ends for your axles. The batten is removed when finished and dry, then touched up to ensure that the bottom is completely sealed. Any marks from the batten are underneath and not seen.

I have successfully done doors this way and plugged the holes in the top and bottom when finished. Just as an extra, when both sides are finished, I remove the support screws which stop the door spinning and allow the door to hang so that the broad surfaces are vertical, this avoids a lot of dust settling on the wet surfaces while they dry.

Hope it helps.