Painting
Our design, manufacture and quality control systems are all focused on providing doors with lasting good looks and reliability. Getting the most out of your doors begins the moment they arrive on your site and continues through painting, installation and beyond.
When your doors arrive
If they’re not pre-sealed, all doors must have both faces and all four edges sealed as soon as they arrive on site. This is particularly important for veneered door leafs. Don’t leave doors in their raw state on site. Failure to seal doors promptly or correctly may invalidate their warranty.
When moving doors, they should be carefully lifted not slid. Doors should be stored away from heat and direct sunlight in dry, well-ventilated areas and never subjected to extremes in humidity and temperature.
To minimise the risk of distortion by normal temperature and humidity changes, they must be flat-stacked off the ground on three or more equally spaced bearers and clear of debris and moisture. Use spacers between glazed doors to prevent glazing bead damage. All doors should also be covered to prevent light shading and dust damage.
NZFD sealer coated interior doors
NZFD interior doors feature a sophisticated Ultraviolet light (UV) cured white sealer on the two faces to keep the doors dimensionally stable by creating a barrier to atmospheric moisture during storage. This sealer also effectively resists water when water based paints are used to finish the door. UV cured sealer provides a consistent finish and an easy surface for the painter to prepare.
The UV cured sealer requires very little sanding preparation. All that is required to prepare each face of the door for painting is a very fine buff with a 400g sanding pad. Once the door has been lightly sanded across both faces it is ready for priming and finish coating providing all sanding dust etc has been removed.
NOTE: if the UV cured sealer has been scratched a repair should be made and sealed with a solvent based paint before application of any water based paint. A full face re-seal may be needed to effectively mask the repair.
It is important that the sealer is not scratched during handling if water-based paints are to be used. Surface scratching of the UV cured sealer can allow moisture from the paint into the door skin where it becomes trapped and could cause the skin to swell. It is important that coarser grit papers such as typical 180g or 220g are not used in the preparation of a door pre-sealed with UV cured paint. A coarse grit paper may cause damage to the sealer which may not be evident to the eye, but could lead to water from aqueous paint absorbing into the skin.
Paint and clear finishing of interior doors
To achieve the best results, always follow paint manufacturers’ recommendations. Complete and continuous protection by the coatings is important as humidity can cause deterioration of untreated doors over a period of time. A quick drying primer / undercoat is recommended to seal the surfaces on doors. Light sanding with fine paper between coats will remove grain-raise and further enhance the final finish.
Painting Tip: Vision panel beadings on 60 min rated door are backed with a ceramic insulating tape which will readily take up any paint applied to it. For best results when painting we recommend close attention to masking to protect the ceramic tape, and avoid heavy application of paint to the beading adjacent to the glass. Alternatively, a thin bead of neutral cure silicone sealant may be applied to the gap between the glass and beading.
NZFD Clear Sealer Coated Exterior (P-Core) doors
NZFD exterior doors are factory sealed with a solvent-based clear acrylic sealer to enhance the durability of the door. The sealer is factory applied to all six sides and to any hardware cut-outs made in the factory. The sealer will provide temporary protection to the door prior to finishing but is not a substitute for proper finishing with a quality exterior paint system. It is recommended that exterior doors and jambs are protected as soon as possible after delivery or installation with at least the primer coat and one finishing coat applied, taking particular care to coat the top and bottom of both leaf and jamb.
Warranty / Durability Alerts
- Any damage to the clear sealer coat must be sealed with Cotec Uniseal Gloss LO before continuing with priming and top coating the door.
- Any penetrations / cutouts added to the door must be sealed with Cotec Uniseal Gloss LO
- All door hardware must be installed according to its manufacturer’s instructions to ensure weather tightness is achieved.
Failure to observe any of these cautions will void the product warranty and will compromise product durability.
Cotec Distributors: www.cotec.co.nz/Distributors
For Cotec Uniseal Gloss LO Datasheet click HERE
Finish-Coating of P-Core Doors
For Cotec Acrylic Enamel Finishing System click HERE
Cotec now offer waterbased TruPrep Multiprime as an alternative to the alkyd primers normally required over Uniseal LO; Technical datasheet HERE
NZ Fire Doors also recommends 
- Spot seal any damaged sealer with Cotec Uniseal Gloss LO as above.
- Lightly scuff the surface by orbital sander with 240 grit paper, or by hand with 400 grit paper, taking care to avoid sand-through.
- Dust off and apply a coat of Resene Wood Primer.
- Finish with TWO coats of Resene Lustacryl.
Always follow the paint manufacturer’s recommendations for best results.
For P-Core doors with high exposure to sun:
Resene Cool Colours are recommended, or standard paints with Light Reflectance Value (LRV) >45%
Paint systems from other manufacturers may be used provided that the primer is an oil-modified alkyd resin type and that the paint manufacturer’s instructions are followed in full.
Attaching hinges - door leaf only
Screw holding tests are routinely carried out during the manufacture of the door substrate. Laboratory tests demonstrate adequate screw holding characteristics for fixing door hinges. Practical experience has shown that, provided correct screws are fitted according to sound trade practices, screw holding is not a problem. If your door is not pre-hung, we recommend using 8-gauge 38 mm parallel shank screws for fitting standard hinges.
Ongoing care
To maintain your door we recommend you inspect it six-monthly. Dust and wipe down with a damp cloth. Do not use abrasive or chemical cleaners. If necessary use a mild detergent.
Repair any scratches or breaks in the decorative or protective finish. Where our doors are installed in damp areas, such as a bathroom, any break in the surface must be repaired immediately. All maintenance painting or clear finishing must be in accordance with the coating manufacturer’s instructions.
Guarantee
New Zealand Fire Doors’ products comply with the 15-year durability requirements of the New Zealand building code clause B2 DURABILITY. We also offer a warranty period of one (1) year from date of installation, against defects in materials or workmanship. For a copy of the warranty conditions and limitations please get in touch.