Learned the hard way about painting over knotted pine boards

I tried painting over some knotted pine boards in my living room last weekend and within 2 days the knots bled right through the paint. Has anyone else had this issue with pine and found a good sealer to stop it?

3 comments

3 Comments

pat_schmidt602mo ago

Hate to say it but you skipped the most important step. Shellac based primer is the only thing that actually seals those knots. Kilz Original or Zinsser BIN will do it. Water based stuff just sits on top and lets the tannins bleed through like you saw. Sand it back down, hit the knots with the shellac primer, then paint. Learned that trick after my third coat failed on a knotty pine paneling project.

oliviat172mo ago

Wait, THIRD coat? You seriously painted that thing THREE times before figuring it out?

stella_murray1mo ago

Sand it back down to bare wood in those spots, is that not just asking for more tannin bleed later if you miss any? Three coats is a rough lesson to learn, but how do you keep from sanding right through the good finish around the knots? Seems like you would have to be real careful not to make a bigger mess than you started with.