New Doors/Trim - Finishing Advice Please

[Ed Glaser]

Hi,

My first time here ... looking for some valued opinions. I am building a new house and I'm specifically looking for some recommendations on finishing of my new doors and trim. I've been doing lots of research and I'm leaning in certain directions - now I want some good opinions from guys that really know what they are talking about.

Doors: Solid mahogany - approx. 19 total. I'm looking to apply a medium-dark stain, then give them a satin clear finish.

Trim/baseboards: Primed mdf with all holes and edges finished smooth. I'm looking to spray them white. I want a perfectly smooth finish - satin or semi-gloss.

Here are my door questions:
1. I plan to apply the stain by hand. I'm looking for the quickest way to get a nice even application. I'm leaning towards oxtail brush on - wipe off. Is there a better way?
2. Finish - satin clear coat. I'm leaning towards HVLP, although I've seen some people recommending hand (foam brush). With 19 doors speed is important, but I want an excellent finish. I've been looking at a sprayer somewhere in the $300-600 range. Earlex 5000 or maybe Fuji Mini-mite. Opinions on the finishing technique and sprayer please.

Here are my trim questions:
3. If I select the Earlex 5000 or Fuji Mini-mite, can I get good results if I use a thinned latex or am I better to go with an oil based paint?

That's it for now - thanks.

[Bob Wingard]

Myself, I'd spray everything, including the stain ... if nothing else, just for speed and convenience.

One tip for the trim ... spray the first coat or two of finish before cutting or fitting the pieces. When you are ready to nail it up, put a small strip of tape where each nail will be driven ... I know, this sounds like a tedious pain, but it's worth it in the end. Drive your nails through the tape, and apply putty to fill the holes with the tape still in place. Let it dry a bit and remove the tape ... you should have a perfect fill with no smearing or splotches of putty to sand away. You should also tape a strip of newspaper to the wall right at the edge of where your trim will be installed. Nail up the trim ... fill the holes ... spray final coat of finish ... remove paper ... done. You should get nice, crisp edges and a perfect finish, depending of course on your spraying skills.

[Ed Glaser]

Ineresting suggestion on the taping thing. I'll probably give it a try. For sure good advice on prepainting the first two trim/baseboard coats before installation. Should save a lot of time. You think I should go with an acrylic latex or oil based? I've heard of the difficulties spraying a latex, but I'm hoping if I thin I can get good results with a sprayer like the Earlex 5000.

If I spray the stain then I presume it needs to be wiped also?

[Bob Wingard]

OIL/LATEX is a personal preference ... I still prefer oil. To me, latex dries to a rubbery sheet sort of finish and I just don't like the look or feel of it.

Spraying the stain is just a quick & easy way to get it on the wood ... you'll still have to wipe it back ... at least until you get REALLY good at spraying. Smaller projects don't justify spraying the stain, but it appears that you project would be ideal for it.

[John TenEyck]

There are several excellent acrylic latex paints now available, that dry/cure to a hard, durable finish. I really liked Sherwin Williams ProClassic on a cabinet I recently completed. ProClassic is advertised for cabinets and TRIM. It comes in white, can be tinted just about any color, and is available in satin, semi-gloss, and gloss. I had to thin it nearly 20% with water to spray it through my gravity feed HVLP conversion gun, but it sprayed and leveled beautifully. The overspray is just about dry when it hits the floor so there is no sticky mess to deal with as there is with an oil based paint, nor much smell. Dries in less than an hour, you can handle it in a couple of hours, and recoat in around 6 hours. If speed is important to you, latex is the way to go.

[Scott Holmes]

Spraying and wiping 19 doors will be a chore. You may want to try your hand at spraying a water or alcohol dye. If sprayed there is no need to wipe. I like spraying alcohol better because it doesn't raise the grain. Dries VERY fast. Overlaps must be uniform. Start with a light coat and a weak dye better to snealk up on the color.

Do not learn to do this on your doors, Practice, practice, practice.

[Ed Glaser]

Thanks for the tip on the S-W ProClassic. I'm looking for a trim paint that gets rave reviews since I only have one shot at this. Spraying the stain?? Not sure if I have the courage to try that, but you're right - spraying and wiping will be a very long process. Especially considering that I won't be able to do it all at once. I only have one bay of my garage available to set up the doors for spraying. I'm thinking of standing them up in triads (seen some brackets for this). I could make room for two or three sets of stood up triads. Then I could spray stain all 6 or 9 doors, clean gun, wait a day, spray clear coat, wait a couple hours, spray second coat, wait a couple hours, spray 3rd coat (not sure if I need to clean the gun between coats). I want the most fast and efficient method that also gives excellent results.

[Jason Roehl]

Stand your doors up in a zig-zag fashion for access to both sides, and the ability to spray continuously down one side of the row, then the other. I like to use armor plates (barbed plates for protecting plumbing and wiring from sheetrock screws), attaching only pairs of doors as close together as possible while still allowing the spray pattern to get the hinge and strike edges of the doors: /\/\/\/\/ You'll want them at a 90º angle to each other. Stand up two doors and hammer the plate on the top near where the two doors are closest. An alternate is a ~9" block of wood with a screw near each end. You'll probably want a helper for this.

As for painting trim, I prefer to do it all in place where possible. Putty will always show unless it is painted over, and painted trim needs to be caulked to the wall (and itself where appropriate) to look professionally done. Putty (I like Crawford's spackle--easily sanded) pretty much always needs two top coats to not flash, especially when using a paint with any amount of sheen to it. For a perfectly smooth finish, overfilling SLIGHTLY and sanding is the only guaranteed way.

But, hey, I've only done a few thousand doors and several miles of trim this way, so I could be wrong.

BTW, Sherwin's Pro-Classic waterborne is an excellent paint, though I think its actual sheen is a step down from what the label says (i.e., "Semi-gloss" on the label is in reality more like an eggshell). For stained woodwork, I like to use a wiping stain (Sherwin's BAC Wiping Stain), sprayed and wiped, followed by a coat of dewaxed shellac (Zinnser's SealCoat), then 3 or so sprayed coats of Sherwin's Wood Classics waterborne poly (very clear, very durable, no thinning necessary for spraying, sand only before the final coat).