Painting Interior Doors w Latex over Oil

I will be repainting a dozen interior doors that were originally done with a now yellowing navajo white oil base paint and will be using Benjamin Moore's Aurora water borne paint, which I think is latex, after first covering the old paint with Zinser primer. I don't recall the name of it but it is recommended for applying the Aurora over oil base paint.

My question is should I spay or not? All the doors have a pseudo wood grain that I am told tends to fill in with paint more if a roller is used. I will be taking the doors off their hinges to paint and do not have a paint booth, which would be a good idea. Does anyone have a link to a site suggesting how to temporarily set up a paint booth, perhaps in my garage?

If I do spray I won't be renting a better grade sprayer but will have to do with something like a Wagner or a similar Graco. Big mistake and/or does anyone have a suggestion as to what I should get. I am in my 70s and at the point where I will soon have to stop doing projects around the house, hence I don't want to "invest" in a good sprayer. Since I will be using it on several days I don't want to waste a lot of paint and time cleaning it after each use.

Thanks.

 

All you need is a roll of plastic that is at least as wide as your garage is tall. Then staple it up and tack lathe over it to temporarily hold it up.

The Zisnner 123 is a decent primer but I would suggest you wait 48 hrs after priming before you paint. If you wait that long the primer will get hard enough that you won't be able to easily scratch it off the oil paint with your finger nail. Once the primer has cured your finish will have a better chance of being durable.

 

Having painted hundreds of doors never once did I ever attempt to spray, but have used sprayers for other projects (basement joists) and they are a huge, huge mess.

Leave them on the frames, tape around the hinges, cut in all the recessed areas, then using a high quality roller hit all the high areas!

They will look fantastic!

I would also proceed with caution with the primer, it's never a good option to change oil to latex regardless of the primer, try one before committing to doing the others to confirm it's going to work!

 

Thank you XSleeper and Marq1. I listened and feel more confident. For now, I will do just one door on the hinge method with roller and brushes. As for the Zisner, I have used 123 in the past and have it in my garage, but a particular oil base Zisner is being suggested by the guy at Benjamin Moore. Also the 123 in the garage is three years old.

If I don't have to lay out $150 for a sprayer all the better. My last Wagner was a lilttle funky so I sold it cheap at a yard sale, after explaining to the guy who was going to use it for a living that he probably needed to replace the piston.

The reason for having to paint Latex over Oil is you can't get oil in California.

 

If you do end up rolling, be sure you get a very short nap (maybe 4 1/2" wide) weenie roller. Mohair or mohair blend are the ones I like best for doors. They are for smooth surfaces, just watch that you don't put lines on the large areas. Lightly back roll everything.

He must be recommending the low voc oil Cover stain primer. I think everything in California must be prop 65.

 

I think that's the one. As for the roller, you also replied to a question I had about giving new baseboard time to climatize before cutting. I haven't cut the pieces, yet, but painted them front and back with the same paint I will use to do the doors and door frames. First cutting in with a brush and then hitting the flat with a 4-1/2" roller made of some kind of foamy stuff they came out beautifully. This week I will try using the same on one of those interior doors, but I may first pick up a mohair roller. If I don't have one in the garage.

As for Prop 65, the companies that sell online to CA are starting to stick Prop 65 warning labels onto gun parts.

 

Sounds like you were using a foam roller which I definitely would not recommend. They can put air bubbles into your paint. The best rollers (imo) have very short hairs, almost like those old fashioned lint brushes. But if you had good success and no air bubbles who am I to argue.

 

Yep. one of those high density foam rollers but why I didn't this time I have had problems in the past with them trapping air bubbles. I also have a tight nap micro fiber mini roller around here somewhere, but I will see if I can pick up a mohair weenie roller as it looks like I will have a lot of use for it.

Course I haven't used what I have on the doors, yet, but on the new sticks of 6" baseboard. They worked beautifully on the 3.5" flat bottom section, but I have some brush marks where I did the OG (if that is what that concave section is called) with a cut in brush. I am going to start a different thread on the paint forum for this since that may help someone else to find answers to their question on painting baseboard.

 

I would just add that while I have spray equipment and do normally spray doors on new construction - I rarely do any spraying in occupied homes. The extra work involved to contain overspray negates any time savings. If I was to do the job I'd either brush or roll the doors. When rolling doors I usually use a 9" roller with a 1/4" mohair cover.

 

Cool. You must be a night owl too.

 

nah, I just got up. working on my first cup of coffee.

 

I am still considering spraying since I am not completely satisfied with how the baseboard I am working with came out using brush and roller. Meanwhile, in case I confused you into thinking that the doors are smoother, here is a close up of one.

 

I've painted 100s of those types of doors with a brush with no noticeable reduction in the faux grain. I suspect it would take 10-20 coats of paint to significantly fill the grain.

 

Those are standard Masonite doors, you wont fill that grain in for at least 50 coats of paint.

Another issue with removing the doors, the handling of them to reinstall, a very good chance that something will get smudged or damaged!

I tried it once off frame, never again!

 

I've sprayed 1000s of doors off the frame and with a little care there is little chance of messing up the paint providing you give the paint enough time to dry!

 

Thanks guys. Whether or not I use brush and roller or a less expensive spayer (like a beter Wagner or a little Graco) may come down to if I am satisfied with how my 6" baseboards come out. The first were a bit marginal but I have one more board to paint before cutting it for that room and if my technique is good enough I don't see any need for spraying.

One thing though. The original builder painted the door hinges so I can't just tape them off. I will experiment on the first door as to how to deal with the hinges. Suggestions on that?

 

Unless you can remove the builder's paint off of the hinges you are pretty much stuck painting them again or replacing them - I'd opt for the latter if I could.

 

That is what I was thinking. Besides, when the original flooring was installed and the door bottoms were cut for clearance, they somehow messed the hinges up so that the hinges up. I will look into picking some up. My time isn't worth much but still something. Still, with the first experimental door I will probably try dropping the hinges into a bucket of solvent and seeing if they easily clean up.

 

Another reason to paint them as they hang is that the more times you run the hinge screws in and out, the weaker the threads become in the jamb. Some strip very easily.

 

Good point. I had already thought that if I have to remove the hinges I should probably use longer screws.

 

You cant, the Masonite doors have a small internal wood-like frame, once the threads are stripped longer screws will do nothing and you have to start drilling them out and gluing in plugs (matchsticks or toothpicks do not work)!

 

Good to know how serious the stripped thread problem could be. When I do the first door I will see if it is possible to clean up and paint everything, including the door, without disturbing the original hinges. Having to drill and plug is no big deal, unless there is a problem correctly centering the hinges which I would think should not be a problem. If it is, I think the fix would be to only repair one hole while screws are in the other holes of the same hinge even though their threads are also stripped. Just to ensure that the screw into the newly plugged hole is centered.

Just one more thing that I can handle, but a problem to know of in advance and how to avoid. Thanks.