Issues with painting a fireplace mantle.  

oh..
and I did use Liquid Sandpaper on the mantle-piece, prior to priming. The paint brand is Behr. I should have used Farrow and Ball, probably.
Aunt Mark

I too need a drink..
I too need a drink! Is this your Florida fireplace? What once was dark..... Does this mean no more 'evil in the womb'??? Sorry I'm no help whatsoever...

order up Possum, drinks are on me.
yep, I'm killing time in Florida..and the mantle used to be dark.
maybe I should just leave it alone, and go North for a while.
Oh the drama...evil in the womb,
Aunt Mark

.
Durability
Lacking in my finish work
Evil in the womb.

.
The brown wall looked tired
Crypto makes me ambitious
Evil in the womb.

FIVE coats....?
Jesus! (in the womb)
Leave it alone for awhile
Too much paint too fast
or
drive north and blame Ray
tomorrow's another day
try sealcoat next?
or
everyone on DA
OCD in their own way
it's more fun that way
Im sorry its not coming out right Mark. I think it might be best to wait a bit before deciding on the next step. Usually though, paint not sticking has a lot to do with the coat below. I'm sure you know that already, so lets not go there YET. (Evil in the womb)

I'v had my Parisienne now
I'v had my Parisienne now and am feeling much better (?).. It really looks great! Just don't touch it. Go north, young man..

.
my dearest Aunt Mark
why floetrol in the BIN?
I've ne'er heard of that

Thank for the great advice and lovely haiku, EH, and darling *spanky*..
I had to do 5 thin coats, as the Floetral thins the paint so much. I did make sure that the prior layer was dry before proceeding. I think that I will walk away from it for a spell. May be the magic will happen on its own.
Call the airport, time to move-on. I'll come back and check it in a couple of weeks..or so.
Aunt Mark
I am overly neurotic about paint finishes. I so dislike slop.

Greetings *spanky*.
I suspect that is the problem. I just didn't want any "brush marks", and because the primer dries so quickly, adding the Flotral gave me a little more time to smooth the coats out. I probably shouldn't have added it. Maybe I will decoupage the mantle top in snappies of vintage naked ladies, and pictures of raw meat.
Just a thought,
Aunt Mark
ps the surface is quite dry to the touch...but quite tender.

Well,
I know that alcohol based finished are tricky sometimes. They do dry to the touch very quickly but they need to continue to dry before you add another layer of finish. If you don't let them dry completely, like for a day or two, whatever you put over them can alligator as the shellac primer continues to dry, and shrink, and harden.
I've never used Floetrol. I have used BIN shellac primer a lot, though. And also, regular shellac as a primer. In the old house we bought in Denmark, the bedroom that my sweet little son chose just REEKED of cigars. And one corner of the room had a dark brown streak of something running down the wall. I don't know if it was just a weird roof leak or if it had something to do with the cigar smell, but I didn't take any chances. I painted the crap out of it with shellac, like 2-3 coats, and then painted over with a couple of coats of latex. I remember it getting kind of subtly alligatored but at that point I didn't care as long as it stopped stinking. Which it did.
That's my best shellac primer story.
Evil in the [corner of the] room.

The brown paint
that was there before: was it oil based perchance? That could explain the paint coming off since latex (water-based) doesn't stick to oil-based paint.
Otherwise, I've got nothing. Never used floetrol. Sounds interesting. Might have to use it in the next room I paint. Over latex, of course.

leif
Latex over shellac primer is fine, though. And I am pretty sure you can use shellac primer on anything.
I think it was too many coats in too short a period as someone else suggested above. Especially if the latex was semi-gloss. That stuff tends to skin over and feel dry to the touch but is still soft, and if you recoat too soon the first layer will take forEVER to dry.
Floetrol helps paint level out and prevents brush marks.
There is a newish paint or enamel or something that levels really well and looks like glass when dry, pretty much. My daughter painted a smooth ceramic lamp with it and it looks like the same smooth, glossy glaze but in a different color.
CabinetCoat is a pretty good self-leveling paint but you have to watch out for drips and sags and fix them within five minutes or so or they set up that way.

Thanks all for the kind replies.
I think that the best option is to not place anything on top of the mantle until I return next month. May be I'll get lucky. Time heals all, right?
gloom and wicked wombs,
Aunt Mark
ps I did let the primer dry for 2 days. And the green/brown former color was also latex (as I did it myself..still have the can).