Painting

Choosing Your Primer and Paint:
If you talk to different factories, you will likely get several different answers on the type of primer and paint they use on their plantation shutters.  Some factories also use latex or oil based finishes.  These are widely available and perfect for the do-it-yourselfer.  Latex based finishes have come a LONG way in the past years and rival (or even exceed in some cases) oil based finishes for quality and durability.  They also dry much faster and with less noxious fumes.  The do-it-yourselfer should give some serious consideration to using a high quality latex finish. 

However, most factories use lacquer based paint.  Lacquer paint is widely utilized in the plantation shutter and furniture finishing industries.  Lacquer dries quickly.  This will work for the do-it-yourselfer if you are able to find it.  Most paint stores sell lacquer based paint.  If you decide to use lacquer based paint on your plantation shutters, the fumes are VERY noxious, so be certain to use a respirator suited for the task and paint in a well ventilated area.  If you are using spray paint in a spray can, I recently saw lacquer paint available in spray cans as well. 

One other consideration is the gloss level.  Most plantation shutters are finished in a semi-gloss finish.  Semi-gloss is ideal for windows.  Windows obviously get a lot of light.  Full gloss tends to produce glare which is one of the things you are trying to reduce with plantation shutters.

Step 4:  Priming

If you are going to paint your plantation shutters, the next step after preparation sanding is to prime them.  Do not skip this step and be sure to use a high quality primer.  Follow the instructions under the “How To Apply Finish” section on the previous page.

Step 5:  Sand Between Coats

Applying primer may lift the grain of the wood slightly.  Use 250 or 300 grit sand paper to lightly sand the primer before applying paint.  For best results, follow the instructions under “Sanding Between Coats” on the previous page.

Step 6: Painting

The final step is to paint your plantation shutters.  This is where you finally begin to see the results of your labor.  Apply the paint as instructed in the “How To Apply Finish” section on the previous page.  Two coats should be adequate, but feel free to do more if you would like.  Be careful to not apply so much paint that the ends of the louvers rub the inside of the stiles.  As always, avoid drips.  If you happen to notice a drip, you can wipe it up while it is still wet.  Then allow the paint to dry and sand it smooth before applying the next coats.