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GF Milk Paints are self-sealing so it is not necessary to use primer.

You may use a white pigmented stain-blocking primer if you need to cover grain, paint light or white color on dark wood, or if you're painting a wood that is known to bleed, such as pine or mahogany. We recommend using General Finishes Stain Blocker, Kilz or Zinsser white pigmented shellac-based primers.

All bright white paint will yellow slightly with time, even without topcoat. You have probably tried to touch up white woodwork in your home after several years and noticed that the new paint is brighter.

But white and light paints can react if clear coated with a waterbased finish; water-based topcoats are reactive and may draw out substances in the wood such as tannins, dyes or unknown substances in existing finishes causing the topcoat to yellow. This is an industry-wide issue and can happen right away, years later or never.

Recommended for use on Interior/exterior wood applications such as raw wood, existing finishes, and MDF.

This is General Finishes' most advanced primer, and it is the most expensive. If bleed-through is NOT a concern, use one of our other physical primers: Enduro White Undercoat or Enduro Deep Base Primer.

Results and features you can expect include:

A primer is your best defense under light-colored paint.

Another technique to avoid the slight color change that sometimes occurs when applying topcoat is to add 10-15% of the paint you are using to your topcoat. This technique layers additional coats of color over your piece as well as providing the protection of a topcoat. If you don't like measuring, just add enough paint until you can see a bit of the hue in the topcoat. This method works with a brush or a spray gun.

To maintain the full-strength protection of the topcoat, DO NOT TINT YOUR FINAL COAT of topcoat.

Brushable White Enamel can be applied to raw wood or existing finishes. When applying over an existing finish, be sure to prep your surface properly.

Learn how to properly prep existing finishes by watching this video.

MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) is tricky because there are several grades of MDF and the quality varies.

If you cannot determine the quality of the MDF, play it safe and use best practices. The concern is with the edges and ends. The core of MDF is compressed sawdust, glue and resins so when you apply paint to those areas it soaks right up.

Never guarantee a finish on this era of furniture. Inform your customers of this issue and steer customers away from using light colors. Many mahogany pieces from the late 1920's to early 1930's have an aniline dye lacquer finish which can bleed through no matter how many times you paint or prime over it. Although ideal coverage over an aniline dye lacquer can never be guaranteed, the following two products have been known to minimize bleed through: