Painting flush doors

Goal or Problem

If you paint the door the usual way, you get several kinds of problems:

• You may see the joins between areas you painted in different periods of time.
• There will be particles of dust on the painted surface.

Idea

In order to avoid joins between areas painted in different periods of time, you need to paint the whole surface as quickly as possible. This is a two step process:

1. Apply the paint coarsely to the whole surface. You can do this with a large paint brush or even with the roller. Then use the roller to quickly spread the paint over the whole surface of the door using both horizontal and vertical strokes.
2. When the paint is evenly spread, make vertical strokes with the roller one next to another. Start the strokes from the bottom. It is preferable to do the first stroke on the side where main light source is.

Besides achieving nice effect, this method is also faster than the usual method of painting smaller areas.

In order to minimize the possibility of dust particles landing on the surface of the door while the paint is wet, the door must be placed vertically. Thus, leaving door in the hinges is better than laying it horizontally.

Other useful tips:

• Do not use cheap paint. The chances are high that runs will form on the surface or that the “orange peel” will form. There is also higher chance for scratches or other small damage to be made to the coating in the future. Eventually, you may need to paint the door several years sooner than if professional paint was used.
• Use mohair roller. It helps to achieve smooth finish without “orange peel”.
• Use oil based paint because it dries slower. Water based paint might start drying before you spread the paint evenly.

Follow other best practices:

• Ventilate the room where the painting takes place.
• Sand and degrease the surface to be painted.
• Take off door handles.
• Smear vaseline on hinges.
• Put old cardboard under the door to protect the floor.

Limitations and Side Effects

You need some experience with painting before you can use this method. It helps if you can anticipate how the paint behaves. If you apply too much paint it is rather difficult to “undo”.

Perhaps the best way to practice this method is to try it first on the door or other surface that is laid horizontally. By doing so, you avoid runs in case you applied too much paint.