Painted new door frame white, and brown splodges have come through. How to hide?

[PinkVelvett]

We had a new door frame installed. I primed it with a white primer and then two coats of white satin paint applied.

We now have brown splodges coming through the white paint at regular intervals. It’s really unsightly.

Is there anything I can use to cover up the splodges, and will they just come back again?

Is it the knots in the wood? You need to seal them, zinsser bin shellac primer is great for this, it can go over the existing paint (just sand gently over the areas first) then you’ll need to paint your satin paint over again.

https://www.zinsseruk.com/product/b-i-n/ This is the stuff you need. A tiny tin will last you forever.

Ah yes it could be the knots!

(Sadly I came from a family who did zero DIY, maintenance or decoration so I feel I have lots of gaps in my knowledge in this area.)

So I guess that while I primed it maybe I didn’t use the right primer?

Thanks for the recommendation! Sounds like a straightforward job. 🖌️

You used the right primer. Knots in wood always need sealing separately.

You need knotting solution.

www.screwfix.com/c/decorating/knotting-solution/cat9930009

If it help my husband did come from a family that did lots of DIY. we still got knots on the new wardrobe and shelving he built because he didnt think it would need it.

10 years on they are still there, annoying me...

Thanks all, it wouldn’t have even occurred to me that bleeding knots was a ‘thing!’

Knots are a pain in softwood, and you do indeed have to use 'Knotting' before priming, especially if they are a bit oozy with sap.
Put it down to experience, all DIY is a learning thing- the more you do, the more you learn for next time and the better you get at it. And good for you for doing it.

I think knotting solution has to go on bare wood so I would lightly sand and use Zinsser BIN. Either buy a brush to throw away or get some meths to clean your brush afterwards. Stir well and apply thinly and quickly as it will go on like milk but dries very fast. Then repaint :)

For future yes you need to seal the knots with knotting solution, it does come in a white too if you are intending to paint the wood white as well as the usual knotting solution that appears like a varnish in colour.

BIN shellac in the red tin is the absolute best primer out there, they also do a BIN 123 bullseye which is the water based one. As above you either need to sacrifice a brush ie paint then bin the brush or get something to clean the brushes with. It is like milk in consistency, keep stirring the tin occasionally too.

Here is the link to Zinsser for what that BIN shellac covers https://www.zinsseruk.com/core/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Bulls-Eye-123.pdf also Youtube is an incredible resource for any DIY stuff and how to do things, there are some great channels, off the top of my head Charlie DIYte, Ultimate Handyman, Dereton33, Plumberparts, Restoration Couple.

No it doesn't. We made the same mistake as the OP once and we just painted the knitting solution on and then painted over the top.

I'd use the red zinsser shellac primer for this too. You don't just need 'something' to clean the brush. Usually if a paint isn't water based you use white spirit for cleanup. The Zinsser shellac paint is the only paint I've ever used that needs methylated spirits.

That said, I'd stil buy the meths and clean the brush. It cleans easily with the right stuff, and a little bottle of meths is pretty cheap. It's also useful for lots of other cleaning tasks - getting rid of sticky residue where a label has been removed, cleaning windows and glass in general, cleaning permanent marker pen off plastic boxes, etc.

I've always used knotting on the bare wood, it's interesting it works on upper layers, I wouldn't have thought it would. You live and learn...
I once had an outdoor window ledge, much painted by pervious owners, that had a problem with knots (South-facing so it got very hot in summer). I did sand it back flat but not to the bare wood, as it was due for replacemnt anyway, and it solved most of the knots, but not all of them. But that was an extreme case.

Shellac is alcohol based. So for the best clean up of your brush use denatured alcohol.