I want to refresh my house. We painted the house a few years back and it is starting show some signs of aging. I am going to start with a small scope project to paint the front door. It is a stain finish now but I will paint it to match the shutters. How different will the shutters look compared to a freshly painted door? I may be required to also refresh the shutters closest to the door. This is what the front door looks like now.
Here is my overall plan to tackling the door.
- Remove all hardware
- Sand entire door
- Fill holes and damaged areas
- Apply primer
- Apply color (might need 2 coats)
- Reinstall hardware
I may need to also refresh the threshold but will need to get into the project to decide that. I will add content to this page as the project unwinds.
Here is what I think I’ll need to complete the job:
- Paint – I already have left over paint from the original job. I intend to use this paint for the door and I hope I don’t need to buy any more but if there is a noticeable difference between the shutters and doors then I’ll have no choice but to buy more.
- Brushes – I like to buy fresh paint brushes for jobs like this. I’ll need to get a 1 inch angled brush to get into the molding edges. I’ll also need a small detail brush for hard to reach areas and touch up. I’ll budget $10.
- Roller & Pan – I’ll need a 4 in roller to apply the paint evenly and the paint tray. I already have the basic equipment but will buy new roller brushes. I’ll budget $10.
- Painters Tape – I’ll need to tape the edges to keep from painting the glass. I’ll budget $5.
- Drop Cloth – I’ll need a drop cloth to protect the flooring from dripping paint. I may already have what I need but I’ll budget $5 for a new drop cloth.
- Tools – I’ll need a sander to prep the door. I already have several hand sanders but I lost my corner detail sander somewhere along the way and need another one. I’ll budget about $30.
That puts my base budget at $60 and if I do need to buy more paint I’ll budget another $25 for a gallon of paint and I’ll budget another $70 if I need to replace the threshold. That puts my all-in costs at $155.
Sanding and Cleaning
I started the project today by sanding down the old stain. I am using a dark color so I don’t think I’ll need to remove the original stain. I sanded the finish to make it rough so that my paint sticks better. Harbor Freight sells tools at the lowest prices I’ve been able to find. I am a hobbyist so Harbor Freight’s tools are usually good enough for me. For this job today I used the 1.2 amp corner/detail sander because the trim around the glass really needed a small point to get into the edges. I picked mine up the other day for $29. Here is the link to the page where you can buy one. I also bought some sanding pads that connect to the tool using a Velcro surface. Super easy to use. When the sanding pad wears down or gums up, you just pull off the old one and slap a new one on. Takes seconds. I used 2 100 grit pads sanding down the surface. Some places are more sanded than others but like I said before, I don’t think I really needed to sand the surface but wanted the paint to stick better.
After about an hour of sanding I had produced a lot of dust. I tried to clean off the door with a brush and decided there was too much dust around to lay down a coat of paint. I took care of the dust using my pressure washer. I bought a 3200 psi Generac pressure washer after the fire destroyed my 2500 psi pressure washer a few years back. This machine is great. Once I learned the trick of starting a gasoline powered pressure washer this machine starts in one pull. I used a high pressure fan tip that allowed me to also strip off more of the original stain. I ended up pressure washing the entire front porch and it looks so nice and clean. Here is the picture of the front door after cleaning.
Taping and Painting
At first I was going to remove the hardware to make painting the door easier but I changed my mind when I realized that I needed to tape up the walls, windows and floor. I used the 1 inch blue painters tape to protect the finish of the near by materials. It took me about an hour to tape up the door. Here is the door and fixtures all taped up.
Next I painted the door using a 1 1/2 inch chisel tip paint brush. I like the chisel tip because it gives me the ability to cut into all the crevasses and molding. I started at the top right and worked my way down and to the left. I was afraid the brush marks in the paint would be a problem after the door dried but that ended up being okay. I did however decide the paint job needed a second coat. Take a look at the close up photos taken right before the 2nd coat.
If you look closely you can see the uneven color and I didn’t like that. A second coat of paint did the trick. Before I reveal the final photo of the project I wanted to list the tips that I think anyone painting a door should know.
- When the door is closed there is about 1/4 ” of the door that is hidden behind the trim. You’ll need to paint that otherwise when you open the door you’ll see a small frame of the original color remaining.
- There is insulation that fits around the door. I didn’t remove mine because it was nearly the same color as the door and I didn’t notice it until I painted over it an realized it was there. I ended up paining the insulation to match the door but it can be removed. Just remember if you paint it like I did, when its time to change it out there will be a small amount of the original paint. Don’t worry because you must reinsert the replacement insulation and it will cover up the original paint. Doors don’t work well without that insulation so its critical that it is there.
- There is insulation at the bottom of the door that slides out to the open edge of the door. This insulation makes sure there is no air leak from the bottom of your door. It has a small flange on the sides that have a tendency to break away over time.
You might want to replace that. I painted mine but half of the flange is missing so it is going to get replaced. - When you pull off the tape there will be spots that either bled onto the background colors or didn’t get painted. Don’t worry, just use a fine tip brush to touch up those spaces.
- Use a drip cloth… you’ll drip paint no matter how careful you think you are, it will drip.
- If you’re using water based paints, keep a wet sponge handy to clean up any drips.
So that’s it. It took me two days to finish the work and about 16 hours all in with the pressure washing of the front patio. It looks amazing and I’m glad I did it.
Final Project
