Finish Before Assembly?

[Mike Goetzke]

I’m about ready to assemble my second crib. Years ago I built my first one and my daughter wanted it white so I sprayed it assembled. I remember what a pain with all the slats so was thinking of finishing this one before assembling.

Anyone do this?

 

[DynaGlide]

I’m about ready to assemble my second crib. Years ago I built my first one and my daughter wanted it white so I sprayed it assembled. I remember what a pain with all the slats so was thinking of finishing this one before assembling.

Anyone do this?

Always finish before assembly if you can. With a crib though. .hard call. Not easy to do all those slats. Lots of wasted material and overspray.

 

[jeh]

At a minimum I prime, sand and apply one topcoat for paint projects. The waste is great trade off for the finishing being significantly easier. I’ll Apple a second coat of paint it is assembled.

For cleared projects I will usually do two coats of clear with light sanding after each application. I’ll touch up as necessary.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

I’m about ready to assemble my second crib. Years ago I built my first one and my daughter wanted it white so I sprayed it assembled. I remember what a pain with all the slats so was thinking of finishing this one before assembling.

Anyone do this?

Always finish before assembly if you can. With a crib though. .hard call. Not easy to do all those slats. Lots of wasted material and overspray.

Brings up a good point - I have a 4-stage turbine HVLP system but a brush may be better suited for the slats.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

At a minimum I prime, sand and apply one topcoat for paint projects. The waste is great trade off for the finishing being significantly easier. I’ll Apple a second coat of paint it is assembled.

For cleared projects I will usually do two coats of clear with light sanding after each application. I’ll touch up as necessary.

Thanks Jim

 

[Packard]

At a minimum I prime, sand and apply one topcoat for paint projects. The waste is great trade off for the finishing being significantly easier. I’ll Apple a second coat of paint it is assembled.

For cleared projects I will usually do two coats of clear with light sanding after each application. I’ll touch up as necessary.

Thanks Jim

I would have a variation on this. 

If the slats are floating in the mortises, then pre-finishing is fine.  If they are going to be glued in place, then the paint will likely compromise the strength of each joint.

If they are floating, my approach is to pre-finish the ends of the slats only.  Then assemble and then paint the entire piece after assembly (this applies to spray painting only).

If you don’t pre-finish the slats, then seasonal movement of the slats will likely expose the raw ends that don’t receive any paint after assembly.  If you hang the sides of the crib and paint it while hanging, I find that it is not much more work than shooting a flat panel. 

You do have to take care that you get finish on all of the upper and lower rails. 

A good deal of the decision is going to be a product of how the crib walls are going to be assembled.

 

[Steve1]

I frequently pre-finish certain parts before assembly.

There are pros and cons of course.  Have to mask off glue surfaces, and then the masked edge can be problematic.

Balusters on a crib sound like a prime candidate for pre-finishing.

 

[waho6o9]

Absolutely. 

Tape off the glue joints and have at it.  For me  it's a real time saver. 

All the Best

 

[Huey52]

Certainly you may pre-finish. As an example, although I've not done it, you can buy pre-finished drawer parts (even Sedge has often bought same).

And of course good to get the sanding done, as especially mating Domino M&T surfaces are difficult to get to once glued up, e.g. the joining face-ends of table skirts.

ref: