slide 1: Great Tips for
Painting
wooden Doors
slide 2: Painting doors Proper preparation the right tools and
materials and good technique result in a silky-
smooth long-lasting finish. Use these pro tips to
make an old door look new again..
slide 3: Lay the door flat to avoid drips and runs
For convenience it’s tempting to leave a
door hanging on its hinges when you
paint. But for a smooth finish you
have to lay it flat and remove the
hinges knobs and other hardware.
With the door laid flat on sawhorses
you can spread paint more quickly and
not worry about drips and paint sags.
And you can still paint both sides in a
day if you rest the door on lag screws.
Drill one 3/16-in. hole in the bottom of
the door and two at the top then turn
4-in. by 1/4-in. lag screws 1-1/2 in.
into the door. Spread the sawhorses
apart just enough so that the door
doesn’t touch either side but rests
entirely on the bolts. Paint the first
side then just rotate the door on the
single bolt at the bottom of the door
while holding the other two bolts.
slide 4: Clean Off Grime Before You Prime
Washing your old finish is probably the most important step you can take to ensure good paint adhesion. Even the
best paint won’t stick well to oil and dirt and there’s lots of both on doors especially near the knob where
dirty hands have pushed and pulled for years. Before filling holes or priming scrub the entire door with
heavy-duty household cleaner. Let the door dry completely then fill any holes.
slide 5: Tip
Find a bespoke luxury door
manufacturer
Then you can save your door repairing cost
5
slide 6: Beware of paint buildup
Decades of paint buildup can
make a door rub against the
jamb or door stop molding.
The fastest way to remove
paint buildup is with a sharp
stainless steel or carbide
scraper.
After scraping sand the door to
smooth the scraped edges.
Use power sanders
sparingly—high-speed
sanding can melt paint
making it even more difficult
to smooth out.
Use sandpaper rather than a
scraper on metal doors.
Chemically strip fiberglass
doors if they have flaking
paint—you’ll quickly ruin a
fiberglass door smooth or
wood grain if you scrape or
sand it.
slide 7: Fill all holes even small ones
You might assume that new paint will hide tiny dents and scratches but it
won’t. In fact the new coat of paint highlights minor flaws. Fill dents less
than 1/8 in. deep with spackling compound. For deeper holes use a
two-part filler or an epoxy wood filler. It’s more of a hassle to use and
you usually end up throwing away a lot of partially hardened filler mix
small batches but the patch will be hard enough to take a lot of abuse
without falling out.
slide 8: Prime the entire door before painting
Unless the old paint is in perfect condition
you should prime before painting.
Primer blocks stains mutes dark colors
and helps new paint stick better. It also
seals porous fillers so the topcoat looks
smooth and even. Avoid spot priming—
it will make the topcoat of paint look
blotchy. If you’re covering a color or
painting on a new color anything other
than white use a gray-tinted primer
instead of a white primer.
slide 9: SAVE
Buy once a good long lasting
wooden door. It will save your
money time.
Your Money
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slide 10: Search for flaws after
priming
Minor flaws in your patching
job are hard to see on
an old painted surface
but they’ll show up
much better after a
fresh coat of primer.
After the primer dries
check the door again
with a strong light.
Cover any flaws with
more spackling
compound then sand
and reprime these areas
with the same roller or
brush feathering the
edges so the additional
primer blends in
slide 11: Sand between coats
No matter how careful you are you can usually find ridges or bubbles or a few bits of
dust and lint in a fresh coat of paint or primer. For the smoothest possible topcoat
hand-sand the entire door after the primer and between coats of paint. It may seem
like a lot of work but it shouldn’t take more than five minutes when the door is flat
on the sawhorses. Sand with non-clogging 180- or 220-grit sandpaper or sanding
sponges look for ‘non-clogging’ or ‘stearated’ on the label. Sand just enough to make
the surface feel smooth. After sanding vacuum and wipe down the door with a damp
cloth to remove all the dust.
slide 12: Concern about Security….
Purchase a
high security
front door from
a trust worthy
Manufacturer.
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slide 13: Get a smoother finish with a special mini roller
The best way to avoid brush marks is to avoid
using brushes. High-density foam mini rollers
spread paint smoothly and evenly without
brush marks and without the bumpy surface
that standard-nap rollers leave. They also
have rounded ends that almost eliminate lap
marks and let you paint into corners without
leaving scrapes or ridges.
Edge in around windows and panels with a brush
first then coat the rest of the door with the
foam roller. Use the rollers for both primer
and paint. They spread a thinner coat of paint
than brushes or conventional rollers do so
you’ll need at least two coats. Foam rollers
are available at paint stores and home
centers.
slide 14: Protect freshly painted doors from sticking
It’s difficult to know how soon to put a
door back up again after painting.
And for home security you’ll want to
get exterior doors back up as soon as
possible. But even when latex paint is
dry to the touch it can still stick to
the doorstop or weather stripping and
then peel off when you open the
door.
To be safe wait at least two days before
closing an interior door. This is
especially true during humid
conditions when it takes longer for
paint to cure properly. With an
exterior door either remove the
weather stripping or cover it with
painter’s tape so the paint won’t stick.
After you’re done with that check out the
video below to see how to trim a
door.
slide 15: THANKS
Any questions
You can find us https://www.solidwoodendoors.com/
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