Question:
What is the best way to paint a fiberglass garage door?
It would seem like spraying it would be the best idea because
the previous painters had a hard time painting with a brush and
left lots of brush marks. I would guess spraying would be a lot
smoother.
Answer:
-In my recent personal experience, a 3/16" nap roller left a smoother
finish than a foam roller, and I mean the good quality foam rollers
and not the disposable type.
I found that the foam roller created a bit of suction as it rolled by
(it's like a sponge, after all), and this left more dimpling than the
3/16" roller.
That said, the 3/16" roller wasn't easy to find. The only place I've
seen them is the True Value down the road, and I can't remember the
brand name. The roller is wool(-like), and labeled for latex/acrylic
paints.
-I showed my 75 year old mother how to do it, with a rag. Washed the
door well first, with TSP, rinsed it well, let it dry for a day. Then
rested it up on a sawhorse and started with the bottom. Then lowered it
some, did more. basically walked it across, figured it was better to
plan on more than one coat to even things out. By the time we got to
the top, we had gotten pretty good at it. We let it dry, then went back
over it in the afternoon, and it looks great. No roller pans or pads,
no brushes, no dribble marks, tired wrists, etc., and gave her an
artistic moment. And an oportunity to to chortle to her friends about
what she had done. With a little help from her son.
