should i paint my maytag dryer door...

[hippiedoll]

hey everybody!!

well, i finally got a commercial/coin-operated windowed maytag dryer door.
WOOOO HOOOO!!!

now the problem is:
the only windowed dryer doors available were in the color almond. and the almond door doesn't match with my (unshaded) harvest gold dryer cabinet.

i contacted an auto repair/paint shop here in tucson and i got an estimated quote of $200-$250, to paint the dryer door to match the cabinet. well this was way out of my price range & more than i was expecting to pay.

my dad recently had his car painted in mexico & they did a good job on the paint. and i asked my dad if he knew someone who could paint the dryer door for me, over there in mexico. he hasn't taken the door yet, but is planning on taking it back to mexico with him tomorrow.

i have a couple of questions:
1. what kind of paint did maytag use on their late 1970's center-dial, dryer doors?? is it a porcelain or enamel paint?
2. could i spray paint the dryer door myself? and would i be better off painting it myself?
3. if i were to paint the dryer door myself, what kind of paint should i get? and where could i find the kind of paint that i need? and could i do this with cans of spray paint?

please get back to me & let me know if this is something that would either be too complicated for me to do myself? or if i painted the dryer door, i won't end up with good or lasting results?
i could just live with the mismatched door. but of course, i would rather have the door matching the cabinet, but not at the cost of getting less than great looking or lasting results.

i lood forward to hearing your advice & input from all of you experienced & skillful collectors. thank you in advance for your replies & input.

 

[arris]

Paint Color

You could try, under a Google search typing "Appliance color codes" that will bring you to a page with G.E,Frigidaire select either of those, there will be all major appliance maker brands, look for maytag and find the color... I was looking around for color codes and found this page. or maybe someone here would have the part # for the proper color paint.....

 

[hippiedoll]

thank you

arris/jim, for your reply.

i did find the page and the maytag brand and i think the color too. but a dumb question here....
what i am looking at? i see different numbers and brand names along the top. do i take down the name brands & numbers under them and look for that brand & number, in a spray can?? and where would i go to find these? walmart? lowes?

thank you again for your reply. sorry i'm not sure what to do though...
LOL....

just to let you & everybody know, i need "lay-man's" terms because i have never done any painting.

/

 

[d-jones]

Only the top panels on the cabinets are porcelain, so that means your door is baked on enamel paint. This is something you could do yourself if you have any skill with a spray can, but you're not likely to find Harvest Gold, so in order to match your cabinet you'll have to have the color custom mixed somewhere. There may or may not be a fee for matching the color and most places have a minimum quantity of one quart. Unfortunately you'll likely be shocked at how much the paint can cost. I just bought enough paint to do three shaded Harvest Gold cabinets and the two colors, hardener and reducer cost me more than four hundred dollars. But I live in California and our state laws may be adding to the cost.

 

That being said, if your dryer door will fit in your oven and you're not afraid to use it you can skip the expensive hardener and bake it for a couple of hours at about 220 degrees. That'll harden the paint all the way through, but now I've gotten ahead of myself.

 

Preval makes a handy little device for spraying custom mixed colors(google Preval sprayer) that you'll want to pick up if you're serious about doing this yourself. It's almost as convenient as a spray can, the only real difference being that clean up is a bit more involved.

 

I hope that helps.

 

[d-jones]

To answer your question in reply 2

Each paint manufacturer has books of color chips intended to match colors used by the various auto makers and appliance manufacturers. When you look through one of these books and find the color you're looking for the guy behind the counter can then look up the mixing instructions for it and prepare some for you. This works great when you're painting an entire cabinet, but when you're just painting the dryer door you have to wonder if the surrounding paint has faded at all over the years. If it has you could still end up with colors that don't quite match, though careful use of rubbing compound on the faded paint could possibly fix that.

 

[goatfarmer]

I paint refrigerators, using a foam roller,  and RustOLeum. They turn out  decent.

http://www.thesmokingtire.com/2012/how-to-paint-your-car-without-a-gun/

 

[hippiedoll]

thank you for your replies, advice & input...

d-jones/David:
For letting me know the door is baked on enamel & not porcelain. And also about that preval sprayer. That is really cool! This makes me think this is something I can possibly do myself.
And also for letting me know I can skip the hardener if I baked the three dryer door in the oven. I haven't tried to fit the dryer door in the oven yet though. But this definitely sounds like an option that would work for me! Thank you. As for color fading, I wonder if I took the original solid dryer door in with me, if they could match it with that, just in case there is slight fading? Would, say like the paint-guy at Walmart or home Depot, know what kind of paint mixture I would need & how to mix it, by doing a color match with the original solid dryer door?

goatfarmer/Kenny:
A foam roller? Now that's a technique that never crossed my mind! But that cat in the link you attached did have a nice looking paint job. So this is definitely another option to think about too! Thank you for letting me know about this option.

Thank you all for your replies & suggestions. You guys have definitely shed some light for me, about painting the windowed maytag dryer door.
Thank you...
)

 

[maytagbear]

If there is

a Sherwin-Williams store not too far from you, that's where I would go for custom paint mixing, definitely NOT WallyWorld! Or, perhaps an independent hardware store, again, if there is one within your idea of a reasonable distance.

Good luck!

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[philr]

Congratulations on finding that door Christina!

 

If you don't have any budget at the moment, you can try spray cans as it's the cheapest way, if you don't like the result, you can always sand it down completely and try again later with something more expensive. Some good quality paint cans are also available but can cost about $20. 

 

If you know someone who has an air compressor and a decent spray gun (for automotive repair), you can also buy a small quantity of urethane paint that matches your dryer (not all whites are the same!) along with some hardener and reducer. 

 

To get the correct match and gloss, I'd suggest that you bring your current door to an automotive paint store to have it matched (or they'll give you paint chips so you find something close yourself). <span style="font-size: 12pt;">It</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">will</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> be a bit too glossy but they also</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">add</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> matting additive.</span>

 

That won't be in the $4.99 range of Wal Mart spray cans but...

 

[hippiedoll]

thank you.....

Maytagbear/Lawrence:
For the Sherwin-Williams tip. I checked out their website and have found a few close matches, through the computer. I'm sure I can narrow the choice to a very close color match, looking in person with the dryer door in hand. And I did find a store location that should be about 5 minutes from me!
Thank you again for the Sherwin-Williams tip.

PhilR/Phil:
For the congratulations on finding a windowed dryer door. I really didn't think I would find one so quickly. It's just too bad that I only found it in the almond color, and not in the gold/harvest color! Which would have been the perfect match for my dryer! And I could have just switched them out and the dryer would have been ready to plug & play with. Ha ha ha....
But that would have just been too easy. And besides, I guess we don't live in a perfect world.
Hm hm hm....

But I know once I get the door painted to match the cabinet, and put it onto the dryer, the sweeter the gratification will be!
;o)

As for an automotive paint Store, I think there might be one like 8 blocks or so from me. I'll have to check them out. But I'm tapped out for this month. I'll have to wait until next month to get a good quality paint.

And I don't think I know anybody who has a spray-gun or air-compressor
/

Thanks again for the congratulations & your tips.

 

[bvf]

paint

hey hippy doll ..come over and we will get your paint and ill spray it with spray paint…or you can brush it with rustoleum paint this should cost abut 25 bucks….this is not rocket science give me a call mark oh i painted this wringer two hours and 4 dollars home depot..people think its original paint…i painted hair for years plus you could crome the whole door for about 75 bucks or plastic wrap for 50 bucks in any color ..yes guys start plastic wraping your washers im the first to tell feel guys to do this i did a car 10 years ago… mark

 

[bvf]

almond door

i hate you now… you better chain that baby up i know where you live,…. I just saw a round glass door and i want one bad.. I will be over to pick it up friday.. i need one in almond and gold and in green hell I want one in pink and blue… We all underestimate you in this club …that is way cool i say there are kits to i guess we can cut our own ..i have a metal cutter and can put window in the door.. hell im going to make one with french doors……. give me a call when you can your very bestes friend mark….