I just finished a play kitchen for my daughter out of poplar (design stolen
from pottery barn catalog). It was my first time using poplar and it was
very easy to work with, cut, sand, rout, etc.

Sanded, spray-primed, sanded, spray-primed, sanded, brush painted. The
finish came out great, smooth as glass. I sprayed Benjamin Moore 100%
acrylic all-purpose primer with an automotive type sprayer, no thinning.
finished it off with Benjamin Moore semi-gloss latex paint. While the
surface is smooth and looks great I doubt it would hold up well on a desk
that will be subjected to pens and pencils at a minimum.

Never used an HVLP sprayer but the next time I paint a project I will
definitely get one, the automotive sprayers have a ton of overspray.

--
Too much is not enough!
Ray
rvojtash NOT THIS ATcomcast DOT net
"Ron Short" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm finally ready to start making my daughter's desk, she's 8 and is
going to "help". She stated this week that she wanted it painted white.
I already bought all the maple and it seems a shame to cover it up with
paint. I was thinking about making it out of poplar now since it's
going to be painted. My question is do I make it out of maple anyway
since it will be much more durable or go with poplar to save money. Of
course you can't answer this for me but I'm curious what you think you
would do.

This is a small student's desk that I hope my daughter uses until
college. She lives with me part time so it wont get a whole lot of
abuse. She'll have a computer on it and maybe do some homework there.

Also, what kind of paint would be good. Would a standard enamel wall
paint be Ok or something else.

TIA

Ron