I have been painting for several years.. Whenever I paint indoor doors (as well as outdoors) I just use a brush.. However, sometimes I am getting unsightly brush strokes... What would be the best way to paint a door?
Paint with the grain. Use a quality brush. Thin the paint a bit. Add Penetrol to oil base paint or use the latex product (flow something) for latex paint. Outside don't paint in direct sunlight.
Colbyt
Don't "over brush". The paint has to be wet to self-level.
Horizontally.
Also, it depends a lot on the paint. Used to be that most leveled very nicely...I used to roll it on and then tip off with a good brush; once the brush started dragging slightly it was time to stop tipping off. Different brands of paint behaved differently. That was oil paint, of course. If you don't want brush marks with latex, spray it. Most oils nowadays too, they are so thick they are almost like partially set Jello.
Those new rounded-end smooth foam rollers work great for doors. They come in 6 inch or 3 inch widths, the diameter of these rollers is only an inch or so (if looking in the store). If it is a panel door I first do the panel insets/outsets with a sash brush. Then I do all the remaining flat planes with the foam roller which leaves a perfect untextured surface and cleans up the lap lines that the brush may have made on the plane surfaces.
Hmm, What is wrong with good roller?
I've used little Preval sprayers for doors...louvered. They are an 8 oz. glass jar with air can/siphon that screws onto it. For a four section louvered door, both sides, I probably used 8 cans of air. As Colby suggested, use Penetrol or Floetrol (sp?) to thin the paint slightly. I've used water to thin latex paint for use in the Preval when I was too lazy to go to the paint store. For solid doors, I would prefer to take them down and paint them flat. The louvered doors I sp. painted had had a really lousy paint job previously...lots of drips on the louvers and the doors had been upside-down when painted. I shaved off the drips, sanded, primed..couldn't believe how nice they turned out. I use Preval's for small paint jobs and craft stuff.
They have a small spray pattern, so they were perfect for louvered door. Didn't have many runs with the thinned paint, but I kept a foam brush with min. spirits handy to catch the runs before they started to dry. I also used the Preval to paint our old range hood with Rustoleum enamel. Slapped some newspaper on the cabinets and painted away...no drift like a spray can.
Paint with a good latex paint and add some " FloeTrol" to make the paint flow out better. Brush marks and roller texture virtually disappear
I'd revise that to 'LESS DRIFT THAN A SPRAY CAN" Preval is an expensive way to paint though. I got a cheap touch-up gun from Princess Auto (like Harbour Fright but in Canada) and use a small compressor.
clipped
Little or no drift. For the projects I have done, Preval is perfect. No place to store spray equipment in our condo, no left-over spray cans. With Preval sprayers, I can dispense just the amount and color needed, so there is no waste. When I last bought refills, I think two refill cans of air cost about $3. They clean up nicely and can be reused as long as the air isn't gone. For a set of closet doors, I think I used total 8 cans of air...primed, two coats of paint...so the spray equipment cost, perhaps, $16?
Last time I bougt Prevals up here they were about $4 EACH - and that was quite a number of years ago.
im using benjamin moore paint with no vocs,aura or the other.. dont know if you suggested to add floetrol
Colby suggested the thinners...Floetrol, Penetrol? I've used both but don't remember which is which. The Preval sprayer instr. rec. thinning and both products work very well. When I sprayed louvered door, it was a bit of a trick to keep from getting sags in the paint, but just part of the learning curve. Spraying the joints between frame and louvers with the Preval sprayer went much better than if I had used a brush...can do more thin coats to cover and keep from getting drips.
Those were the largest items I have used Preval for..the other was our old range hood, which I painted in place. Nice, smooth, even coverage and no spray flying around the kitchen :o)
Stop using a brush. For the best finish trim out with a brush first and then roller everything.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.