# Painting factory primed interior doors



## m1951mm (Apr 16, 2011)

The walls and the trim are the same color (flat and semi). There are new interior doors that are only factory primed. My question is what is the best route to go. The first door I used the flat paint as a first coat and it went on well, no runs or drips and dried quickly. I have not yet put the semi on it. I have about 11 of these to do in the upstairs. Would I be better off doing two coats of semi?? or since the flat goes on without visable problems and then top coat with the semi?????? I flatted out the existing trim while cutting in the walls and the semi covered well with one coat. I am working over builder paint, textured walls (and what a pain to cut in the textured walls!!!!!!!!!!!, I had to do up down, up down to get good coverage on all the cut in), (this will be another thread :huh 

Bottom line, what is the best way to paint factory primed interior doors??

Thanks Joe, Chrispen and BrushJockey in advance.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

You again. Sand the doors and do two semi coats. There is no difference in labor, but there will be a difference in outcome. Two coats of semi will have greater brilliance than one over flat. Do a sample and see if it matters to you.

BTW, who is Chrispen?


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## m1951mm (Apr 16, 2011)

This is not a good question, but I will ask it anyway. This is a rental. If it were a "custom job" this is another issue. I do want to have a good final product but the time sanding, unless you have a good fast method of sanding??? My work is inportant to me. When you are given a large amount of work to be done by a specific date what can you do??


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

What type of doors are these M? Are they flush or six paneled, what? Factory prime is usually flat, so I'm not sure that bonding would be a problem if you didn't sand. Besides, flat won't bond to gloss either. Gloss will bond to flat, but not vice versa. It's the sheen itself, not the paint type. You could have a bonding primer tinted to the trim color, or get a trim enamel with bonding properties. Finnaren & Haley makes a semi called All Grip, I believe. There are some, you just have to find them. When you say you have eleven doors, is that eleven both sides?


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## m1951mm (Apr 16, 2011)

Six Panel, 11 more to go both sides and new casings. The casings are another issue, seems they used a composit also factory primed rather than the usual "real wood" that comes with a prehung door. Should I be worried about bonding over the factory prime?? I do want to do a good job and being a rental the property manager will only go so far as to allow materials and time for the job. 

Just as a note to shed my frustrations about this job. All the doors in a six bedroom, four bath home were replaced, the old casings reused and never nailed down to the jambs, nailed to the studs yes, but not the jambs. What a pain. Thank the powers that be I have a nail gun and compressor. Lots of caulk later, and the previous contractor had no idea what a 1/4" reveil is. Some of the casings are below the jambs on the tops. This is not a cheap home either. I just am soooooo happy they did not replace the closet doors:thumbup:


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

As I said, factory prime is usually flat. I would take a sanding pole head with a piece of 150 and run it over the flats of each door. </=1 minute per door, less time than we spent talking about it. 
Personally, I would slather the finish right over, but I'll be flamed for recommending you do that. :wink:
You can only care for someone else's stuff so much, and apparently you care more than the owner does. When in Rome!:thumbsup:
BTW, 11 doors both sides is counted as 22 doors. 11 doors both sides, each painted twice, is 44 doors. You have 22 doors to sand, and 44 doors to apply one coat to.


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## Brushjockey (Mar 8, 2011)

Most of what JS said- but I'd do a coat of Zin 123 ( thinned a bit) . Most pre prime sucks like a sponge. This will set up for a good finish. I assume all is near white? 

As far as applying, some like to use a weenie roller an backbrush, on 6 panel i just brush. You'll get the hang of it after 11 doors! Short of spraying don't know how to make it quicker.


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

go ahead, thank everyone else in advance. i feel that two coats of semi would be a more durable finish since the resin content goes up as the gloss increases in paints. but who cares what i think. 

joe- i may need to have you to crunch some numbers for me on some doors too. im not sure if all of my doors have both sides so i will have to look first.:laughing: im looking at one of my doors now and im almost positive that it has both sides on it.


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## ltd (Jan 16, 2011)

m i like to prime factory prime doors and case work,but i get that its a rental. and in this case would just put 2 coats of pr 200 semi or super paint semi .if this doors are masonite 6 panel with the grain texture you can bang these doors out quick, the reason i would skip the flat paint on the doors and casework is when your flying thru these doors any holidays will be covered by 2 coats semi. on doors i like to loosen door knobs about 1/4/inch and paint around them don't forget the radio and rock out


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

mustangmike3789 said:


> go ahead, thank everyone else in advance. i feel that two coats of semi would be a more durable finish since the resin content goes up as the gloss increases in paints. but who cares what i think.
> 
> joe- i may need to have you to crunch some numbers for me on some doors too. im not sure if all of my doors have both sides so i will have to look first.:laughing: im looking at one of my doors now and im almost positive that it has both sides on it.


For painting purposes, a door has only one side, and either a heel (hinged edge) or toe. A room with one entry door and one closet door (if inside of closet door is to be painted), counts as three doors, not two doors. When I price I count those as six doors, three doors, two coats--six doors times the rate per door. Think about it. When you paint a window, do you paint both sides? What if the doors are bare and new, hung on existing painted frames? Nine doors, six frames, simple. (Or twelve doors, eight frames) Paint one side of one door two coats and you just painted two doors, simple. Both sides of a door are not always painted at the same time, or with the same color. To count both sides of a door as one door can get confusing. That's the way I was taught, it was later reinforced by my foreman when I was an apprentice, and it just stuck. It's more logical language IMO. I need simple.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

M, ltd made a good point. If the doors are the textured type, you could blast them with a whizz. Brush the bevels of the panels, cut the hardware, and whizz the flats/edges. Looks bootyfull. Hell, it's a rental, if they're smooth use a mohair or 5/16th's and give them a uniform factory looking finish. Again, bootyfull. You'll have all _44 doors_ done in no time, especially if you have an advance guy doing the brush work.


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

jsheridan said:


> For painting purposes, a door has only one side, and either a heel (hinged edge) or toe. A room with one entry door and one closet door (if inside of closet door is to be painted), counts as three doors, not two doors. When I price I count those as six doors, three doors, two coats--six doors times the rate per door. Think about it. When you paint a window, do you paint both sides? What if the doors are bare and new, hung on existing painted frames? Nine doors, six frames, simple. (Or twelve doors, eight frames) Paint one side of one door two coats and you just painted two doors, simple. Both sides of a door are not always painted at the same time, or with the same color. To count both sides of a door as one door can get confusing. That's the way I was taught, it was later reinforced by my foreman when I was an apprentice, and it just stuck. It's more logical language IMO. I need simple.


 got it. just doing a play on words. we do the same with bridge girders. span #, girder#, which wall/flange/brace of a girder and so on. i did look and confirmed that all of the doors in my house do have both sides except one:huh:


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

mustangmike3789 said:


> got it. just doing a play on words. we do the same with bridge girders. span #, girder#, which wall/flange/brace of a girder and so on. i did look and confirmed that all of the doors in my house do have both sides except one:huh:


That must be the door to nowhere.:laughing: There's a nether region behind where no one goes, so it doesn't need to be painted. If I used my count/price method, I wouldn't have overcharged you. :thumbsup:


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## TrapperL (Jul 23, 2011)

I didn't see the type of paint yer using but if it's a latex enamel, you certainly don't want to sand between coats unless you are going to wait about a month for it to harden. All it'll do is ball up under the sandpaper giving you one hellva mess. We use a 2 coat system of full gloss latex with no sanding between coats. We allow each coat to dry over night. We will use a 4" Purdy synthetic bristle brush to apply it as thin as possible. We don't worry about it completely covering the first coat.

In regards to the textured walls. We have heavy textured ceilings and medium textured walls here. The newer homes will have a Monterrey knock down texture. So that we can cut a straight line at the ceiling or at corners of walls where the color or finish might change, we caulk the joint and finger it smooth so we have an area of about 1/4" that we can get a clean line on. It also helps around here to avoid the usual ceiling /wall cracks. The PI around here is in some places near 100 with vertical displacement of 16" of nasty, heaving soil.


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

TrapperL said:


> The PI around here is in some places near 100 with vertical displacement of 16" of nasty, heaving soil. maybe ive had one too many bloody mary's but i think i got lost at this point.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

mustangmike3789 said:


> TrapperL said:
> 
> 
> > The PI around here is in some places near 100 with vertical displacement of 16" of nasty, heaving soil. maybe ive had one too many bloody mary's but i think i got lost at this point.
> ...


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

jsheridan said:


> mustangmike3789 said:
> 
> 
> > I'm with you there, and I'm sober--all the time.
> ...


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## TrapperL (Jul 23, 2011)

P I= Plasticity Index. In laymens terms, the soils ability to change it physical volume due to water. We have the Houston Black Clay in our area and the houses can literally be going up and down with soil moisture up to 16". Some of the roads here are like a roller coaster after a rain. But it's not a fun place to build. I was chatting with some folks from SoCal University and they said the only place worse to build a house than here is on the San Andreas fault line. Drywall cracks are common here as the builders are mostly using post tension foundations that are designed to flex rather than break.


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## m1951mm (Apr 16, 2011)

Mike, I am so sorry I missed you on the prior Thanks!!!!!!!!! I have only been on this message board for a short time, but in that time I have pretty well nailed down who to watch for, and you are one of them:thumbup:

As far as the process of painting a door, I have that down, been painting for over 25 years. Wizz and brush out for me works best and fastest. The pricing issue is a whole different thing.

I will scuff the casings and the doors and two coats of semi, close to white.


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

m1951mm said:


> Mike, I am so sorry I missed you on the prior Thanks!!!!!!!!! I have only been on this message board for a short time, but in that time I have pretty well nailed down who to watch for, and you are one of them:thumbup:
> 
> no problem, i was just kidding anyway.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

M, standard for painting one side of a six panel door and frame is .5 hours per coat. You have 44 doors and frames, 44(.5) equals 22 hours times your rate. Remember, 11 door slabs with two sides equals 22 door sides at 2 coats means you'll be coating 44 doors. Don't know if that was your concern, but if you price by that standard, only your rate is the variable. 
BTW, I don't assume anyone's knowledge or experience level when I explain things. This is a DIY forum and a lot wouldn't understand my saying "just whizz the doors out". In a pro forum, where I would assume knowledge, I would use shorthand language. Have fun.


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## m1951mm (Apr 16, 2011)

Ok, today I did a scratch test on different surfaces, old semi with new flat paint applied and old semi with new semi applied(no sanding was done prior). I was surprised that the flat held tight to the surface, really dug my fingernail into it and rubbed hard with a rag and it still held. I cant say that for the semi, it peeled off pretty easy. The property manager's spec was to use Behr paint. The flat is the 100% acrilyc. The semi is their lower priced (not the Ultra self priming stuff). I know there is a right way, but for the time and money being paid for this I will continue with the flat and final coat semi.

Someone said something about having an advance brush guy, I wish!!!! Just me. Those 11 doors, or is it 22, I cant remember are not the only doors in the house. 2 closet doors per bedroom x 6 bedrooms,. Oh and the people who use to live there use to have what had to be a mix of a Mastive and a Collie. Long hair and slobber slim everywhere. Did you say paint does not adhear to dirt?????,lol.

Joe I timed myself and I wizzed and tipped out a door in 14 minutes all four sides, lol. The casings with a wizz and tipping out would take about 5 minutes for both sides, so I guess I am ahead of the game. 

Thank you All for the great knowledge you are sharing with me.

Mickey


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## Ole34 (Jan 31, 2011)

2 coats of semi an be done with it once an for all .............


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## Ole34 (Jan 31, 2011)

m1951mm said:


> Joe I timed myself and I wizzed and tipped out a door in 14 minutes all four sides, lol. The casings with a wizz and tipping out would take about 5 minutes for both sides, so I guess I am ahead of the game.
> 
> Thank you All for the great knowledge you are sharing with me.
> 
> Mickey


 
i knew i was drawn to this thread for a reason .........i swear just a few mins ago i had an emphipamy or somethin.............


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

Ole34 said:


> i knew i was drawn to this thread for a reason .........i swear just a few mins ago i had an emphipamy or somethin.............


 
maybe you did (whatever that word means):laughing:

spell check is easy to do:yes:


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## m1951mm (Apr 16, 2011)

OLE, I did not see a door knob that you needed to cut around, but still to do one side of a door in 2.50 min is pretty good. Do you want to come work with me on this stupid house???? I will pay $10.00 per hour:thumbsup:.

I Want To Know What Love Is, Call Me, in 2001.


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## Ole34 (Jan 31, 2011)

that 3/4 edge your talkin about isnt so bad ............trust your brush an just go for it...........


http://youtu.be/GTCN7skn3bI











.............................................


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## Ole34 (Jan 31, 2011)

chrisn said:


> maybe you did (whatever that word means):laughing:
> 
> spell check is easy to do:yes:


 
that was mis spelled for effect :wink: .......... im complicated like that


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

Sounds good M. However, I'm more happy to see that Ole is finally getting weekend furloughs. lol.


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## Ole34 (Jan 31, 2011)

jsheridan said:


> Sounds good M. However, I'm more happy to see that Ole is finally getting weekend furloughs. lol.


 






lol .............i offered to stay for testing but they said no thanks :wink:


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

Was wondering about you. Hope you're well.


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## Ole34 (Jan 31, 2011)

you know how it is joe. same **** different day ................ive been havin a good year so far, still solo waitin for a big break to come my way .........how goes you ?


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

I'm keeping busy, but not setting the world on fire. Still crossing that bridge.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

Ole34 said:


> you know how it is joe. same **** different day ................ive been havin a good year so far, still solo waitin for a big break to come my way .........how goes you ?


 
Like the lottery?:laughing:


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

That's why I moved to the shore, to keep a closer eye out for my ship and be closer to it when it finally comes in. LOL.


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

jsheridan said:


> That's why I moved to the shore, to keep a closer eye out for my ship and be closer to it when it finally comes in. LOL.


you guys need to go get NACE certs so you can sit back and watch paint dry as your ship arrives.


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