How to Paint Doors and Best Ways to Make Them Durable

Painting these doors Sherwin Williams Evergreen Fog to agree the walls made this cottage mode teen bedchamber experience and so much bigger.

If you really desire to add some drama too make your rooms feel larger, paint doors the same colour as your walls together with bring down. (This is called colour drenching.)

How to Paint Interior Doors Without Removing Them From Hinges

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Paint Supplies

• Liquid Deglosser
• Clean rag or tack material
• Drop cloth
• Rubbing alcohol
• Cotton ball
• 120/150 grit sandpaper 
• Wood filler 
• Putty knife
• Waterbourne bonding primer like INSL-X STIX Bonding Primer 
• Paint stir sticks
• Painter’second record
• Aluminum foil
• Paint brush (I LOVE the form of this ane for picture doors as well as furniture)
• Benjamin Moore Advance Paint in semi-gloss
• Mask in addition to Peel as well as utility knife (if y’all’re picture French doors)

You don’t have to remove the door from the hinges at all for this method (just you lot tin if you lot would similar).

How to Paint French Doors or Windows

If y’all’re painting French doors or a door alongside drinking glass panels, offset, use masking liquid before you lot commencement instead of struggling amongst painter’sec record.

I outset learned near this years agone from a professional painter; fifty-fifty though it’second an extra stride, it saves and so much fourth dimension later for the best results on doors alongside drinking glass. (If you lot’re non picture doors amongst drinking glass, skip downwardly to Step iv.)

Step i – Apply Masking Liquid

Apply a thick layer to all of the glass window panes. 

It looks like gum at showtime as well as volition first out looking white. After a few hours, it dries to wait like a clear celluloid. Then, follow the rest of the door picture steps below.

Step ii – Score Edges

After painting your French doors, when it’s fourth dimension to pare off the glass, only grade the edges of the window panes amongst a utility knife blade. 

Step three – After Painting, Peel Away Film

Peel back a corner of the celluloid on the pane and remove it equally it comes off in ane sail, leaving crisp, clean, freshly painted French door grids. 

Step four – Test Your Paint

The nigh important footstep earlier y’all make anything is test your existing paint on the surface of the door to see if it is petroleum or latex based. This volition assistance you select the right paint as well as primer for the chore.

Put just about rubbing alcohol on a cotton fiber ball as well as swab a small-scale topographic point on your door. If the paint comes off, it is latex.

If the pigment doesn’t come up off, yous have crude based paint, and then y’all will involve to use an oil-based primer for this projection. 

Be aware, if you live inward an older domicile, it’sec a good idea to test your doors for atomic number 82. Working alongside Pb paint tin live rattling unsafe together with is best to avoid without proper safety measures.

Step five – Lightly Sand

Lightly sand your door inward the management of the wood grain amongst 150 grit sandpaper to hand it around suitcase. Remove whatsoever sanding dust alongside a tack fabric or damp textile (permit dry out).

Step six – Apply Liquid Sander Deglosser

Wipe downward the entire door surface with liquid deglosser and a rag to take away any existing residuum, peculiarly around the door knob where dirt as well as natural oils from hands tin can collect.

Step 7 – Patch Holes or Dents

Patch any holes or damaged areas with woods filler. Let dry, too purpose sandpaper over again for a shine finish.

This door had a hook on it that I needed to withdraw too piece. Do non role caulk or wall spackle to fill up holes as it can shrink together with scissure over time. 

Step viii – Cover Hinges and Doorknobs with Aluminum Foil

Once the deglosser is dry, yous can take away your door hardware. As an option tardily fashion, yous tin can function aluminum foil and/or painter’second tape to protect your hinges in addition to doorknob from paint (I sometimes am able to but freehand it though). 

Aluminum foil is a bully pick because yous can easily mold it the hardware’s cast.

Step 9 – Prime 

You tin can skip this pace for new doors that are pre-primed. 

Brush on a coat of primer. My favorite is INSL-X STIX Bonding Primer.

Pro Tip: If you lot’re picture a white door amongst a dark pigment color, go your primer tinted at your local hardware store paint desk then it requires fewer coats of pigment.

I like this triangle item Zibra brush merely because it gives the smoothest complete, from my feel, and the shape makes it easier to pigment into edges in addition to corners of paneled doors or doors amongst intricate molding. 

I beginning by priming the edges of the door showtime since these call for the longest time to dry. If y’all design to paint simply 1 side of the door, paint the edges that will be visible when y’all open the door. Leave edges of the door unpainted that will be visible on the unpainted side of the door when it’sec open up. 

Paint the details and grooves adjacent, if y’all have a paneled door. Then employ it to the apartment surfaces afterward that. Be sure to cheque for drips every bit y’all prime number. 

DEFINITELY don’t skip the primer stride after, if you lot have fossil oil based pigment, or y’all’ll accept quite a paint peeling headache on your hands. Ack!

If you lot’re painting your doors really nighttime, use tinted primer to help decrease the issue of paint coats yous’ll postulate. (Yay for less function!)

Step x – Lightly Sand

Once the primer is fully dry out, lightly sand the surface to get in extra shine too withdraw whatsoever sanding dust amongst a clean, dry rag.

Here is the guild to prime number and pigment your door in:

Start alongside painting the edges of the door. Then paint grooves followed by the within panels, and the balance of the door.

Step eleven – Paint

Once the primer is dry, brush on a coat of the Benjamin Moore Advance paint using the triangular brush once again. I don’t purpose a foam roller because the Advance paint is self-leveling as well as will help cover brush strokes. But you lot can for sure function a modest roller if you lot’d similar. It is a waterborne alkyd pigment, then it cures to a more than durable, harder finish than latex. For a flawless professional paint chore, you tin can role a pigment sprayer. 

You’ll likely take some other even coat of paint or 2. It’s best to utilize multiple calorie-free coats of paint than applying likewise much pigment too dealing with excess paint drips everywhere.

Check dorsum for pigment drips earlier the paint dries as well as shine out whatsoever uneven places amongst your brush.

Lightly sand amongst fine grit sandpaper betwixt coats.

Step 12 – Remove Painter’second Tape While Still Wet

After you’ve painted the entire surface with your concluding coat, remove your painter’s tape or aluminum foil from the hinges in addition to doorknob spell your paint is nevertheless moisture to forestall peeling or mark the record edge offset with a utility knife.

After painting 26 doors in this household forthwith, I intend I could do this inwards my sleep at this indicate. Ha!

It gets much easier as well as faster the more yous pigment.

On all of our other doors in our family, nosotros’ve painted with the color Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron, but since I wanted a softer expect inward Regan’sec room against all of the white, I decided to function Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray.

It’sec the perfect warm medium grayness that isn’t as well blue (in addition to would live gorgeous on kitchen cabinets).

Have I convinced y’all to paint your obviously white doors notwithstanding? I’k telling ya, it’second a game changer.

Frequently Asked Questions

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