Painting - What did I do wrong?

I painted a bed made from mostly raw fir and pine lumber. First I primed it with Kilz, then put a coat of yellow paint on it. The paint looked thin, so I thought another coat was necessary,.... 4 coats later (total of 5!) the paint looks exactly like it did after the first coat!!! I have to do two more beds, so I would like to figure this out first!
Here is a picture. You can see the paint almost looks like it has dark streaks in it and is in no way uniform looking. Thanks for looking.

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc229/spamanon/paint.jpg

i would have asked the paint store to tint the primer first.
maybe a small amount of yellow just to break the white up a little. try using a smooth roller.

Did the primer cover well? Did you shake the paint?

Is that a factory tinted paint or did the store tint it?It looks either not shaken well or improperly tinted or maybe the wrong base was used.Yellows as well as reds often use a specific base for tinting in many paint lines.

I don't think this is a primer issue.I would return to the store and talk to them about this.Especially if they tinted it.

Ultimately trying another can is probably the next step.

I don't quite know how to answer the question of did the primer coat well. I put a coat of primer on every square inch of the surface. Do you mean that I should have put a second and maybe third coat of primer on? I thought the purpose of primer was just for the paint to have a surface to stick too, and as such, the layer didn't need to be that thick or 'covering.' Am I supposed to prime until the surface is solid white?


The question about the paint: Yes, I bought the paint at The Home Depot where the yellow tint was added by the teenager who was (apparently) following the directions on the computer screen. Yes, I shook it for 5 solid minutes very vigorously, then stirred it after opening the can.


Another thing, a friend of mine (not a painter) said that I should have sanded the paint between every coat. I have never sanded paint on a wall between coats before, and have never had a problem. Is there something to this?

Thanks for all of your replies so far!

Hey Guys!

1st:
* Verify the base this Yellow was supposed to be in...meaning; a pre-tinted yellow base, or, the normal Accent/Neutral base.
* You should just be able to phone and ask. Have your can handy!

2nd: (assuming correct base)
* Buy and have them tint Zinsser's 123 Deep-tint primer to 75% of your colors' formula.
* If your Yellow went into a yellow base, find a close yellow color that goes into a "normal" Neutral/Accent/Ultra-deep base, and have that formula tinted into the primer.
* To THIS primer formula, I'd add 1Y of White colorant (the paint-desk should know what that means!).

ONE coat of yellow primer should be sufficient, UNLESS your wood is really thirsty!!
* Two coats is certainly acceptable in this case, especially if you want the topcoats to look smoother.
* After 1 or 2 primecoats have dried at least 6 hrs., it's usually sandable. The colorant load is high, therefore the long wait to be sandable.
* Remove ALL dust, and roll/backbrush TWO FULL coats of paint, about 4 hours apart. Use long, smooth strokes for brushing, and don't pull the coats too thin.

I wouldn't have let you out the door without a yellow primer under that yellow!

Faron

Yellows can be challenging to get good coverage with. As noted above, I'd double check to make sure they used the right tint base. If the right base was used, then I'd suspect the quality of the paint being used. You are almost always better off buying coatings from your local paint store as opposed to a big box paint dept.

Faron79's advice is more or less sound but far too complex to expect from a big box paint department.

Although tintable primer would have likely helped,properly tinted paint should have covered with the number of coats you used.

Honestly I'd try elsewhere and not another big box store.go to a paint store or old time hardware and feel out the staff.If you don't feel they are knowledgeable go to another store.As for the paint you have go back to the store and verify it was mixed correctly.If not ask for a refund.Do not call a big box store to try and solve this problem.

FYI:1Y = 1 ounce of colorant.

Pick out several paint chips that are close to the color of the paint and let the paint help determine which one would work best in the tintable primer.If the help is knowledgeable they will know which primer to use but if you don't feel confident make sure they use a tintable primer that will accept more than the normal 2 ounce limit.

Thank you all. I will switch to the paint store down the street from THD, and spend some time talking to the folks in there about my situation.