So please tell me how bad of an idea this is. I have a couple of unpainted steel exterior doors which I’m thinking about using a paint brush and a roller to paint. Has anyone had success doing this? I’m in a really small town and am afraid to see what the construction supply place will charge to rent a sprayer for two days.
Thanks,
Ben
Replies
buy a cheapo spray gun..
take them to an auto body shop..
zero nap roller, really high quality paint brush and flotrol..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Thanks for the ideas. Would there be a big downside to using paint thinner, instead of flotrol? I'm not trying to be cheap here, the hardware store just doesn't have any paint conditioner.
Ben
the vflotrol is to help get rid of the brush and roller marks..
paint thinner is a different animal...
Got access to a SW store or the like.. they'll have it..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Any real paint/hardware stores are a 300 mile plane ride away. If it will really make a difference, I can get some air freighted out here... It just occurred to me, I'm using latex paint. I guess paint thinner wouldn't work.
Ben
I've discovered auto-body paint that the store will put in pressurized cans for me for $15 a can. I'm guessing such a store is also 300 miles away...natch. It's an incredibly tough paint for a metal surface, though, which gives a very professional-looking job with zero fuss, and is very fast-drying.
How many cans per door?
blue
The cans i've bought are larger than a regular 'Krylon'-type can. One can could easily paint one side of a 36" door, at least two and more likely three coats, depending on size of door, glazing, color, etc. You can get it with hardener mixed in, which makes the paint impervious to thinners, but shortens the life to 4 hours in which it needs to be used, or you can get it without hardener, which means you can use it days later. Since i'm 35 miles from the town where i buy it, i get it w/o hardener to give a longer window of opportunity, which works fine, but i take care not to spill gasoline on my door, in that case. ;^)
SG,What brand/model of paint is this that the shop is packaging for you in spray cans? Can you buy the paint from them in liquid form with hardener separate and spray it through a HVLP setup? The hardener sounds like a good thing to use, but added just before spraying. Thanks.Bill
I go through a PartsPlus store, and the paint brand is "Limco". You buy color, reducer, and hardener separately, mix them in the ratio required, then spray through any decent gun. I did a truck about ten years ago in red...rather oxidized, but it's still sticking...that i mixed myself, my first attempt with car paint. After that, i did a cast iron bathtub. I ASSUME they just put the same paint, mixed with reducer and possibly hardener, in the cans i've gotten. I did a custom bumper (plastic one) using a spray can on another vehicle after prepping with a special flex primer, if anyone is thinking about spraying vinyl trim. I got it without the hardener that time and that lasted very well, too. Mostly it's a matter of cost v. convenience - you get a lot less paint in a pressurized can than you do in a similar price point of mix-it-yourself, but for just one door, for instance, the ease would be worth it. Two doors...i would mix it myself. Best thing is that the colors you can get are glorious!They sold me a lacquer thinner for when i sprayed the mix through a gun that was hotter than regular lacquer thinner, or so it seemed. I think you could use regular wood finishing lacquer thinner, but this appeared to work a bit better cutting the paint.
Edited 12/18/2006 5:55 pm ET by splintergroupie
You are giving me great food for thought! Thank you!
blue
Thank you for the info. I need to check out auto supply stores for better paint next time I need some.Bill
You and blueeyeddevil are most welcome. Your comment about "better paint"...do you mean better than latex or do you mean you got some poor auto paint in the past?
By "better paint" I was meaning to indicate something more durable than typical spray-can enamels like Krylon and Rustoleum, for instance.
I don't use Krylon, but i found that it was pretty hard to paint over Rustoleum...nothing would stick to it.
and this was good?
http://www.quittintime.com/
damn, am I fat!
If by "this" you mean my not being able to re-paint without stripping the Rustoleum from those six columns....nope, not good at all. I may have cursed.
That's ok. Sometimes it helps.
http://www.quittintime.com/
damn, am I fat!
The paint thinner is a solvent for the paint, and thins it. The flotrol is a conditioner and makes it flow easier without thinning.
Have you considered a couple of cans of spray krylon?
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I guess I could use Krylon. I already have some good exterior paint in my prefered color. Maybe I just need to order some flotrol.
Ben
"Would there be a big downside to using paint thinner, instead of flotrol? "
I don't know if you've been informed yet but floetrol is used on latex paint and penetrol is used on oil base paints.
I have painted a quite a few doors and I have also ruined a few door in my life and here are a couple of tips that have made it easier.
On a Flat panel door, just use a really nice "weenie" or "pencil" style roller (purdy is best in my area) with a 1/8 nap (the pink one at HD) and take your time.
Don't paint on a hot day, the paint will set up fast and leave bigger bumps. The colder it is, the longer it takes for the paint to dry and it will lay flatter. But don't paint in near frezzing weather either.
On a six panel door, paint the "beaveled" part of the panels first with a really nice brush (2-1/2" Purdy) first and then use the 1/8" pencil roller on all the raised parts of the panels.
Paint the Stiles (vertical parts) next with the pencil roller.
Paint the Railes next (horizontal parts) but stop where the rail meets the stile. (pretend it's a real wood door and imagine how the wood members would meet. Try to recreate this)
Last, paint the smaller stiles in the center of the door again, stoping where it meets the rails.
Hope this helps.
I've painted many a steel door with brush and roller. I don't know how much experience you have painting, but my doors came out just fine. One of the hardest ones I did was a 6-panel door in gloss black. I added Floetrol (it's for latex) to help reduce brush marks. If you look carefully, you can still see some, but I think it's pretty good and the home owner was happy.
If possible, remove the door and lay it flat for painting. This will help to avoid problems with drips or runs.
-Don
You need to use a non-water based primer on steel. Water based can cause rusting and bleed-through. The Flo-trol will allow the paint to skin over and dry flatter. If you can get the foam rollers, they will give you the smoothest coating but take your time or you'll have a lot of little bubbles in the surface.
I would use a can of Rust-oleum paint and a brush. How long would that take? If you think that applying the paint with a roller would be much faster, I still probably would smooth out the wet paint with a brush.
I always paint doors with a roller and brush. On fake raised panel doors, I paint the perimeter of the panel with a brush, moving quickly and then roll everything else, again, working fast. Don't brush the paint too much. Just get it on there and let it dry. Adding floetrol will slow down the drying and let the paint flow out a bit better. I recently started using small dense foam rollers. They leave a fairly smooth finish. Not as smooth as spraying, but I'm pleased with the results.
Thanks to all for the ideas. Especially about not using water based paint on steel. I hadn't thought of that.
Ben
I don't really have anything new to add here, except to add my support to the idea of using something besides latex. We live in a latex world, and yeah, I know that latex paints are much improved over what they were even a few years ago. But I have yet to meet a latex paint that will give me as smooth a surface as I can get with alkyd. I would suggest you go to whoever sells paint locally, and talk to them about the best quality oil paint they have (or can get) that is formulated for metal. The paint I use for metal is self-priming, but check the label to see what they recommend for a primer. Next, and most important, get yourself a good brush -- which for me in this case would be a white china bristle brush. A good one (e.g. Purdy, Wooster) will cost a bit more than $20, but my local paint store sells a much cheaper, perfectly acceptable (white china bristle) brush for about $12 (Yachtsman). You can roller the paint on the door and brush it out to speed things up, but it is important that you get a really good roller, since the cheapies can and will shed fibers, resulting in a paint job that looks really crappy. If you know how to "tip off" with your brush, there is no reason you cannot get a result that is close to the smooth quality of a sprayed finish.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
I'm guessing the ak is for alaska. Does that mean no big box stores either? Fill out you profile by clicking on you own name.
Headstrong, I'll take on anyone!
I've done just what you propose, with decent results.
If the doors are truly unfinished - no primer - a primer is a good thing for an oil paint, and essential if you plant to use any kind of latex.
Ordinary "Rust-O-Leum" is a rather soft paint, and will mark / scratch rather easily. A 'lacquer' or 'appliance enamel' is a much harder finish.
Surprisingly, you can get pretty good results using a roller with a nap so fine it looks like peach fuzz. You will want to dis-mount the doors, and have them laying flat. You will also have to protect them from dust, debris, and the family cat for at least four hours while they dry.
I would take pains to select a color that is also available in spray cans, for future touch-ups.
One thing about oil paints, as well as epoxies ... they take time to 'cure.' This is different from 'dry to the touch.' During that curing period, a lot of self-leveling takes place; so don't sweat minor brush marks.
I've seen steel doors painted to look like oak. They were so realistic that I couldn't tell the difference even after close scrutiny. I had to feel the rolled edges on the bottom to confirm my gut feeling.
blue
That kind of wood graining is a real art, though. I gathered the tools to do it once, made a mess, then called in someone who knew what they were doing.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
You will find this hard to believe, but some military(steel) ships are now painted with latex paint. If you buy a good quality paint and follow the directions and the comments from other posters you should have a good paint job!