# Painting a dowel?



## byerbyer (Dec 31, 2012)

I'm in the middle of building a "modern" style crib that will have white painted dowels between natural finished walnut. Do any LJ's have slick trick for painting a round dowel? I tried making some braces I could lay them flat and then roll the paint on with a little roller, but there isn't enough surface area for the roller to actually roll. I also tried just a foam brush, which was a step in the right direction and will suffice for priming, but not the final coat.










I'm thinking a short screw in the end and hang it from a piece of string or stand them on end in a block…

Any suggestions would be great!


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## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

Hang them and use spray paint.

I'd recommend a spray laquer.


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

Screw in both ends so you can control the swing. If you want to lay them down, a screw in each end and a board under the screws. Turn it by hand and lay it down when you are finished.


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## Jetboater (Jan 19, 2014)

One neat way is to spin the dowel as you paint it. Keep it spinning while it dries to eliminate any runs or imperfections. That's the hardest part - avoiding runs and marks from holding the dowel. The guys who make custom wooden archery arrows have been doing it that way for a couple hundred years.

Check out this video. The video show striping (cresting), but you can paint the whole dowel if you want. You can rig up something pretty easy, or buy a cheap commercial arrow crester. If you have access to a lathe, you're already there. Custom fishing rod makers use the same basic technique.


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## kaerlighedsbamsen (Sep 16, 2013)

Hang them and use a "painting pillow" to paint them in one go. Not sure about the name in english. It is like a pieze of carpeting with small brushes on one side. Really quick and gives a nice, even finish


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