Proper sequence for spraying six-raised-panel interior doors?

[John Hollaway]

A friend has asked me to clear coat his new interior doors with six raised panels each. I've sprayed many raised panel cabinet doors, but these are different animals, of course. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Jason Roehl]

Crosshatch. Spray the whole door in one direction with a light coat, then immediately spray a second light coat perpendicular to the first.

[Curt Harms]

The proper sequence IMO is to spray the panels before assembly. We bought a louvered pine closet door with traditional raised panels. I sprayed it and it looks great May through November or December. During the cold months the humidity drops, the panels shrink and there is a little band of unpainted wood showing on the raised panel. I thought about touching up the unpainted part when it's showing but don't know if there's a risk of the paint 'gluing' the panel so when it expands again something cracks.

[John Hollaway]

The proper sequence IMO is to spray the panels before assembly. We bought a louvered pine closet door with traditional raised panels. I sprayed it and it looks great May through November or December. During the cold months the humidity drops, the panels shrink and there is a little band of unpainted wood showing on the raised panel. I thought about touching up the unpainted part when it's showing but don't know if there's a risk of the paint 'gluing' the panel so when it expands again something cracks.

Curt, I'm not making the doors. I'm merely spraying clear finish on purchased frame & raised panel interior doors, each door with six (6) raised panels.

[Todd Willhoit]

Crosshatch. Spray the whole door in one direction with a light coat, then immediately spray a second light coat perpendicular to the first.

I am curious Jason, is the method the same for paint as well as clear?

[Jason Roehl]

It can be. It depends on the sprayer you're using. I usually spray interior doors with an airless sprayer (even if I'm clear-coating, as I usually use a thick waterborne poly for that, but I was assuming the use of an HVLP). I'll stand them up in the center of a room in a zig-zag fashion (perpendicular to each other) using a block of wood screwed to each pair of doors at the top corner. I only screw 2 or 3 together in case the floor has some minor waviness to it--makes the setup more stable and easier to do. When I spray with an airless, I don't cross-hatch, I just spray vertical passes, with no regard for trying to angle to get detail, I just keep the centerline of the spray pattern orthogonal to the door as much as possible, with an exception: I shoot the corners of the edges at a 45º angle. (When I'm spraying something like a square-profile baluster, I spray 4 corners, not 4 faces, if you know what I mean).

[Curt Harms]

Curt, I'm not making the doors. I'm merely spraying clear finish on purchased frame & raised panel interior doors, each door with six (6) raised panels.

I understand John, I just don't know how to avoid bare wood being exposed when panels shrink. And if you were to spray the panels when they're shrunken as in the middle of heating season, would there be a risk of the paint sort of gluing them in place so they couldn't expand when the moisture content increases during warmer humid weather? Somethings going to give. I chose to leave the door I mentioned alone. The unpainted portion is not very noticeable and will be disappearing in the next month or so as the panel expands, a clear finish would be even less noticeable I'd think.