# hand painted v spray



## tsb (26 Mar 2009)

I'm nearly ready to paint the doors on my kitchen I'm making. I was planning to have a go at spray painting them but last wkend had a day out in Harrogate, where I popped in to have a nosey at the Smallbone, Chalon and Mark Wilkinson showrooms. All their painted kitchens were hand painted which made me feel that I should also hand paint. Does the hand painted finish look a more expensive look and the spray finish look like a shed bought kitchen. Before I make the choice, any of your opinions would be appreciated


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## Jake (26 Mar 2009)

I think it rather depends on the style of the kitchen - those guys will be selling the hand-painted finish as part of their ersatz-traditional look. If you've gone for that, or the full frills Clive Christian look, it's probably a better call than spray.


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## tsb (26 Mar 2009)

The style is a shaker door in a face frame


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## RobertMP (26 Mar 2009)

I'd make up a spare door and test paint it if I was you. I had some problems along the way spray painting my MDF kitchen doors but I ended up with a quality I could never have achieved by hand finishing.


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## Jake (26 Mar 2009)

I think with a shaker style, you have a choice and it depends whether you want to tip it towards a modern or a more trad/rustic feel.


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## colin taylor (26 Mar 2009)

Hand painting has the advantage of squashing paint into the cracks between panel and rails/stiles. You don't need a booth and don't get overspray. Spraying in a garage is ok but there's the risk of flies, wind blown seeds, dust etc.

I think most customers prefer a hand painted finish. Its the perfect addition to a handmade kitchen. 

Spraying is good for two reasons: 
to get absolutely flawless surface, especially for high gloss finishes;
for speed in a production environment.

A shaker kitchen needs a flat (i.e. not gloss) sheen and so brushing would make sense


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## BradNaylor (28 Mar 2009)

I think you will find that all the manufacturers you mention spray everything with 2 or 3 coats of primer and sometimes a coat of paint before fitting. The hand painting is simply the final top coat done on site.

I wouldn't even think of doing it all by hand.

Cheers
Dan


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## matt (28 Mar 2009)

Personally I prefer a hand painted finish. Whether that is just the final coat or all coats. Spray finish can look just too perfect for my tastes.


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## tsb (29 Mar 2009)

Have decided to sample hand painting on an door which went wrong. Its my first ever project so I do seem to have a couple or so lying around. Tending to think spraying might look like its come out of a factory. Thanks for all advice as always


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## imaginarynumber (24 May 2009)

I paint most of my doors by hand maintaining constant tramlines on the styles and rails.

The "expensive" kitchen doors are first sprayed with acid cat and then (often badly) hand painted on site.

Thus no need for sanding on site and reduced drying times allowing the kitchen to be used earlier.


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## Calpol (24 May 2009)

A friend of mine is a kitchen maker and he sprays the primer coats then it gets hand painted once it's fitted...


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## BradNaylor (30 May 2009)

I've done a few hand-painted jobs recently and have fond it best to spray 3 coats of primer followed by a coat or two of the final colour in matt AC paint. 

I then hand paint everything in the workshop before fitting using acrylic paint. A final coat after fitting is then all that is needed.

I am going over to hand painting everything instead of the sprayed finish I used to offer. I looks much classier and I can charge more. It is also very easy to 'touch up'.

Cheers
Brad


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## Doctor (31 May 2009)

BradNaylor":2mje8j4z said:


> I've done a few hand-painted jobs recently and have fond it best to spray 3 coats of primer followed by a coat or two of the final colour in matt AC paint.
> 
> I then hand paint everything in the workshop before fitting using acrylic paint. A final coat after fitting is then all that is needed.
> 
> ...



No wonder you seem to spend days on end spraying :shock:


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## BradNaylor (31 May 2009)

Psst...

Don't tell anyone but my old dad supplements his pension by doing a lot of my prep and priming.

:wink: 

Brad


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## Doctor (31 May 2009)

My old man pops over occasionally and helps out, not often maybe 5-6 days a year, I think he likes the feeling of being useful.
Mind you he has a habit of borrowing a few screws and bits of off cuts, we had to call in the police last time, it was just out of control, the items he had borrowed were in excess of "£8". That'll teach him, a few days in the cells does em no harm. :lol: :lol: 

It's a joke before all you old chuffers start having a go at me.


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## BradNaylor (1 Jun 2009)

Doctor":1zrupfnz said:


> My old man pops over occasionally and helps out, not often maybe 5-6 days a year, I think he likes the feeling of being useful.
> Mind you he has a habit of borrowing a few screws and bits of off cuts



This is how it starts out.

My dad would 'pop in' now and again looking for off cuts. Unfortunately his idea of 'off cuts' is a detailed cutting list requiring 3 full sheets of veneered board!

He started doing the odd bit of work - sanding and stuff. We agreed a fairly generous hourly rate; after all you like to look after your old man. I was expecting to see him maybe 1 day a week.

First week he clocked up 52 hours at a tenner an hour cash in hand! :shock: 

We have had to renegotiate ...

:lol: 

Brad


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## DangerousDave (5 Jun 2009)

I'm in the middle of painting all the parts for a large MDF fitted library system (hence my lack of posts of late; WIP will follow if I ever get it finished  ). I don't have spray booth facilities so it's all being done by hand (over 40 shelves, sides, back, face frames and end decor panels... :shock: ). I'm applying the paint with a standard gloss roller and although its taking a while I'm getting a really good finish. The trick is to not apply too much paint to the roller and make sure you strike off lightly to avoid 'lines' at the edge of the roller. BTW I'm giving it 1 coat of Dulux Trade U/C and 2 coats Dulux Trade High Gloss and I'm getting a really good finish, no blotches etc... Also, I sealed the edges with 50/50 PVA and water then sanded with 180 grit. I found this cured the 'fluffiness' problem with the edges, giving a really smooth surface thats taking the paint well. Like I said, WIP pics will follow eventually...


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## Karl (6 Jun 2009)

DangerousDave":n0hbd9sf said:


> I'm in the middle of painting all the parts for a large MDF fitted library system (hence my lack of posts of late; WIP will follow if I ever get it finished  ). I don't have spray booth facilities so it's all being done by hand (over 40 shelves, sides, back, face frames and end decor panels... :shock: ). I'm applying the paint with a standard gloss roller and although its taking a while I'm getting a really good finish. The trick is to not apply too much paint to the roller and make sure you strike off lightly to avoid 'lines' at the edge of the roller. BTW I'm giving it 1 coat of Dulux Trade U/C and 2 coats Dulux Trade High Gloss and I'm getting a really good finish, no blotches etc... Also, I sealed the edges with 50/50 PVA and water then sanded with 180 grit. I found this cured the 'fluffiness' problem with the edges, giving a really smooth surface thats taking the paint well. Like I said, WIP pics will follow eventually...



Nice one DD - I have a little built in unit to make in our conservatory which is to be painted. 

Cheers

Karl


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## DangerousDave (8 Jun 2009)

Karl, its taking a while but I'm really impressed with the finish I'm getting. Like I said, you have to be careful when striking off with the roller to avoid getting 'tram lines' and make sure you use one of the spongy gloss rollers, not an emulsion roller. I used a glue roller bottle to apply the PVA soln to the edges. This was quick and easy and gave a really good surface on the edges. 
Your greatest enemy when painting MDF is those wee small black flies. They actually seem to be attracted to the smell of the paint and kamikaze themselves onto the surface :evil:


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