Finishing Raised Panel Doors - how do you do it?

[Larry Fox]

I have a lot of raised panel doors for my current project. I have pre-finished all of the panels and am about to put them into their frames which are unfinished. In the past, I have masked off the panels to sand and finish the rails and stiles. This is a somewhat time-consuming process and, as I mentioned, I have a lot of them to do and am looking for a faster way. I thought about ordering some shrink-wrap and wrapping the panels tightly in it prior to assembly but not shrinking it. After everything is said and done I would plan to trim it back as close as I could and hitting it with a hairdryer so it would shrink back into the slot in the rail/stile and out of sight. However, before I went that route I thought that I would ask how others have done it.

My panels have gone all the way through my finish schedule and thus need no more finish (except wax).

Thanks in advance for your time . . .

Larry

[Craig Harnitchek]

Larry,

That sounds like a lot of prep. I believe your not using a mortise and tenon joint on the frames but have you considered prefinishing the framework and masking the glue joint? I've typically done this with mortise and non mortise joints and haven't found a problem.

[tod evans]

geeze that`s a lot of work! why not just wax the panels, install `em and mask like usual. the wax will keep anything from sticking if you do get some finish on the panels.
that said, i never prefinish raised panels, squirt `em with stain, dry and spray.....02 tod

[Jerry Olexa]

Larry, I prefinish panels with the so called "color" coat (Blo or stain)and then assemble. Then the R/S get the whole process and the panel gets the topcoat as you hit that part of the cycle. IMHO, the panels are prefinished to prevent a showing of untreated wood as it expands/contracts. In your case, you could also prefinish the rails etc and then assemble. This also protects from glue spill out . Just a thought..

[Larry Fox]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I thought about pre-finishing the rail and stile pieces prior to assembly but was worried that they might not go together perfectly flush (using cope and stick) and would need a light sanding to bring everything flush.

I thought about the wax and mask-as-usual approach as well but the masking takes me an aweful long time for some reason. I am either very slow or being too particular.

[JIm McMullen]

Hi Larry,
I would probably label (tape on back) each panel, then carefully dry fit (clamping) the rails and stiles to each panel. Go ahead and sand or trim joints as needed, then mask the joints, stain or dye and finish coat (labeling each rail and stile individually), glue, clamp up the frames with their respective panels and your good to go. No glue on the panels as I'm sure you know. Hope this helps a little bit. Good luck and be sure to show us the finished project when you can! Jim

[David Rose]

I guess I'm kind of a weird duck. But I finish everything that I can before assembly. On most panels, I like to glue them up in two stages. I usually glue all the stiles to the top rail (using the bottom rail for alignment), let that set up, then finish that assembly. Finishing the bottom rail doesn't take much edge cleanup to be safe. Then I glue in the bottom rail with panels inserted. Maybe it is an unnecesary step. But as a hobbiest and taking my time, it has worked so far. I've done several chests, so sometimes panel assemblies are elaborate. I'm still told that the way I am doing it is "wrong". But so far, I can't figure out why.

Oh, on the bottom rail, I just prefinish up to maybe a 1/2" of the joint. Since so far, I am using shellac on almost everything, it is very easy to "bring the finish together". A small cheap artist brush will blend in the last 1/2".

I pad everything that I can. I think that the type of finish and method of application would make a big difference on your choice.

Good woodworking!

David


Thanks for the replies guys.

I thought about pre-finishing the rail and stile pieces prior to assembly but was worried that they might not go together perfectly flush (using cope and stick) and would need a light sanding to bring everything flush.

I thought about the wax and mask-as-usual approach as well but the masking takes me an aweful long time for some reason. I am either very slow or being too particular.