Spraying Stair Spindles
Tips on holding stair balusters for spraying. December 2, 2009
Question
What is the best setup for spraying stair spindles - hang with cup hooks or drill for bottom dowel?
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor J:
I would go get some extra long wood screws, like 4-6 inchers. Drill them in enough to stick. I would also build a simple rail rack with a gap that would allow the shank of the screw to pass but hold the head.
This way you can hold and rotate the spindles by hand and not spray yourself and quickly hang them to dry. This might also prevent runs if you're heavy handed like me sometimes, as you can hand rotate the part for a few seconds if you have too.
From contributor R:
I might be tempted to screw them down to a piece of scrap 3/4 plywood. Then screw the plywood down to the sawhorse. If you place them about a foot apart you will have enough space to spray the front, both sides, then walk around the whole setup and spray the backs.
From contributor T:
I screw the dowel end of the balusters to a scrap piece of plywood at about 5"-6" apart and turn them on a diagonal so you can spray all sides.
From contributor R:
The only problem I see with turning something is if you're spraying a couple of sealer (or same top coat as a sealer) coats, and then spraying a couple of top coats, you're going to get a bunch of junk building up at the bottom of the post where it's screwed to the plywood. When you turn the post, all the material that's gathered at the base will get transferred to the spindles. Might end up being a messy glob of material where you don't want it.
From contributor B:
I did a group of 200 awhile ago. I did it in groups of 25, one at a time. Leaned them against the wall. Nothing fancy; I did wear latex gloves. Turn up the radio and dig in.
How many do you have?
From contributor O:
We used light gauge fence staples hammered in to make a loop. Then galvanized wire to make a hanger. Hung 15 or so from a 2x4 with nails sticking out and sprayed them. Moved the whole board to dry and set up another.
From the original questioner:
Thanks for all the ideas - got it started yesterday. I got 2 - 2x6x14 on a drill press, drilled a 3/4 hole (slightly oversized would be better) every 2 1/2 (close enough to turn them). Setup took a while. Screwed the 2x6 to 4 horses then tapped the dowel in hole. Sprayed it like a big flat surface. Also made a jig to turn them a 1/4 turn. Let that dry while I sprayed all the other stuff. Worked okay. I'll store the 2x6 for another time.
