Door Painting

[timswi]

Let's preface this by me saying that I loathe house painting..That being said, what is the best method to paint interior Masonite doors?

I don't want to roll/brush. I do have a Binks HVLP air gun for painting cars (I do like that) but I don't want to trash the gun.

Is an airless better, or just dilute the latex and blow it through the Binks?

Any opinions are welcome--Thanks.

 

[Billrog]

An airless will do a very good job , but I'm not to sure latex is a very durable finish for doors.

 

[chim]

We refreshed our family room a few years ago and the biggest pain was painting the doors and trim. I always like oil based paint for this work, but now everybody wants to sell the latex low VOC junk. The worst part is the paint didn't want to stay wet long enough. There was virtually no time to work it. Going along the trim was bad enough. Trying to get the whole one side of the door without getting into a dry edge was very difficult.

 

[timswi]

We refreshed our family room a few years ago and the biggest pain was painting the doors and trim. I always like oil based paint for this work, but now everybody wants to sell the latex low VOC junk. The worst part is the paint didn't want to stay wet long enough. There was virtually no time to work it. Going along the trim was bad enough. Trying to get the whole one side of the door without getting into a dry edge was very difficult.

Agreed with all of that..Ergo my spraying option.

As an addition, I'm willing to pay for an airless ($400 or so) but I don't want to waste my money.

 

[Deere Dude]

Agreed with all of that..Ergo my spraying option.

As an addition, I'm willing to pay for an airless ($400 or so) but I don't want to waste my money.

I am not sure what kind of airless you are talking about, but my $400 sprayer works fine if you use a minimum of a gallon or a 5 gallon bucket. For small jobs it would be a pain. I got a couple HVLP sprayers for maybe $20 a piece and they paint very good, nice and smooth. They are big enough to hold maybe 1/2-1 pint in the reservoir which is way plenty for a door or two.

 

[timswi]

I am not sure what kind of airless you are talking about, but my $400 sprayer works fine if you use a minimum of a gallon or a 5 gallon bucket. For small jobs it would be a pain. I got a couple HVLP sprayers for maybe $20 a piece and they paint very good, nice and smooth. They are big enough to hold maybe 1/2-1 pint in the reservoir which is way plenty for a door or two.

Therein lies the question...Is it better to dilute the latext and fire it though a $500 Binx and will that work ? I see that you say yes...Dilution ratio, if you have one?

 

[k0ua]

I have one like this. it will do a great job. Use a viscosity stick to adjust the thinness of the latex paint.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Campbell-...fault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n



viscosity stick - Google Search

If you don't have or can't find a viscosity stick, just use your own judgement. Start with about 1/2 a cup of paint, put a little water in it. stir it up with a stick, withdraw the stick, look at how the paint comes off of the stick. add more water if needed. Do a test spray on scrap, if the paint looks good, paint the door. if it spits and gobs, adjust gun nozzle or thin the paint some more... Just use common sense.

 

[mikefromnh]

Buy or rent an airless or use a waterborne lacquer like target em6500 or sherwins aqua-kem.

 

[ray66v]

An airless is ideal for house paint.

But, you can spray it with a conventional air powered spray gun, for trim work, if you really want to. I do it all the time.

Thin it only enough to get it to spray well. Don't use anymore air pressure than you have to, to get the paint to go on nice.

An HVLP gravity feed gun with a large fluid nozzle, (1.4, or bigger, works best).

If you are spraying white semigloss, it is often transparent. Using satin for the first coat(s), gets you covered faster. Let it dry. Then, follow up with the semigloss.

Chim: There are additives for slowing latex paint drying time down. This one works well: Flood Floetrol 1-qt. Clear Latex Paint Additive-FLD6-4 - The Home Depot

 

[handirifle]

Buy or rent an airless or use a waterborne lacquer like target em6500 or sherwins aqua-kem.

+1 on the lacquer, lot more durable.