# Painting frame and panel cabinet doors



## George_N (17 Apr 2006)

I've made up a prototype door out of MDF for a kitchen project...the loose tenon kind described in another thread recently. Making the door has been the easy part, how do you hold/support the door for painting? Doing one side at a time and letting it dry is very slow and tends to leave the paint a little thick on the underside edges. I'm brush painting the door lying flat, as I don't have any spraying equipment...not sure how MDF primer would spray anyway as it's pretty thick. Are there any tricks or tips as to how to do this or do I just need to be more patient?


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## Argee (17 Apr 2006)

One way is to screw a couple of eyelets (like those used in picture hanging) into either the top or bottom edge - whichever won't show when the door is finally hung - then hang it by a piece of wire or stout string. The other advantage is that dust tends to settle on the face less when the door is drying vertically.

Crude, but effective. 

Ray.


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## George_N (17 Apr 2006)

Argee":zeq1xr4c said:


> One way is to screw a couple of eyelets (like those used in picture hanging) into either the top or bottom edge - whichever won't show when the door is finally hung - then hang it by a piece of wire or stout string. The other advantage is that dust tends to settle on the face less when the door is drying vertically.
> 
> Crude, but effective.
> 
> Ray.



Good idea!
Would it work if the eyelets were attached on the back where the hinges will go? I thought I would paint first and drill the hinge mounting holes later. This is just a prototype and probably won't be used in the kitchen...maybe in the workshop. I'm glad I made it first before launching into a whole kitchens worth of doors and drawer fronts. The door making part of the exercise was much easier than I thought...the loose tenons make frame construction so easy. It's the finishing that has thrown up most problems and if I don't get that right it won't matter how good or otherwise the construction is.

cheers

George


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## jasonB (17 Apr 2006)

I tend to do one face and two edges at a time, painting the door flat then standing on edge to dry. Though if it's only half a dozen doors I will do 1 face & four edges leaving the doors laid flat as the paint dries. I paint the back first that way it's resting on the back when the final coat goes on the front.

I use a brush & 4" foam roller. Paint around the edge of the panel with brush, roll panel then lay off with the brush, roll edges, roll rails then lay off with brush, roll styles then lay off.

I find it better to drill the hinge holes after painting as the roller repeats the "ghost hole" every revolution.

Jason


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## Scrit (17 Apr 2006)

Hi George

Make-up a piece of chipboard with four screws through it, one in each corner. The screws protrude through the same amount. Paint the back then lay the door carefully onto the four points, back down. The edges and front can then be painted and the marks at the back are barely noticeable if one uses something like #6 screws. Make your boards up from offcuts, scrap, etc and you can get enough for a project cheaply. If you are stuck for space fix a couple of studs to the wall, drill and insert dowel rod to make a vertical drying rack which works like the professional ones.

If your primer is water based it can be thinned with water before application. Warm your finishes and the workpiece before applying and keep the temperature in the drying room up to speed-up the process of setting-off. A foam brush or radiator roller works just as well as Jason says.

Good advice about not drilling hardware holes because the ghosting repeats, Jason! As a sprayer I'd miss that.

Scrit


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## George_N (17 Apr 2006)

Scrit":3h63h1wg said:


> Hi George
> 
> Make-up a piece of chipboard with four screws through it, one in each corner. The screws protrude through the same amount. Paint the back then lay the door carefully onto the four points, back down. The edges and front can then be painted and the marks at the back are barely noticeable if one uses something like #6 screws. Make your boards up from offcuts, scrap, etc and you can get enough for a project cheaply. If you are stuck for space fix a couple of studs to the wall, drill and insert dowel rod to make a vertical drying rack which works like the professional ones.
> 
> ...



I've been kind of trying what you suggest by using an old Workmate and four plastic 'dogs'. I'd be worried about screw points scratching the piece if it moved as I painted. I do like the idea of a drying rack though and yes, the MDF primer is a lot easier to work if it is thinned a little with water. I intend to use all water-based throughout including a clear floor varnish to finish...should be pretty hard wearing.

cheers

George


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## Scrit (17 Apr 2006)

George_N":36m3vzso said:


> I've been kind of trying what you suggest by using an old Workmate and four plastic 'dogs'. I'd be worried about screw points scratching the piece if it moved as I painted.


The plastic dogs will probably allow your piece to slide around as they doubtless have little or no "bite". They're probably a lot bigger, too. It all depends on how important it is that the back surface be _absolutely_ blemish-free. For paint finishes I'll knock the piece down gently onto the points so that it won't move at all then fill with an appropriate colour stopping when I'm done (if it's that bad, normally it isn't), then a spot of paint on each filled hole and they're just about completely invisible - this is a common approach in commercial furniture spraying (although the don't bother to fill 9 times out of 10). 

Another thing to consider is raising the finishing room temperature and improving ventilation to speed-up the drying process. Some of the stuff I spray goes off and can be recoated after 20 minutes which means that these long waits are immaterial.

Scrit


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## engineer one (17 Apr 2006)

by default, i watched diy on qvc yesterday.
two products that seemed useful
a new kind of bench holding device which is basically a load of bent
rods, but allow you to hold the wood in a lot of different directions.
the design can fit on a bench, or the floor, and four together might well 
make a good paint drying bench, also useful for holding doors etc.
didn't seem too expensive, maybe they are available elsewhere too.

other product was a four sided marker board. kind of like a four sided folding triangle. so you could make a rhombus,or similar.

sure they are on the web site, but might well be of use and value.

paul :wink:


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## George_N (18 Apr 2006)

engineer one":20i3e8oy said:


> other product was a four sided marker board. kind of like a four sided folding triangle. so you could make a rhombus,or similar.
> 
> sure they are on the web site, but might well be of use and value.
> 
> paul :wink:



Is this what you meant?

cheers

George


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## engineer one (18 Apr 2006)

yes, exactly, and looks cheaper too :lol: :lol: 

paul :wink:


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