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How to fix paint cracking on cupboard doors?

So I am spraying my cabinet doors with a little handheld Wagner sprayer (really wish I had upgraded for this project!) I was getting pretty decent results but a combination of weather, thinning and gun settings led to a handful of doors developing some cracking which I know is due to too thick of paint. So I've sanded them back but even though the surface feels super smooth I can still see the pits and cracks. I hand sanded with 120 and then did a smoothing pass with 180 and 240 afterwards. I'm worried that even if it feels smooth the paint is still going to sink into those cracks and pits? Do I keep sanding until I can't see them? I've sanded for ages and feels like they just get more noticeable. I was only going to put one more coat on as it already has 3, but maybe if I do 2 it will hide?

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MitchellMc

Hi @Snakeytail,

The cracks you’re seeing most likely go all the way down to the original coating. The only way to completely remove or hide them would be to sand right back to that base layer, which can be a lot of work. What you’ve probably done so far is level out the surface enough that most of those cracks are now just visual rather than physical. A good rule of thumb is that if you can’t feel the cracks when you run your fingertips over the surface, you probably won’t see them once the new paint is applied.

Most paints have self-levelling properties, meaning they’ll settle into any shallow imperfections and create a smooth film over the top. In your case, the new coat should fill those tiny pits and even out the finish. It’s a good idea to test one door first to see how it looks after spraying. If the cracks still show through, then you’d need to go back further with sanding, but ideally, once the surface feels smooth, a fresh coat or two should give you a clean, even result.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Snakeytail

I thought I might have to strip it all the way back and was not looking forward to that! I've learnt my lesson not to paint when the conditions aren't ideal and not rush the coats as I worked on another set of doors that had only been primed and they are turning out perfect today!

There are some cracks/pits that are bigger and look like they go a bit deeper, so I might do a bit more sanding and those locations, but I am using Porters Aquasatin with wet edge extender and have seen that it self levels nicely even with a thing coat. I was hoping to do only one more coat, but if I need to do 2 thin ones to fill it all in, so be it.

If those cracks go all the way down to the primed surface, that's not going to affect the integrity of the coats on top? These are pantry doors so probably get the most workout of all the doors.

MitchellMc

It's a bit hard to tell @Snakeytail. If the paint were flaking and chipping off, it would undoubtedly need to be removed; however, it appears to be well-adhered, so I imagine it will not affect the integrity of the topcoats.

Mitchell

Snakeytail

So I couldn't get the deep cracks out so I used some filler and painted another coat. It's definitely less obvious but still having issues. Is this still from too thick of paint? I used the same setting as other doors that turned our fine, so the only thing I can think is maybe I overlapped too much to get it too thick. Or maybe it was too hot and dried too fast? Going to try one more time it's a cooler day coming up with pretty low humidity, but maybe it just needs to be fully stripped and start again.

MitchellMc

It’s a bit hard to tell exactly what’s causing it @Snakeytail, as paint can do some strange things at times. I was recently painting something myself where about 95% of it went on perfectly, but the remaining 5% developed crackling for no clear reason. Even after sanding, cleaning, and repainting, the same area kept reacting until several coats later it finally settled. It’s possible there’s some sort of surface contamination or residue in that section that’s affecting adhesion. Make sure you’re not painting in direct sunlight, as heat can cause the paint to dry too quickly and lead to cracking. Painting in a shaded area on a cooler, low-humidity day like you mentioned is a good idea.

Mitchell

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