# Can you sand latex primer smooth?



## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

So I built a Wall Facade for my daughter to hang on the wall behind the TV to hide the wires. It’s above the fire place and she wants it to be gloss white to match the woodwork around the mantle. 

I painted it last night with latex primer using a roller. I was tired and just wanted to get it done, but now I realize it has a texture from the roller. I want to do some light sanding before painting it White Gloss, but not sure if it can be done because I put it on rather thick. I guess I should have thinned it out first.


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## lilman (Nov 22, 2012)

I believe the kilz I used is latex and it doesn't sand for crap IMO. What I do is use a razor blade and "scrape" it smooth. May require and extra coat or two but it works for me. I'm sure someone has a more proper method, just giving mine.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

lilman said:


> I believe the kilz I used is latex and it doesn't sand for crap IMO. What I do is use a razor blade and "scrape" it smooth. May require and extra coat or two but it works for me. I'm sure someone has a more proper method, just giving mine.


Thanks, was playing around with a side that isn't going to be seen and I don't know if the latex isn't dry yet or what, but it didn't work too well. 
I need to get this finished tonight so I'm just going to put on a thick coat of gloss with a brush and hope it fills in.


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## jigs-n-fixtures (Apr 28, 2012)

The latex could take years to dry enough to sand. 

Peel it off with a scraper, start over with enamels.

The other alternative might be to apply several coats of shellac, try to seal it. But, I'd just start with the scraper.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I think most of your problem is putting the latex primer on with a roller. It goes on a little too thick and takes longer to dry all the way through. I spray latex primer and it will sand alright if you let it dry overnight. It tends to gum up on the paper if you only let it dry a couple of hours. I prefer to use a lacquer primer though. It's called Bushwacker white lacquer primer offered by Sherwin Williams. It dries fast and sands very well. It can be topcoated with latex, oil or lacquer paint.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Thanks, I was tired last night after working 10 hrs in the mountains and only getting 4 hrs sleep the night before. I just happened to have a can of Behr premium primer that was getting old and just wanted to get it over with so I used a roller. 
It’s been a while, but I kind of remember using a roller with Kilz 2 primer once and I believe it went on real thin plus soaked right into the wood.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Well it turned out that the scraper idea worked great. :thumbsup:
I didn’t have to take it down to bare wood and I found that just lightly scraping it smoothed it out just enough. The final coat of high gloss white trim paint spread out nice and smooth.:smile:


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## Fred Hargis (Apr 28, 2012)

Glad you got it worked out. I've never had any luck sanding latex, it's good to hear a method I can fall back on if needed.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Fred Hargis said:


> Glad you got it worked out. I've never had any luck sanding latex, it's good to hear a method I can fall back on if needed.


Thanks, I don't know if it works on all primer, but I was impressed on how well it worked with the Behr premium primer. 
I finished painting it last night and this morning I hauled it over to my daughters house and already hung it up on the wall.
Now she is talking about painting it black and adding window casing. 
I'm trying to talk her out of the black paint, but I think the window casing will make it look good. :smile:


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