[BYEStudios]

I work for a company that does studios and sheds and a very common choice for our customers are full lite black steel doors.

Covid has severely effected our supply chain and our ability to get black doors without massive delays or price increases that our customers don't want to go for.

We've resorted to buying white doors and trying to paint them in house. We work with Benjamin Moore and they recommended Regal Select Exterior High Build. We've been using Aqua Lock as a primer to get it to stick to the smooth surface of the door. We currently paint them using foam rollers.

It's been effective but very time consuming to try and get a nice clean finish. It's also proven difficult to touch the doors up on site if any chips/damage occur without the spots being obvious.

Do you guys have any recommendations for ways to get a cleaner finish? I tried a cheap HLVP sprayer but getting the thickness right with this paint for a sprayer seems challenging. It also seems to chip much easier but maybe it just requires more coats if sprayed.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

 

[monarchski]

I work for a company that does studios and sheds and a very common choice for our customers are full lite black steel doors.

Covid has severely effected our supply chain and our ability to get black doors without massive delays or price increases that our customers don't want to go for.

We've resorted to buying white doors and trying to paint them in house. We work with Benjamin Moore and they recommended Regal Select Exterior High Build. We've been using Aqua Lock as a primer to get it to stick to the smooth surface of the door. We currently paint them using foam rollers.

It's been effective but very time consuming to try and get a nice clean finish. It's also proven difficult to touch the doors up on site if any chips/damage occur without the spots being obvious.

Do you guys have any recommendations for ways to get a cleaner finish? I tried a cheap HLVP sprayer but getting the thickness right with this paint for a sprayer seems challenging. It also seems to chip much easier but maybe it just requires more coats if sprayed.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

The BM Command product comes ready mixed in a stock black. It's not really a brush and roll product but it has tenacious adhesion without a primer and a 1 hour re-coat time. Buy yourself a used or new airless and spray it straight out of the bucket. First coat will act as your primer/bond coat.

 

[BYEStudios]

The BM Command product comes ready mixed in a stock black. It's not really a brush and roll product but it has tenacious adhesion without a primer and a 1 hour re-coat time. Buy yourself a used or new airless and spray it straight out of the bucket. First coat will act as your primer/bond coat.

Looks awesome, just called my rep and they have it in there in stock. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[stelzerpaintinginc.]

I would agree with @cocomonkeynuts. If you're applying the paint via sprayer, Command is an excellent choice. It is, however, not ideal to have to apply by brush & roll, although subsequent touch-ups via brush haven't seemed problematic in my experiences.

 

[cocomonkeynuts]

Aqua lock also comes in a stock black, prime with that then command. I sprayed some shelve with command bronzetone that came out looking slick with my HVLP.

 

[STAR]

The BM Command product comes ready mixed in a stock black. It's not really a brush and roll product but it has tenacious adhesion without a primer and a 1 hour re-coat time. Buy yourself a used or new airless and spray it straight out of the bucket. First coat will act as your primer/bond coat.

I agree with you except for the adhesion. On a steel door I would suggest to prime.
Sprays great with airless and a 308 tip.

 

[cocomonkeynuts]

I agree with you except for the adhesion. On a steel door I would suggest to prime.
Sprays great with airless and a 308 tip.

I spec'd aqualock on something like 80 new steel doors at a motel down the street that came with some kind of slick factory finish. They were finding aqualock biting into that stuff better than even fresh start or stix, even though its not really a bonding primer it seems to develop adhesion pretty quick. Exterior side I had command in a deep base red interior side scuffx in a charcoal gray

 

[finishesbykevyn]

Ditch the foam Roller for a 5mm microfibre. Or airless spray. Command or Cornado DTM. With proper prep, I wouldn't think a primer was necessary with those products although it wouldn't hurt.

 

[BYEStudios]

Borrowed a Graco 17M363 from a friend and picked up a 308 tip as per Star's recc. Can't overstate how much better this paint went on than the Regal Select. Much cleaner finish, easy application without thinning, dry time was very quick.

I think I'll keep priming with the aqua lock and finishing with the Command. In a lot of cases our builds are part of a larger backyard re-design which can mean damage from landscapers after we install from gravel/dirt/concrete dust etc. I don't mind taking the extra time for a more resistant finish.

Thank you all very much for your assistance. Much better advice than my BM rep

 

[cocomonkeynuts]

Borrowed a Graco 17M363 from a friend and picked up a 308 tip as per Star's recc. Can't overstate how much better this paint went on than the Regal Select. Much cleaner finish, easy application without thinning, dry time was very quick.

I think I'll keep priming with the aqua lock and finishing with the Command. In a lot of cases our builds are part of a larger backyard re-design which can mean damage from landscapers after we install from gravel/dirt/concrete dust etc. I don't mind taking the extra time for a more resistant finish.

Thank you all very much for your assistance. Much better advice than my BM rep

Regal high build isn't great to finish, if you need any exterior regal use Regal Mooreglo and not the high build. You'll notice the return to service is much faster with command however