Need Advice:Refinishing coin door

[Silverwind]

Few quick questions..

I have a coin door that is used and has some visible wear on it..  I would like to repaint it..

A) How far down do I need to sand before I repaint?  With what grit of sand paper?

B) What should I repaint it with?  I will use black paint but flat/gloss/etc?  What would make it look the most authentic... thanks!

[SirPeale]

I'm refinishing one too.  This is my second.

First, you should sand down to bare metal.  Prime, and then paint.  I'm taking some liberties here and assuming you already know how to paint metal.

You've got several choices when it comes to paint.  I think wrinkle paint looks nice, but unless you do it right, it can be a big pain.

Rust-O-Leum matte black looks nice too, but not as authentic.

The door I'm working on right now I've decided to have it sandblasted, and then powder coated (which is what the original finish is)  There's several types of powder coating, I recommend 'texture finish.'

That's pretty much it, in a nutshell.

[Silverwind]

Thanks.. and no I'm not really familiar with painting metal

Does home depot carry the correc type of powder coat?

[SirPeale]

Thanks.. and no I'm not really familiar with painting metal

Does home depot carry the correc type of powder coat?

LOL...no.  That's something you have to have professionally done.  They take your piece, sandblast it to remove the old paint, use an etching solution, then coat it with a special powder.  After that, it goes into an oven to cure.

See this site: http://www.powdercoating.org

[Cue-Ball]

While i agree that sanding down to bare metal is the best way to refinish a coin door, it's not necessarily the best option for everyone.  By sanding down to bare metal you're opening up a big can of worms with possible scratches in the metal (from using too coarse paper or too much pressure).  Also, once you sand one portion down that far you're committed to doing the entire rest of the door all the way down to metal.  I refinished both of the coin doors on my cabinet and did not sand at all!  I bent the doors back into shape (they had been dented by people's knees), cleaned and degreased them, then put on a fresh coat of gloss spray paint.  Since the doors weren't sanded down to metal i didn't need to prime them.  This saved me a LOT of time and trouble and the doors turned out really well.

So, depending on the starting condition of your coin doors, you might not need to sand them at all.

[CM]

Certainly no expert, but I simply dremel'd away the old paint with a steel brush attachment to the metal and painted it with the hammered rustoleum.   Since the paint itself is textured I did not really have to concern myself with scratches  

[SirPeale]

So, depending on the starting condition of your coin doors, you might not need to sand them at all.

It does indeed depend on the door.  The door I'm curently working on had the paint peeling of 40% of it.  Why?  The rust blooming underneath.  I used paint remover to get most of the paint off, then I'm going to use a paint remover wheel to get most of the rest off.  I have taken most of the dents out with a pair of plyers, and now I have to do nothing but wait to save enough $$$ to get it (and my other door) coated.  

It's not terribly expensive, but it is when the only person in your household working is your wife.