The front door is as important to add looks and quality to your house as the rest of your house. You cannot deny the fact that a good and beautiful front door creates the first impression about what kind of people must be living in that house. Also the front door protects us from different weather, burglars and also unwanted people also so it must be seriously taken care for sure.
Precautions:
Before painting the front door you must first refer the weather report as don’t start the job on a rainy or a very hot day as rainy day may damage the paint job by making the weather damp and during a very hot day direct sunlight on the door may chip or the paint and cause blistering. So better start the work on a cool day or start early in the morning so that till the sun rises and increases the temperature you finish your job. For the exterior you must use a good acrylic paint and also clean the door thoroughly and make it free from dust, grease or rust so that the paint sticks better.
Painting Steps
Dismantling
Before you start your work first thing is to remove the extra parts from the door like the doorknob, lockset, the letter box, any other attachments and the kick plate by using a screwdriver or other tools required. Also you must remove any taping or decals from the door by using a metal strip or knife.
Covering
It is required to cover the floor below the door panel with a cloth or a sheet of paper so that the droplets of paint do not destroy your flooring. If your door has any glass covering or fitting then cover it with a sheet of paper so that it is safe from the paint drops don’t use taping.
Cleaning
Before painting the door must be clean so for cleaning you may use detergent solution and wipe with a cloth or rinse the door with the solution. If the cleaning is not done properly you may use bleaching solution which may do the job better. For removing grease or the leftover of the taping you may use a degreaser to get off them.
Masking
As you already removed the doorknobs, locksets, etc., so the openings must be masked so that during painting the paint doesn’t get into them and block them which may create problem during reassembling. You may use a set of painter’s taping to tape the openings like the peephole, the doorknob opening, etc., also you must tape the perimeter of the door which will make sure that you get a uniform paint line finally. Tape or cover everything which you don’t want to get paint.
Sanding
Remove the peeling off paint with the help of a metal strip but don’t ever force the paint that is in good condition as this may damage your door. Then use a wire brush to rust or dirt is you have a metal door. If the door is not in good condition use sandpaper to sand off the dirt and make the surface smooth, if you think the condition of the door is great you may skip the step.
Repairing
If your door has some dents, cracks or is damaged then you must repair it before you start to ensure a good quality work. To remove dents or cracks use wooden putty or fillers and for metal doors fix them with hammering or fillers, let the door dry.
Re-sanding
After the door is dried re sand the door again with a fine sand paper to get a smooth surface after using fillers and make the surface uniform. Now again clean with door by wiping the surface thoroughly and for unreachable corners use a brush or blow away the dust.
Priming
Durability of your work and the door can be increased by using a good grade primer which will also help the paint to get uniformly spread all over the door. You may use a mini roller for applying the primer all over the door but for small corners or panel usage of small brush can be better. Apply a fine coat of the primer all over the door where you want to paint and let it dry completely.
If after priming some of the fibers come out from the door sand them again so as to make it smooth and wipe off the sanding dust with a wet cloth so as to make the surface clean. Now once again apply a coat of primer over the door and let it dry.
Painting
Now comes the main part the part of painting, for painting chooses a suitable paint with the color that you like to be there on your door. Make sure to use good quality paint so as to increase the life of your paint job. Before applying the paint mix it well and if needed you may use turpentine oil to make the paint more smooth and glossy. Now pour the paint on a painting pan or you may directly use the paint from the can itself.
First of all color the edges boundaries and any other designs on your door panel by using a brush. After that you may use a roller to pain the whole door, if you want to add different colors to different parts on the door you may tape the area you don’t want to get painted and paint them later with different color paint this will add a new design to the door.
Roll the paint onto the door using single, long, uniform strokes to ensure painting is done uniformly. Paint the small or central part first before going to the bigger areas this will make it easy for you to paint. Paint the perimeters and other sides of the door too never forget them and continue in this fashion. Let the paint dry.
After drying apply a second in the same manner as discussed above and let it dry for 20-24 hours don’t ever rush to reassemble.
Assembling
After you have ensured that the door has completely dried it’s time to reassemble the parts the doorknobs, the fittings, etc., also remove the taping, covering and masking from the door and attach everything as before. There you go you have a door makeover and it feels real good.
