I made the mistake of caulking floating panels on the wainscot section of a dining room about eight years ago. I had to go back and clean things up because the urethane elastomer (60 yr) caulk that I used caused the wood to split on the paneling,,that's how strong the caulk was. When that stuff is made to "float" it's designed to give-and-take and, depending on how much things expand and contract (every house is different), that door panels are going to do just what they have done in your case. If they are showing wood, now, it's probably the best time to paint but, I wouldn't load the paint build on in those areas. I would just coat-to-cover, if you know what I mean.

 

http://oem.sherwin-williams.com/pro...yurethane-exterior-topcoats/solvent/catalyzed/polane-g-plus-polyurethane-enamel

Its say you can shoot with conventional airless as well
Pot life of 2 hrs.

 

I would treat it like a regular paint job just dont mix it up until your ready

 

Thanks, I found an old thread here via Google oddly enough (I did a search here before I posted but there were no results). It looks like you have to pretty much nail the amount of reducer used for it to come out right. I have found info elsewhere suggesting 4-5 coats may be necessary. I'm waiting on a call back from an sw rep, I'll post any answers I get here.
Interesting about the caulking. I'm still stumped on that one, I'm sure this will happen again if it's not caulked..

 

Regarding caulking, I tend to caulk any noticeably unsightly gaps that I see, using elastomeric sealant (TowerTech2, Shermax etc). But in this case, I think it'd be best to follow manufacturers recommendations. Haven't used Polane Plus before --I think it is industry grade paint that dries hard and tough. Flexible caulk and inflexible paint, probably not a good idea.. Caulking can also be done after painting (using tintable caulk, i.e eXact color by Sashco), but Polane Plus likely not compatible with eXact color caulk when mixing.

 

Very good point.. and you're right about the coating, there are materials in this line designed for aircraft cabins, etc. Thanks for your post!

 

The panels will likely go back to when they were originally painted once the conditions return to the level they were at at the time. In other words, the doors were acclimated to the environment and now, with fall and winter approaching the panels shrink and expose the unpainted wood. Usually in spring and summer the panels will swell and hide the bare wood. Polane is too hard and brittle and will likely crack along the stile and panel line. Using caulk or sealant, sealant preferred, will squish out when the panels re-acclimate in the spring. Just my thoughts. It's an aesthetic issue not a paint issue. Panels should float.

 

I was looking at the product TDS yesterday and noticed it claimed "not for exterior wood" .

I was going to post a link but had internet issues. I'd recommend reading through the SW TDS for this product to verify.

 

I just read Clearlycut's link to the TDS Polane G Plus, and it states under the Additional Information section "Do not use on wood".

 

Probably due to the hardness that it cures to. This door is metal though so it should be ok.

 

Probably due to the hardneuss that it cures to. This door is metal though so it should be ok.

I was also going to post the question of the material but didn't get a chance to.

I would definitely spray the polyurethane. That product is similar to numerous industrial coatings I 've sprayed. Get the ratios right and you're good to go. Be careful of the isocyanate exposure from the unincorporated catalyst. I didn't read the MSDS, polyurethanes are notorious for containing them.

Follow the 2.5 mil DFT recommendation and expansion and contraction may not be a problem. This material can also be thinned up to 2.5% by volume as I recall in the TDS.

 

I sold that product for 9 years.

 

Oh that's great, I saw that some use mek, some paint thinner, and there is a polane reducer too. What do you recommend? Is this strictly an hvlp application or can I use airless? Would you have any suggestions on tip size? Thanks!

 

And I sold Promar 200 for 9 years.

 

Just wanted to post results on this project.. the correct reducer is mak (methyl amyl ketone), which I had to have couried from another state (thx ca).. I used a cheap Wagner electric hvlp to spray and applied two coats. This product is pretty great, it gave a fantastic mirror finish and was fairly easy to apply. It also unsurprisingly dried very hard with very good adhesion. Thanks to all contributers!