Supporting doors for spraying

[Robert Adams]

Doing allot more doors at one time than I usually do and looking at something like the rockler sure hooks. (Frameless cabs, euro cup hinges)

Any thoughts on them or a cheaper alternative to them as I'd need about 3 packs of them. It would be nice to be able to spray all sides in one go instead of having to do the back, dry, flip, do the front.

I'm planning on using automotive urethane clear coat like I have before but will have to do some test pieces as I haven't used it on cherry and the clear has much more uv inhibitors than other clears.
I really like the fast cure and durability. But may be open to other products.

[jteneyck]

How many is a lot of doors? Spraying them hanging sounds appealing, but I've never found it to be so. It's so much easier to spray them lying flat, and you don't have to worry about sags and runs except on the edges.

I spray them flat, supporting them on plastic pyramids. I spray the bottom and edges first, one at a time in my spray booth on a turn table so I can easily get to all the edges, and then carry them to a bench or table to dry. When the bottom is dry I flip them and spray the other side and edges again. So for every coat on the faces I put two on the edges, at least until the edges look very well sealed and coated.

I've sprayed a kitchen worth of doors and drawer fronts like this more than once. If I did it more regularly I would probably build a temporary drying rack with cantilevered shelves that I could set the sprayed doors on to dry. That would reduce the walking I do now and substantially reduce the footprint.

I think it was Damon who showed how he sprayed doors lined up side by side on top of an extension ladder. That would work if you are spraying outside or in a garage, but not in my spray booth, although you might be able to adapt that idea to a small number of doors.

John

[Robert Adams]

That's how I usually spray as well. I have about 20 regular door size about 10 that are big drawer size ie 36" wide varying heights and about 10 standard size drawers. Then I also have doors and fronts for another 80" x24" tall cab.

Big kitchen... If I hadn't put in a big corner pantry there would have been quite a bit more cabs. I also will be doing another 50 or more fronts and doors once I'm done with ours.

I have thought about building a drying rack. Made one with 2x4s and pvc pipe once.

[jteneyck]

I know that sounds sort of daunting, but 100 doors and drawers really isn't all that many, especially since you are only doing 50 or so at a time. I would build one or two drying racks to set them on and spray them horizontally in my temporary spray booth. I think most small cabinet shops would do them in a similar way.

John

[Robert Adams]

The number of doors doesn't bother me so much as where to put them...

I just did a quick test piece with euro clear and it looks pretty good considering I mixed up a tiny amount which is hard and used my little harborfreight touch up gun I usually use for stain and has a small needle in it. I also sprayed it thick as I wasn't going to open a fresh can of reducer just for a tiny test.
Recoat time is 10 minutes and tack free is around 30 or so(I forget). It's a high solids clear coat that has been renamed Ultra h/s Clearcoat EC300.

Sad part is if we were staying here I was going to add another 400 sq ft to the shop just for finishing. Half the roof and concrete is already there as well as most of the pipe framing.

I'll do a more formal test on some larger pieces and see how it looks on big stuff.


I'm thinking of using the old doors that I took out of the house that are in the shop and building a rig to use them for shelves but most likely I'll be forced to split up into a couple spraying sessions.

[deepsplinter]

Here is my "on the cheap" drying rack.

4 2x2's, some ¼" plywood scraps, and I already had the cart.







Eliminates a lot of walking
Roles around easily
Unlimited adjustability
Almost disappears when not in use

[Cooler]

I only use a rattle can for spraying but I made my own supports for them by cutting a bunch of 3" x 3" squares of sheet goods (it does not matter what you use--I used 1/4" ply scrap I had around). I draw an 'X' from corner to corner to find the center and then drive a dry wall screw all the way through.

The 3" is wide enough to be stable and the screws are sharp enough not to leave a mark. And they cost just pennies so I make them by the dozen.

I use 4 per door, but I suppose 3 would work too.

I paint the interiors first so that I have no marks at all on the fronts. I spray until it looks wet an then I let gravity level the finish.

I have to get a bigger compressor before I can spray from a gun.

[jasfrank]

I use the hooks usually. By usually I mean when a job has 20 or more doors, which most would. I see no problems with the vertical application. If you know your gun and its limitations what's the problem? Sure its easier to lay them flat, but then if you are spraying heavy you get the same problem on the edges.