Panel doors

nosmo-king

Whats the correct way to paint internal pressed panel doors. I have a few to paint soon and would like a few tips. When I've painted this type of door in the past it always seemed like a race to finish in ten mins to avoid smudge marks etc.
These doors have already been painted once before (under & overcoated)
Tks n adv for any tips.

oleras

10 Mins ? would take me that long to stir the paint.......

Painted one incl frame monday and took the bones of 2 hours, you cant rush gloss paint.

What i did find very good were the small gloss rollers, very good on the flat surfaces, puts on the right amount of paint so no drips.

Give it a good wash and light sand first, using a 75mm brush paint the inlays, just coming over onto the flat surfaces and finish the flat surfaces with the gloss roller. Always better to have 2 thin coats of gloss than 1 thick one. Also needs a good 24 hours between coats, although it should only need 1.

Wertz

If you intend using rollers for a finish, please make sure to lay off the paint and leave brushstrokes....nothing as horrible looking as a spongy paintjob on timber.
Are you changing colour or just freshening up? If the colour is to remain the same then you should get away with a light sanding and one coat of topcoat.

nosmo-king

I like to use a brush. I will just be doing a fresh up with the same colour. The problem I find is that if you take your time painting you will leave a brush (smudge) mark if you touch against a piece you painted a few minutes earlier.

oleras

Wertz wrote: »

If you intend using rollers for a finish, please make sure to lay off the paint and leave brushstrokes....nothing as horrible looking as a spongy paintjob on timber.
Are you changing colour or just freshening up? If the colour is to remain the same then you should get away with a light sanding and one coat of topcoat.

Spongy finish ? if it is done properly you will have a "glass like finish" , not spongy !

Wertz

I've yet to see a door or any piece of timber that looked good after a roller (including mofab or sponge) was let near it without laying off. It's not just the finish, it's the build-up of undercoats and primers too that lead to it. Like I say, if it's laid off and brushed out, that doesn't happen.
But hey, what do I know, I've only been doing this job 12 yrs...

nosmo-king

What does" laid off" mean?

nosmo-king

OH and I should also ask should finishing coat be mixed (diluted) with white spirit.
Tks

game4it70

Wertz wrote: »

I've yet to see a door or any piece of timber that looked good after a roller (including mofab or sponge) was let near it without laying off. It's not just the finish, it's the build-up of undercoats and primers too that lead to it. Like I say, if it's laid off and brushed out, that doesn't happen.
But hey, what do I know, I've only been doing this job 12 yrs...

lol everybody thinks they can paint.
what wertz says is correct. i'm 20 years painting and this man knows his stuff from the advice i've read in previous threads.

game4it70

nosmo-king wrote: »

OH and I should also ask should finishing coat be mixed (diluted) with white spirit.
Tks

its not essential but if you do thin use only a small drop to let it out a bit.it makes it easier to lay off so you dont need to put as much on.too much will lead to runs and gallops.

Wertz

Laying off is basically removing excess paint from the applied layer before it starts to bind.
In relation to rolling, it means that you're rolling on a layer of paint (quicker than brushing it on) but then flattening and feathering that paint to leave it as if it were only brushed.
Doing this removes the rolled finish, possible pinholes and air bubbles, the sponginess, the orange peel effect or any other roller texture. Textures like this are especially noticable in exterior gloss work. The texture may be acceptable on walls, flush metal surfaces and the like, but on woodgrain it just looks messy and all for the sake of an extra 10% effort.
BTW as game4it70 says, laying off also helps prevent runs and gathers...best practice for avoiding runs is thinning the paint (not by much) and trying to always finish your brushwork with upward strokes (where grain runs vertically)...

nosmo-king

Thanks for all the info folks. I would only use a roller on flat plastered walls .
I dont think you can beat a good brush finish. It seems that getting the undercoat part of the job correct is vital to a good finish.
Tks for all.