Spraying technique for hvlp spraying on shaker doors..

[Chris Rich]

Hi there,

I've been HVLP spraying my shaker cabinet doors with BM Advance primer and the first coat of BM Advance color. I've got small squares of plywood with screws through them so I would start painting the back-side of the doors first, then flip them and paint the fronts.
i.e.

1. paint just the top of the back not the edges in a cross-hatch pattern
2. flip and paint the four edges with the gun vertical
3. paint the edges again with the gun above the piece at a 45
4. paint the inside edges of the panel again with the gun at a 45
5. start at the bottom closest to me and spray back and forth overlapping by 50% with the gun perpendicular
6. spray top to bottom again overlapping by 50% again with the gun perpendicular

The pattern is set at vertical the whole time and about 8 inches. On#4, I would be spraying straight across the piece so Im not stating the spray pattern right over the piece.

So far so good but I just want to make sure that my order of operation is correct. Can anyone give me some pointers on the order and technique I should use to ensure even coverage? I'm kind of having issues filling in the edges of the panels and the edges of the doors themselves...

Thanks for the advice...Chris

[Jim Becker]

I almost always use a "horizontal" and then "vertical" spray pattern paying particular attention to not getting it too wet with each pass/application, especially with anything that has contours as virtually all my projects do. This applies whether the item being sprayed is in a flat orientation or, in the case of, well, cases...vertical. And it makes sure that finish gets into the corners of those contours. (most of my work is Shaker inspired designs)

For doors like you describe, I'd consider getting the actual door edges first before coating the backs so that it's possible to try to not over finish the face (back face) with overspray from the edges. I'd rather deal with that on the back than the "always show" fronts...

But that's my personal opinion, and you know how much it cost you.

[Chris Rich]

Thanks Jim...

So, in terms of the door edges... I'm confused. I should put the door on the front first, spray the edges and then the back. Then flip it and spray the front? I'm not sure how to flip it if it's been painted on the edges and the back already (unless it dries of course). Sorry if I'm not understanding.
Which steps in my original post would you use the horizontal versus vertical spray patterns?

Thanks again for your advice...

[Jim Becker]

You make a good point that flipping would be more difficult with the edges painted first. Aside from the obvious about doing them after you flip to the front and taking great care with overspray on the "good" face, you could embed small nails or wires top/bottom or right/left on the edges to provide something to grab ahold of to do the flip if you choose to paint the edges first. This may be why some folks hang such panels from a line when finishing with "whatever is holding it to the line" on the hinge side....

And, of course, if you work with water borne finishes (or even things like NC lacquer if you have a booth), the fast dry time means you can let things dry longer before you flip without messing too much with your schedule. Honestly, that's what I usually do. 10-15 minutes tops and the piece can be lightly handled to flip it.

[Chris Rich]

OK, so I've been reading over and over about the overspray on the good side and can't figure out why it would matter which side I have facing up when I spray the edges. Don't laugh but should I be turning the spray pattern horizontal when doing the edges? I've been doing it with a vertical pattern (only because the videos I watched seemed to show it that way). I also have two of Jeff Jewitt's books and they don't really specify.

[Mark Kornell]

Chris - when spraying the edges, you will get overspray on the front and back surfaces. Doesn't matter if the spray pattern is vertical or horizontal. So, you want to spray the "good" side last so that any overspray gets sprayed over leaving that side with the best surface.

[Chris Rich]

Thanks. Makes sense. Would you recommend horizontal or verticle? Sorry for the many questions. This is my first time spraying.

[Mark Kornell]

Well, I wouldn't recommend using a horizontal spray pattern with horizontal movement. Or vertical with vertical. Too easy to lay on too much finish and get runs. For doing edges I dial the spray pattern down in size as much as possible. On my gun, it goes down to a circle, which is great for edges.

[Brian W Smith]

All good stuff above.

Getting old...I need reminders,haha.Theres a pce of masking tape stuck on a shelf edge at our mixing station that reads:"Move the dry spot around".You want to alter your spray plan so that you don't keep having the "dry spot" landing in the same place.

I,like posted above am more of the,let it dry,then flip.....and we even have the tracks/swivels in the spraybooth.Mainly because we prefer to use a lazy susan.....and it IS because we're lazy.Hold gun still and turn the part.........haha.

[Chris Rich]

Thanks all. "Move the dry spot around". I like that...