I have a handfull of flat-panel or slab doors that I need to paint. WIll be doing it by hand with latex. Just finished repainting some cabinet doors for our house and had good luck, but I’m worried about full size doors.
For the cabinet doors I added a touch of flotrol, rolled the paint on with a 1/4″ nap roller, then back brushed. My concern is that on a regular door that the rolled out paint will skin over before I can brush it out.
Any advice short of HVLP or sprayer?
Also, once you mix flotrol with paint, can you return it to the can or should it be thrown out?
Thanks,
KH
Replies
I've painted a lot of doors with 1/4" nap roller without back-brushing. They turned out fine. It's impossible to avoid stipple marks completely, but as long as the door is consistent, I think it looks pretty good.
If you really want an ultra-smooth finish without spraying, then you might be better of with an oil-based paint. Removed the door and paint it lying flat to avoid sags/runs.
-Don
I'd second that about the oil paint. The biggest drawback would be the down time while it dries/cures.
If you're determined to use latex, though, I'd say you've got the right idea. And no, I wouldn't think there's any problem with putting the floetrol back in the can - or even adding more later.
The only thing I would add is that you should paint with the right sequence. Edges first, then the panels, then the rails, then the stiles. On a large panel I like to roll out the paint, brush in the edges and corners, then brush the field starting at the top with long parallel strokes down to about knee level. This way, when you come up from the bottom your "blending zone" will be well below eye level. When you're satisfied with the vertical strokes, go back around and re-brush the border to clean it up. Wherever your paint slops on to the rails/stiles, brush it in to follow the grain of the wood (or the direction the grain would go, if there is no grain). Then paint out the rails, starting with the bottom rail, and finally, the stiles.
Obviously, the quicker you can go the better - but with Floetrol you shouldn't have a problem. Just add as much as you need to keep the brush from dragging.
If you've never tried using one of those "painting pads" (the sponge with the short white hairs), you should. They work surprisingly well and it's easy to make very straight brush strokes, especially on a wide panel.
And don't forget to seal the top and bottom edges - this will help keep the doors from swelling.
i've been painting flat panel doors with oil based primer and paint with penetrol conditioner using a $50 hvlp cup gun from Harbor Freight and my air compressor. i can mix, shoot, disassemble and clean the gun in about half the time it would take to paint by hand, and the result is far superior. of course, that may have more to do with my brushing talent than the spray equipment.
i shoot them lying flat outside because i don't have a way to hang them outside and i have a gas water heater in the shop. i usually shoot one side, then roll them in to dry overnight. on a warm dry saturday i can shoot one side in the a.m. and the other late in the day. i guess if i had enough to warrant it, i could find a way to stand them and shoot both sides together.
more importantly, i don't have to clean oil base out of a brush, and i get to buy another tool.