STAINS BLEEDING THROUGH PAINT:
Bleed-through. It’s like the longest four letter word ever if you are a furniture painter.
You find the greatest piece of furniture that just needs a quick makeover with a couple coats of paint. You plan out the design for said piece of furniture and begin imagining what it will look like when you’re finished. You clean it up and finally get to the part where you can begin the transformation, your first coat of paint.
This is a coffee table I was hired to paint for dear friends. The request was “Joanna Gaines distressed white”. Ha ha!
But, ugh, why are there pink and brown or yellow spots bleeding through the paint?? I’m sure the second coat of paint will cover it up. No big deal. Second coat, STILL THERE! Certainly it just needs a third coat of paint, then it will be good. By the time you paint the third coat and you still see pink, brown, or yellow, you’re beyond frustrated and probably ready to give up thinking about all the time you’ve spent and paint you’ve wasted. Or, even more frustrating, all seems well through all your coats of paint until you apply your topcoat, and THEN the bleed-through appears. Ugh!
Fortunately, there is an easy solution and even some tips I can share that might help you recognize this problem BEFORE it occurs on your next painting project.
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THE SOLUTION:
Your furniture needs to be sealed with Shellac
. One coat (or maybe two) of Shellac will seal in whatever is causing the bleed-through and allow you to paint your beautifully thought out design on your piece of furniture. Just get a good thick bristle brush and apply a thin coat of the Shellac. (I wrote “shellac” on the handle of the brush I use for this, it will become stiff and you probably won’t be able to wash it well enough to use it for other purposes. But the next time you dip it in Shellac, it will soften up just enough to allow you to apply an even coat with your stiff brush). Let it dry and then carry on with your painting.
If you have already applied a few coats of paint, not to worry. Just apply the Shellac over the paint and apply another coat or two of paint over the Shellac. Be sure you apply the Shellac to the entire piece and not just to the affected area where you see spots bleeding through. The paint adheres a little differently to the areas where the Shellac is applied. Applying the Shellac to the entire piece will give your next coat of paint a uniform appearance, WITHOUT bleed-through.
UPDATE: I have used Shellac for bleed-through many times and it has worked like a charm. However, recently I experienced an awful crackling effect. Through a few follow-up tests of the steps I went through on that project it was determined that Shellac was indeed the cause of the crackling. I have since learned that a reason for this might be the alcohol content in the Shellac causing the paint to dry more quickly than it would on its own and thus causing it to crack.
That being the case, I now highly recommend that for any paint project when you need to seal a piece for bleed-through you use a water-based primer such as Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3. Wise Owl also makes an amazing water-based stain eliminating primer that is also available in a clear formula. You can purchase either of those Wise Owl primers HERE.
The primers will work the same as I have described the Shellac here. So anywhere you see me mention Shellac, know that you can take the same steps with your primer of choice.
THE CAUSE(S) – yes, there are multiple possibilities:
- Certain woods are just troublesome to paint. Among them – oak, mahogany, and pine. Mahogany will bleed through your chalk paint with hints of pink; oak will sometimes make your paint look like it has a hint of yellow (really troublesome if you are painting the piece white); and pine with its knots just refuses to be covered well with chalk paint alone.
- Furniture that lived in the home of a smoker will absorb smoke over the years and cause a yellowish bleed-through when painted. If you thrifted your furniture from a flea market, salvage yard, estate sale, etc., don’t be surprised if you see stains being pulled out of the wood when you begin painting.
- Years of furniture polish use can cause a piece of furniture to have a greasy feel and bleed-through when painted. If your furniture feels greasy to the touch, before you do anything else clean the furniture with a degreaser such as Krud Kutter. This should eliminate the surface oils. Then, you guessed it, Shellac. This will prevent any oils deep in the wood grain from finding their way out and in the midst of your beautiful paint job.
I’m sure there are other causes for bleed-through I’m not mentioning, but these are the ones I’ve experienced personally. Sometimes you can’t tell that you may have a problem until you apply that first coat of paint. Just trust your gut when you begin to see anything bleeding through and stop the paint brush! Grab your Shellac. Then carry on. You will be glad you did.
Do you have questions about a project on which you’ve experienced bleed-through? Or maybe something to add to what I’ve described above? Leave a comment below with any thoughts. I would love to hear from you!
I am currently offering a tutorial on how to paint furniture like a pro. It includes how to prevent and fix bleed through in addition to how to get a professional lasting painted finish on your furniture. Check it out HERE.
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Very helpful! Thanks April! I’ve not known how to correct this so you’ve been a huge help! I’m about to start on a piece I’ve been concerned about bleed through…no worries now!
So glad this was helpful! I would love to see your piece when it’s finished!
Hi April,
I just finished my first chalkpaint project take 2 after a very failed distressing attempt. As I feared, I’m seeing a touch of bleed through on a couple of spots on the chair. I haven’t waxed yet. 2 questions…
1: If I do the shellac how soon can I repaint (this will be 4th layer of chalk paint ugh) too many? #lessonslearned
2: If I see no bleed through on the spindle legs of the chair do you suggest I still apply shellac to the legs as well or just the seating portion of the chair? HELP
Hi Kristin, gosh, isn’t this a hard lesson to learn? Even though I’ve experienced bleed through multiple times, I still tempt fate sometimes to avoid the extra labor. But the extra labor is always worth it.
Answer to Q1: You should be able to paint over the shellac when it is dry to the touch. The shellac container doesn’t say how long to let it dry, but to my recollection it doesn’t take long. Maybe an hour or so, depending upon the temperature and humidity.
Answer to Q2: If you plan to finish with wax and you don’t currently see any bleed through on the spindles, you should be fine to just wax those. In my experience, it is a poly finish that will bring out any bleed through underneath the paint that may not already be showing up. I’ve not had that experience with wax.
Another suggestion: You could spray the chair with a stain blocking primer (Kilz makes a spray primer). This is what I did recently for a white commissioned project and it was much faster than brushing on shellac.
Hope this is helpful! Let me know how it goes!
Thank you so much for your quick response April!
My fear with using the shellac is that the surface I’ll be treating is all vertical and it’s a fairly detailed chair so afraid of uncontrolled drips and thick application.
If I use the spray kilz (my husband actually suggested the same thing) would I spray the chair in entirety or just the bleed through area? Thanks again!
It is BEST to treat the entire piece as opposed to just the area affected by the bleed through. Paint can adhere differently to different textures and the kilz may have a different “grab” to it. Does that make sense? It is POSSIBLE you could get away with not spraying the legs as it sounds like those are unaffected, and the difference may not be as noticeable from the seat to the legs. That being said, you would have to be careful to not get any overspray on the legs, which may actually be more work than just treating the entire chair and finishing with one last coat of paint.
Also, make sure to give the piece a light sanding after the kilz dries and before you apply your paint. The spray kilz can have quite a rough, gritty texture to it, but is easily smoothed with a very light sand (220 grit, light pressure.)
April,
Thank you for your advice yesterday! SUCCESS!!! ???? Went ahead and did Kilz on the entire chair before sanding and last coat of chalk paint. I’m SO happy with the results now. Thank you again. Genuinely appreciate the help!
Awesome! Glad to hear you are happy with your results and that I was able to help!
I also have made the fatal mistake of painting over a mahogany finish on an old buffet and experiencing bleed-through. I put on two coats of Old White chalk paint before realizing this was not going to work. I am glad that there is a fix to this problem with the shellac. My question is that I am planning on distressing this piece and would like the dark original finish to show through the Old White when I distress. Since I have already painted two coats of Old White should I remove that paint before I shellac? I am afraid that if I shellac the piece over the two coats of paint, then I won’t be able to distress down to the original finish. What do you suggest?
Hi Shelley, great question! I have done this very same thing and though the project turned out very nice, I would do it differently if I had it to do over. If you apply shellac over the paint finish you have already applied, the result will be a yellowed white. Of course, you will cover that with fresh coats of white paint. When you distress the piece, it is possible to sand through to the original finish. However, you may also see some of the white paint tainted with shellac peeking through in the areas where you distress. It may not be enough to be super noticeable or bother some people. This is definitely an option for you.
My suggestion would be to remove the existing painted finish, if possible, without disturbing the original dark finish. You may be able to sand most of it off with a gentle, light sanding and then wipe the remaining paint off with a wet rag. Since chalk paint is water based, once you sand the majority of the paint off it should be pretty easy to wipe away the rest. Just be careful not to sand all the way through your paint to the wood and remove the dark original finish. Once all the paint is removed, then apply your shellac and start the process over. Obviously, this is a lot more work, but I think that you would be happiest with your results this way. Let me know which way you decide to go and how it turns out. Good luck!
Thanks so much for your guidance, April. I think I will definitely take your advice and sand off the two coats of paint that I started with. (My sweet husband has volunteered to do this, so that will save me some of the work.) Thankfully, I only painted the drawers of the buffet so the body is still untouched. I will shellac the body before I do anything else. Thank you again for your help. I am new to chalk paint and obviously did not think this through well before I dove in. It has been a good lesson to learn. I look forward to following your blog and projects.
I am painting over a wall that is similar to shiplap but previous owners have it stained. I used Killz to paint over it ( alabaster white in color) with intentions of distressing a bit on the grooves. After first coat I noticed a brown/ yellowish seeping through. Can I use that killz spray to seal my wall and then pain over that? Ty!
Hi Becky! I’m a little confused about what exactly you have used so far. I am familiar with Alabaster White the Sherwin Williams color, and I see that Kilz has a Casual Colors paint line, but Alabaster White is not listed as one of the colors. Can you clarify for me exactly what you used so I can better answer your question?
For starters (not knowing exactly what you have used so far), I would say you’d probably need a couple coats of Kilz Premium primer before painting with your Alabaster White. If it were me, I would buy the liquid primer and just roll it on since you are doing a wall. Spray would require a whole lot of prep to avoid overspray in your home. This would be my suggestion no matter what paint you were planning to use, but I would love to know exactly what you have used so far to be sure I answered your question accurately.
Thanks for stopping by!
Used shellac over chalk paint, but when I painted a light coat of paint, the pink bleed thru was gone but the dark water rings still showed. I guess start again with the shellac over the whole table top? Thanks
Hi Judi, given your statement about using shellac over the entire table top, am I correct to assume that you used shellac only on the areas where you were experiencing bleed through? Did you use shellac over the area where the water rings are showing? Make sure you give the table a good couple of coats of shellac before moving on with your painting. Also, make sure everything is really dry before recoating. Hope this helps! Let me know if I can help further.
Used shellac over chalk paint, but when I painted a light coat of paint, the pink bleed thru was gone but the dark water rings still showed. Should I start the process over with the shellac over the whole table top?
Hi April,
I am experiencing bleed through on a dresser so I used 2 coats of shellac (white color because I already had it). It’s bleeding through the shellac as well, although less. Do you recommend that I use Kilz, get a newer can and try again, or something different? Thank you.
Hi Christy, it sounds like maybe you need another coat or two for a stubborn stain. Did you use a spray or did you brush it on?
I rolled it on with a foam roller. It is a couple years old and I shook the can, realizing afterwards that it has a shelf life and that I was supposed to stir, not shake. I’m not sure if those make a difference.
Ok. Shaking it should only affect the amount of air in the finish. You may have noticed lots of small bubbles in the application. I would suggest giving it another couple coats with new product. Be sure to sand your original application first if you see some bubbles in the finish. I like to apply the Shellac with a foam brush, but some people apply it with a soft lint-free cloth. That may give you a little better coverage than a foam roller for this product. Just be careful not to apply it too thick and create runs or drips. Shellac also is available in a spray, but I would recommend using the liquid and the application technique I mentioned here to be sure you get good coverage.
Thank you. I have added any additional 3 coats of Bullseye 1-2-3 primer. 5 coats wiped out any bleed through on the dresser. I’m applying to the drawers now. Can I also apply chalk paint with a foam roller or do I need to use a natural bristle brush.
Wow! You may hold a record for most stubborn stain ever! 🙂 I love applying chalk paint with a roller. Gives a really smooth finish. You may find it helpful to dilute it just a tad with some water. Good luck on the rest of your project! Show us the final result when it’s done! I want to see!
Should I use Kilz Primer, or Shellac, on oak cabinets, to prevent bleed-through ?
Hi Susie, thanks for stopping by! Either Kilz Primer or Shellac will accomplish the task of preventing bleed through. If you are using a light color of paint on your cabinets such as white or light gray, I would recommend Kilz Primer. Simply because it could save you a couple coats of paint. Good luck with your project!
Hi April, I found your blog about about the wood bleeding through. I too used chalk paint to paint, I believe an old Mahogany dresser and it bleed pink through 2 coats. I am using a spray, my question is, can I use my sprayer to apply a water base Kilz? Will I have to dilute the Kilz like I have to with my paint so it will go through the sprayer? Also are you using the water base Kilz out of a spay can when you are talking about spraying it? If you are using the spray cans, how many would I need for a large dresser and how many coats? The dresser Is dark and I have only sprayed the drawers with 2 coats of paint not the rest of the dresser. Thanks for any advice.
Hi Nancy, thanks for stopping by! I’m not able to help in regards to your sprayer and whether or not you would need to dilute Kilz to spray it as I’ve not used a paint sprayer. All my pieces are hand painted. Yes, when I talk about using Kilz in a spray form, I am referring to the spray cans that are available at retail hardware stores. I would guess that you would need two cans to give a large dresser a really good coat. For a proper priming, I would recommend at least two coats of Kilz, but it really depends on your piece of furniture. Another reader had a piece on which she ended up needing to apply FIVE coats of primer to stop the bleed-through. That is very atypical, though. Most pieces should be fine after two good thorough coats of primer or shellac. Good luck!
Hi April, I am refinishing a friends oak cabinets from I think the 80’s. Their cabinets are in by far the worse condition I’ve ever worked with. I have a few issues going on. I had tannins coming through, but they’ve now been dealt with. Mainly I have these dark grey/black stains coming through in the grooves of the raised panel, and orangey/brown spots coming through in what looks like the shape of water droplets. They were cleaned by my friend with TSP then I cleaned them again with a BEHR product I can’t remember the name of now, but its specific for jobs like this to remove tannins etc. Once cleaned I used Zinsser BIN primer sealer that is a shellac base. I topcoat after 1 coat with Dulux waterborne Alkyd topcoat. Thats when I started to see some stains coming through again. I’m not sure if the shellac had actually covered the stains or the one coat was still so patchy that I just didn’t notice them. I did the stupid move of spot treating the stains at this point and applied 2 more coats of shellac and it seemed to lighten it a bit, but I was, I fear impatient and thought maybe I was using the wrong product. I moved on to Dulux brand Gripper Acrylic Primer that is specific for the Dulux waterborne Alkyd white topcoat I’m using. And when 2 coats of that didn’t work and seemed to make it actually worse, I went rummaging through my garage and found a KILZ (I think) 1-2-3 all purpose primer… half the label is covered in paint. All the stains seem a lot worse. Of course I only spot treated. What do I do? I don’t know if at this point I need to remove the paint I already applied as its a ridiculous amount of paint on them now or if a full coverage of shellac will be the smartest option. The worst stains are in the grooves, so I’m not even sure I’d be able to get that all out at this point anyways. And even once I did get to that point, then what? I’m at a loss! PLEEEAASE HELP!!!
Hi Dani, sounds like a huge job! And I will admit that I am not familiar with some of the products you mention that you used. Here is what I know – one coat of shellac or stain blocking primer is rarely enough to block the stains/tannins that will bleed through. Even if it seems like you put on an even coat, there are likely areas that are not covered as well. I ALWAYS do at least two coats of shellac or Kilz stain blocking primer.
It is not uncommon for stains/tannins to bleed through once the top coat is applied, no matter how many coats of paint you apply. You may not see them when you apply the paint, but sometimes the top coat pulls them through the paint. The stains/tannins must be sealed in properly with shellac or other stain blocking primer. Also, the crevices of a cabinet are definitely often a problem area for bleed through, so that is no surprise. It sounds like you just needed a few more coats of shellac – over the entire area you are painting (since you mention that the stains lightened a bit when you applied more). 🙂 I have another reader, whose comment you may have seen, who had to apply FIVE coats of shellac to get the stains sealed in. Some stains are just super stubborn.
If this were my project, I think I would sand down the surface to remove some of the product that has been applied. Then start over with applying shellac over the entire area to be painted in thin even coats. Take your time and be patient and apply as many as you think it will take to seal the stains in. Then apply your paint and topcoat. You may want to test one of the cabinets on which you experienced bleed through first with paint and topcoat to make sure the stains are gone. If you still see stains, apply another coat of shellac to ALL the cabinets (including the one you painted, maybe sanding down the topcoat lightly first), and try again. Hope this helps! Good luck and let me know how it turns out!
I’m having the bleed through as well, so now I’m wondering what to do with the desk I’m painting. It’s done with white chalk paint and I’ve distressed it and now only need to put the finish on. I’ve been using the poly as my finish, and the bleed through on my night stand is horrible, and now afraid to top coat my desk with it.
Is there another top coat, besides wax, where there won’t be any bleed through?
Hi Star, if you have already painted and distressed the desk like you want it, but you suspect the poly might cause some bleed through, I would suggest using wax. I don’t know of another poly-type top coat that won’t pull through any tannins that have not been properly sealed in prior to painting. One option for your night stand and for your desk would be to just apply shellac over your existing finish to get rid of the bleed through, then apply more paint and top coat. Sometimes that can affect the appearance of your distressing though.
If you really would prefer to use a poly top coat, I would suggest sanding back the paint (being careful not to sand into the wood, sometimes a damp cloth can help with removing unsealed chalk paint) and starting over with shellac, then paint, then your poly top coat. That way your distressing will reveal the wood underneath and not a white paint that is yellowed with shellac (as would be the result of option 1 above).
Keep in mind that if you choose to use wax as your top coat on the desk, the only way to redo it or fix it later is to remove the wax first.
Hope this helps!
Hello! Had a question about how to distress. I have an old mahogany hutch I plan to paint white and distress. I plan on using shellac primer and latex paint on top. Here is my question. I would like to distress. If I do sand down and distress, will bleed through come where I distress? Is there a better way to get distressed look without sanding using latex?
Hi Jennifer, great question! And good for you that you found this tip BEFORE you painted your mahogany piece white! Mahogany will most definitely, almost always, bleed through white paint so it’s good that you already have a plan to use shellac first. It will save you a lot of time and headache.
When you distress the piece, the idea is that you would sand the paint down to the original finish, or sometimes even beyond the original finish depending on what look you are going for. So the wood will already be exposed in the areas you distress, and therefore, will have no paint for tannins to bleed through. I hope that makes sense. The short answer is you shouldn’t need to be concerned about bleed through in the areas where you are distressing. Because you WANT the old finish to show in those areas. And sanding is the only way I know of to distress a latex paint so sand away! Good luck with your project!
Hi April!
I am experiencing persistent, yellow stains bleeding through on large, flat sides of kitchen island cabinets, which were golden oak, despite applying multiple layers of various primers (including Bulls Eye2 Muli-Purpose Primer & Sealer, Kilz Original, one-layer of Kilz Complete, Zinsser Cover-Stain Primer, and at least 2 coats of Zinsser Clear Shellac shellac), tannins are bleeding through the Old White. I’ve already applied multiple coats of Old White (I’ve lost count–maybe 5?) and I have also already applied one coat of clear wax. The cabinet doors and drawers look lovely painted Old White, but the large, flat sides of the cabinets, are showing big yellow stains.
Given time limitations and with Thanksgiving coming up, I wonder whether I’d be better off switching colors (rather than attempting to remove the wax with mineral spirits, and continue with primering/ shellacking, painting) I’m thinking a darker color may be more time effective in the short run and a more practical solution for me in the long run.
Can another ASCP color (French Linen?) effectively cover yellow tannin stains? Will new paint/primer adhere over the one coat of wax already applied? What is the lightest color you’d recommend, if any, to cover over yellow tannin stains?
Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Jennifer, sorry to hear you’re having trouble with your cabinets. Oak is definitely a problem wood with regard to bleed through. It sounds like you have very persistent tannins unfortunately. It’s hard to say whether more primer/shellac/stain blocker would make a difference. If you had the time I would recommend trying more stain blocker/shellac.
I think that if this were my project and I was ready to be done with it, I would consider using a darker color. Though I’m not sure that French Linen is dark enough to not see the tannins. If you already have some on hand, I would recommend testing it to see if it covers your bleed through. You could try Coco, which appears to be darker than French Linen, but in the same family. It is a dark brownish gray. There is a similar gray from Heirloom Traditions (my go-to chalk type paint) called Thunderous that you could try as well. Heirloom Traditions has a wider variety of colors if you want to check them out and see if there is a color you like that is not offered by Annie Sloan. https://rawhydefurnishings.com/heirloom-traditions-paint/
You could also consider applying some dark wax to give your Old White an antiqued look. I personally would not want to do that just because I hate waxing and that would be a lot of work for an entire set of kitchen cabinets. If you do want to try antiquing the white to hide the tannins, I would recommend giving the dark gel wax from Heirloom Traditions a try. It goes on much easier and can be wiped back with water until you have the desired look. You can see the colors available here: http://bit.ly/2yjP324.
I am a retailer for Heirloom Traditions products, but I’m not trying to sell you on their products for that reason. Just suggesting a possible solution you may not have considered. I have used Annie Sloan products as well and French Linen is one of my favorite colors from her line of paints. I have also used the dark wax from Annie Sloan and while it looks good, I hate using it because it is a workout and it can be tricky to figure out how much to apply to get the look you want.
If you decide to paint over your cabinets with a different color, I would not recommend doing so without first removing the wax. I know that’s probably not what you were hoping to hear. Some people do paint over a waxed surface and say it’s fine to do so. But I cannot recommend it because I don’t feel confident your finish would last long, especially in a high traffic area such as the kitchen.
I hope this is helpful. I wish you luck on remedying your project. Please let me know how you end up fixing it and how it turns out.
Your blog post might save my project and marriage!! I am a little confused about whether to use Kilz Primer or the Shellac based on reading some of the comments. We are using General Finishes Milk Paint in Snow White for our oak cabinets. After realizing the yellowish bleed through, we started to prime with regular primer (only then to realize we needed a stain blocking primer…). Then we bought Zinser Bullseye 1-2-3 primer and it looks like it is STILL bleeding through even after 2 coats.
Should we use the Shellac? or the Kilz primer? Is it okay to use the Shellac over already painted surfaces? Some cabinet doors have already 3-4 coats of Milk Paint, then 2 coats of the Zinsser primer, then another coat of Milk Paint. Please help!
Hi Elaine, so sorry for the delayed response. I hope you and your husband are hanging in there! Ha ha! Shellac and Kilz primer basically do the same thing in terms of stain blocking. If you were at the beginning of your project, because you are using white paint I would have suggested the Kilz primer only because it can help to lessen the coats of white paint to get good coverage. I hope that answers your question regarding Kilz vs Shellac.
Now to address your current situation. Some stains are super persistent, unfortunately. One of my readers ended up needing something like 5-7 coats of Shellac in order to finally seal in the stains on her project. The Zinsser Bullseye 123 primer should accomplish the goal of sealing in the stains so I don’t think you need to switch products. It may just take more coats of it. Any of these stain blocking products are fine to be applied over already painted surfaces.
I would apply additional coats of the primer until you no longer see the stains coming through and then try your milk paint again. It is better to apply more coats of primer than you think is necessary to ensure the stains don’t rear their ugly head again. Are you planning to apply a topcoat over the milk paint? I ask because sometimes stains can stay hidden until the topcoat is applied. But if you make sure you’ve applied plenty of primer to seal in the stains, that should not be the case. Good luck! I would love to know how it turns out for you!
Hi! Your post was very helpful- but unfortunately I’m reading it on a second attempt! I wonder if you have any thoughts? I noticed tannins on 4th coat on a dark reddish (mahogany?) table. I sanded basically because I didn’t want issues with thickness (drop down sides and a leaf to consider). I didn’t go to bare wood everywhere just enough to thin things down substantially. 2 coats of clear shellac and 2 coats of paint later and I see them faintly! The last coat of paint still needs to go on- a buff /creamy color. I am just beside myself. I want this project to be over! Do you have any help you can offer?
Hi Jayne, it sounds like you have some stubborn tannins! Sometimes it can take more than just a couple coats of shellac to seal them in. You can either apply more shellac over the surface, maybe a couple more coats, or you could get some of the Zinser Bin 123 primer that I mention in the updated portion of this blog and put a coat of that on before applying your final coat of paint and then top coat. Good luck and let me know if I can help further!
Hi April
I have chalk painted 4 pieces of dark furniture and 3 had bleed through. I used Shellac can spray with all and it did stop the bleed through but when I distressed the furniture I get a light yellow show through, which I think is the Shellac spray. I don’t like this. I am about to start my 5th dark piece that I want to paint white and also distress. Any suggestions???
Hi Becky, yes, if you applied the shellac over white paint that was already experiencing bleed through and then distressed, you will see the shellac-covered white paint underneath sometimes which has a yellowish appearance. To avoid this you can use a spray primer instead of the shellac for your next piece. I recommend this one: https://amzn.to/2L2DdjZ. Good luck with the rest of your project and congrats on being able to seal in your bleed through!
I am painting varnished dark stained cabinets. I have applied 2 coats of Kilz and one of paint (a nice thick coat ) and I have bleed thru still. If I paint another coat will it bleed through or do I need to use something different first?
Hi Penny, If you see bleed through after your first coat of paint you need more Kilz or shellac. Additional coats of paint will never cover up bleed through. Good luck with your cabinets!
Hi! I’m paining oak cabinets. I did two coats of latex Bullseye primer and one coat of top coat and now I’m seeing bleed through. 😕 Can I apply Kilz oil based on top of my current paint or should I sand it off? Thanks!!
Hi! I’m assuming you painted some type of paint on your cabinets between the primer and the topcoat. Either way, you don’t have to remove the top coat. I would give it a light sanding to give it some grip and then apply another coat of your primer. If you are using water-based paint and top coat, be sure they have dried fully before you try to apply the Kilz oil-based primer on top so they don’t react with one another. Sometimes in these hot, humid temps the product can appear to be dry and will be to the touch, but it often needs a little longer to fully dry due to the climate. Hope that helps!
It does help! Thanks! I used bullseye 1-2-3 latex primer and PPG break-through in white. Would you recommend I switch to Kilz oil based or just use another coat of the bullseye? Thank you again!!
So I’m painting my bedroom desk, I’ve already done 2 coats of the “Chalked” white furniture paint, the piece looks great but there are still some pink stains peeking through. If I go over it with the Kilz primer as suggested will I have trouble reapplying another coat of the chalked paint? It says the Kilz primer is great underneath oil-based and latex paints, but I know the chalked paint is water based. Would you suggest I use Shellac instead?
Hi Liz, latex paint is also water based. Either Kilz primer or Shellac will be fine to use over what you’ve currently painted to seal in your bleed through. If you plan to distress your finish I suggest the Kilz primer rather than the Shellac. Good luck!
Hello April, I bought an antique mahogany desk that was painted white gloss by the previous owner. I thought I would remove the white gloss paint with paint stripper (which I will not try again because it was a mess). The paint stripper removed some paint and the rest I sanded down then wiped down with mineral spirits. Now after 2 coats of white chalk paint it turned pink! I have plan to buy the bullseye 123 primer as you have suggested. Do you think this will seal in the mess I have made? Normally I wouldn’t hesitate to use the primer but I am wondering if the stripper and mineral spirits underneath are going to give me trouble. Thank you in advance for any help!!
Hi Helen, yes stripping paint is definitely a messy job! I’m not surprised at all that you are experiencing bleed through. Mahogany is a primary offender! And the fact that you sanded it down probably opened up the grain and allowed even more tannins to bleed through. The primer you plan to use should seal it all in. It may take a few coats so try a test spot with your chalk paint after you prime the piece before you paint the entire thing to make sure it is all sealed. The mineral spirits and stripper shouldn’t interfere if you cleaned the piece well and removed any stripper residue before you began painting the first time. Good luck!
Hello April, So good to find your site, thanks for all the information!
I am painting my kitchen cabinets and they look almost the same color as your center table in the picture. I have sanded them with 220 sandpaper and then deglossed with krud kutter gloss off. Now applied Zinsser bullseye 123 and 2 coats of it and i see light yellow patches and the primer looks yellow rather than white.. i am going to paint with BM advance and i am worried if i should continue or not. Is zinsser 123 good enough to block the stains from bleeding or should i get some other primer.. Shellac is best, but since i am working indoor i want some easy clean up primer.. please help i am so worried..
Hi Samy, it should block the stains just fine. I would recommend testing a small area with your paint and see how it does before painting the entire set of cabinets. If you see bleed through in your paint do another coat of primer. Good luck!
I’m redoing my oak cabinets I have sanded down with 80 grit then 120. Then 2 coats of Killz primer then sanded with 220 grit. After sanding some bare wood was showing.sprayed with a light gray water based paint 3 coats now have yellowish spots in some areas.can I spray with shalac to block out bleed through resand with 220 and repaint.
Hi Scott, if I understand correctly it sounds like you sanded through the primer so that bare wood was showing when you began to paint. If so, you would need to cover those areas again with primer in order to seal in whatever is bleeding through. When you sand after coats of primer and/or paint with 220 grit it’s a very light sanding. You want to be careful not to sand through the finish you’ve applied. Your goal with that sanding is to just knock off any roughness that may be there before applying your next coat. In my post I updated it to say I no longer recommend shellac so I would go back with whatever primer you used to seal in those areas that are bleeding through. You may even want to do two coats of primer as it sounds like you probably sanded pretty deep initially which would cause the wood to release more tannins. Do a very light sanding between coats of primer and then apply another coat of paint. Let me know if that helps!
I am experiencing bleed while painting with chalk paint on mahogany even after sealing it with shellac. The Zinser 123 didn’t work at all for me. Have you ever heard of this?
Hi Kim, Sorry I’m just seeing your comment. I hope you found a solution. Sometimes stains can be stubborn and it just requires a ridiculous amount of stain blocker (shellac or primer) to seal in those tannins.
Hi April, I just found your site. You have a wealth of information! Thank you for sharing.I have a large brown wooden divider
screen that I chalk painted white. I then distressed it with sandpaper. I did not wax it. It has a yellow bleed through. I repainted most of it and it still bled through.If I use the 123 bull’s-eye followed by my chalk paint, can I still distress it? Thank you so much!
Hi Joan, so sorry I’m just now seeing your comment. If you’ve not already found a solution, I would suggest using your primer and repainting as you said. And yes, you can still distress. You just have primer to distress through in addition to the paint so it may take a more coarse grit or heavier hand to distress the amount you’d like to remove. Good luck!
hi April, I am writing to get your help. This may be the solution to my problems. We have 100-year-old doors and decided to strip them. First, the experiment was with 4 doors. We used an infrared heat gun to remove paint then sand and experimented with primer 2-3 coats of latex,(better) Shellac,(bad) oil-based(worse) and it still bleeds pink. We decided to sand it down with a belt sander down to the “raw wood”. Thinking since no varnish or stain remains, we used latex primer and latex paint, and it still bleeds through and gets worse over time. (2 years now) Phase 2 experiment, we used Peel away paint remover up to the brown shellac layer then sanded and cleaned, then Citrilized the doors, and then applied two coats of white BIN primer Shellac base and then top with a latex primer and the pink color bleeds straight through. We have 3 doors that did not go through the paint stripping process and had dark mahogany shellac finish as a final finish. We lightly sanded those with 220 and used 1 coat of BIN shellac primer and it works great no bleeding at all. What can we do with the other 9 doors to get rid of the pink bleeding through? We want to reuse the old doors as they have stood the test of time and can imagine it is also old-growth wood.
Hi there, so sorry you’re having struggles with your doors. But what you described makes perfect sense. Though it sounds like sanding to raw wood would eliminate the possibility for bleed-through, it actually increases the likelihood. The tannins that bleed through can come from a variety of sources. Sometimes it’s something on the existing finish, and sometimes it is tannins from the actual wood. Also, on wood as old as your doors there has probably been a variety of cleaners and polishes used over time to help preserve them or make them look new again. Some of those polishes can sink down into the wood through a finish. So you may just need many coats of primer to seal in the bleed-through. I highly recommend Wise Owl stain eliminating primer for sealing in tannins. It is a water-based primer and I use it on all my projects that need primer to seal in bleed-through. It sounds like it will take several coats of primer, no matter which one you end up using. I hope that’s helpful. Please update me and let me know how it goes.