System for Spraying Balusters
Three ways to hang or prop balusters so that they can be finished on all faces before installation. April 19, 2006
Question
I have a bunch of balusters to stain and finish. I’m looking for the best way - I have tried to hang them in the past with no luck.
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor A:
This is the jig I use to finish balusters. Stick a nail or a screw in both ends and rest it in the jig. With the corner pointed at you, spray and cover two sides at once. Spin it 90º four times and you have a finished baluster. Lift it out of the jig and place it on your drying rack on the screws and repeat. You can make many of these jigs very quickly. And the piece doesn't get blown around by the spray equipment.
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From contributor B:
I usually string up a clothesline or two across the spray room. I use some line that I can tension with a truckers hitch. Then I screw washer head screws (drawer front) into the ends. I then make hooks out of 14 gauge sizing wire. That way the baluster can be spun. I hang as many as I can on the line. Spray one row and then spin all of them by the hook and spray the other side. I don't like the idea of taking them off of a rig to hang them on a drying rack.
From contributor C:
I stand the balusters on a board on sawhorses close to a wall. The wall also has a board on it with a strip of sandpaper on it to keep the balusters from leaning sideways when stain makes the board slippery. I space them 6" apart so there is room to pick them up for wiping stain or sanding. I try to do this at a time when I don’t mind the booth being tied up while they dry.
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