How to remove pocket doors for painting?

Question

I'm currently working my way through re-painting all the doors in my house, and adding new hardware. I'm finally up to the pocket doors, have removed the trim/pelmet panel to get access to the tracks, now I'm reaching out for some further advice on how to remove the doors (5 total).

I do want to remove the doors fully, so I can give them a proper clean and sand, adjust the cutout for new hardware, and then prime and spray them. Leaving them hanging and attempting all that is a no go.

From what I'm seeing, all doors are on a J-style (?) track, but there seem to be 2 types of brackets used. One style has a latch style piece fastened with a nut (this is on 2 doors), and the other only the nut and possibly a washer (on the remaining 3 doors).

There is still about 1-2cm of door in the frame when the door is fully closed, so I can't simply tilt the out and lift of the tracks. I was hoping to be able to lift them out, to avoid finicky adjustments when re-hanging, but it does look like I might need to take that route.

If that's the case - that I need to loosen the nuts - does anyone have advice on the best strategy to remove and then re-hang once I've finished painting? Seems like it would be challenging to get level again etc.

Grateful for any advice, tips and tricks you might be able to share :) Thank you!

JacobZ · Answer

Hi @FirstHomeFixits,

I'm glad to hear they're off and ready for paint.

Getting them level is a little bit fiddly, but I'm confident you'll be able to work it out relatively easily.

Good luck and don't hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions or run into any issues.

Jacob

FirstHomeFixits · Answer

Hi @JacobZ,

Thanks so much for your reply and advice. Unfortunately I did end up having to remove the nuts on the hangers to get the doors out (easy enough as it turned out), but the challenge will definitely be re-hanging them - I'll definitely wrangle a second set of hands to help with that one.

Thanks again!

JacobZ · Answer

Hi @FirstHomeFixits,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

Unfortunately, if due to the width of the opening, you are unable to simply lift the doors off the runners now that the pelmet has been removed, then you have two options, either remove the nuts on the hangers, or unscrew the track itself.

If adjusting the doors back level when reattaching is a concern of yours, then unscrewing the track itself might be the better option because you would simply drive the screw back into the same hole that it came out of, which should keep everything exactly the same as it was before. To do this, you would need someone to support the door while you unscrewed the track and screwed it back in, but if you have someone who can help, it is likely the easiest way to do it.

Alternatively, you could unscrew the nuts from the hangers to remove the doors, then paint them and then reattach them and adjust. Assuming the face of the door is square with the top of it, you would just need to place a level on the face of the door and adjust the door placement until the face is plumb. If they are square to each other, a plumb face means the head will be level.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob