Advice For Painting Doors

Txbassboy

Short info. I am a handyman service in Texas near Dallas. I install quite a few exterior doors in a year. It never fails that they will ask how much more to paint it. I normally turn it down because it's not "my thing". How ever it seems more and more I am asked to paint it as well.

Question #1:
What is the best method using either a brush or mini roller to get a quality finish. Typically most of the doors I install are the types from HD that are slick, preprimed metal.

Question #2 will be when I think of it!!

Workaholic

scuff sand, clean, and then 2 coats of quality exterior trim paint.

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Sean

Txbassboy

Do you use penetrol to reduce brush marks? 220 grit enough to scuff door? Does penetrol complety close the brush marks? How good does it looks when you have oval glass or other odd shaped objects in the door when you brush around it?

I appreciate the advice.

Tom Rohland

I agree with the above specs, however would suggest changing the order.

Clean

Scuff sand

Paint


Tom Rohland, Jr.
Ranger Painting & Pressure Cleaning, Inc.

The Personal Attention Your Home Deserves

Dave Mac

You may want to clean it with laquer thinner. when your finished, i always tape the wheather stripping and tell them to leave th tape on for a day, or you will get a line on the door from it., I like painting it with the hardwre off if possible. wo coats brush and you your good to go, A good brush is ore important them flowtrol imo

penatrol is for oil base paint, i wouldnt use oil base paint unless asked to,then pentetrol probaly is a good idea.

mikey48

Txbassboy, I am up against the same thing in my business. Work with a couple of property managers and the painting always comes up. I also painted our front door red as requested by my wife. Don't paint with red. The last one I painted was white and I used high gloss. I painted it in my heated shop since the temp was in the 40's. I painted the panel groves with a good brush and they looked good. I used a foam roller on the rest of the door. The biggest problem was trying to put to thin of a coat on at a time. If it was to thin the sheen would not come through in areas. It worked after I put more paint on but of course it was not as smooth as it was with thinner coats. Of course I didn't charge enough. I do interior trim with a brush and when I do interior door replacement I use the doors with the wood grain not the smooth ones. Hope some of the painters jump in here with more advice.

Txbassboy

so it's possible to get a high quality finish with a brush even on odd shaped designs on a door with out spraying? Say for example an oval shaped glass with two raised panels on the lower half? How would you attack it? Brush around the oval or try to keep the paint in a vertical application only. I've tried the mini foam rollers. I wasn't very happy with the quality. When I would roll it it would seems to leave hundreds of tiny looking air bubbles.

Thanks for the advice and replys. Please keep 'em coming!!

neolitic

Tex--
The mini foam rollers work for me--with the right paint.
Since you seem to care about doing a good job, I've got 2¢ for you.
1) Stay out of the DESPOT!
Find a good lumber yard, or window and door supplier.
It won't cost much, if any, more for a much higher quality product,
and it will come with more options and advice you can trust.
2) Find a local paint store (any brand will have a "Pro" store or two in the area).
Even the national brands in the box stores isn't the same stuff they sell in their own stores.
The guys at the contractor's stores are a great help with your questions,
and they really know their stuff when it comes to their own products and what works in your area.
You won't get the same discounts as the big guys, but the relationship will be a real asset for you.

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(Sorry....it seems there really are dumb questions)

Workaholic

I would use the floetrol, (unless you are using oil) To reduce brush marks, it will do a good job reducing them, nothing will eliminate them short of spraying. I paint the oval first, then paint the door.
And as Tom corrected, clean, scuff, wipe down, paint. Try not to paint after door has been in the sun for a long time. Also do not paint in the wind.

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Sean

ModernStyle

If it has the plastic windows in the door then it is good to clean them with laquer thinner or denatured alcohol to get any mold release agents off of the plastic. I try to spray doors when ever possible, looks better, but if I have to roll one then a foam whiz roller is usually my weapon of choice. Red is no problem if you spray it on, I have never rolled a red door that wasnt already painted red.
If I am spraying alkyd enamel on a door I always thin it with laquer thinner, I think it gives me a better finish then just thinner.

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Dave Mac

For one single door, just brush it, the better the brush the better the result. spray it, well thats great if they want to pay you for a day's worth a work, and a door that wont ever touch up. Ive been painting for twenty years, and i just brush them, never once a complaint. jmho its just a door, dont over think it.

Thewallfixer

I agree with just using a brush. First off, make sure you have enough paint and time to to paint the whole door without stopping. As per the actual painting, start from the inside and go out. If the door has panels start in the groove, paint all four fill in the middle and then go out from there. If the door has glass, start there, make sure and get paint on the window and then scrape it off later. Its faster, looks better and makes a seal from the wood to the glass.

Also get a good brush and clean properly and put it back in the cover it comes with. If you spend $15 on a good brush and do the above it will last 20 years.

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Txbassboy

I guess because I (and everyone else) pays such close attention to detail I always think HO will see this and that and I want to do the best job possible. Half the time the details i fret over are never noticed but the things that aren't a big deal to me will get pointed out!! LOL

birdogron

My guess is we're talking about wood doors, maybe preprimed. If you are using a deep base like red, prime it gray. Apply by brush or roller. You're gonna sand the stipple out anyway. You will get great coverage by spraying. Reds can easily take three coats if you don't prime gray and use an ultra deep base to make your color. Get a 100% acrylic paint S/G. Not just latex. Dries much harder. Don't roll your finish coat. It always looks like hell. Learn how to brush with a 4" brush for doors and go like hell. The problem is lap marks because the paint dries too fast and if you force yourself to learn to brush fast you'll take care of many of the drawbacks of brushing. Wanna race??? Just kidding. Look at the door, come up with a plan of how fast you can get to the problem lap area before the paint dries. Good luck, hope I helped a little

Workaholic

My impression was the metal preprimed exterior doors, with windows, and without.

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Sean

Txbassboy

correct workaholic

Caslon

Whether oil or water enamel over pre-primed doors:

Quality 3/16'" nap, not 1/4" (look around). Roller pan. Buy plastic disposable insert roller pan trays with dimples.

Water or oil enamel: Purchase a roller spinner at HD. Do it. A Purdy 3" angular brush.

If alkyd based enamel, attach a quality 3/16" nap to the roller spinner.
Run paint thinner over the nap till it's absorbed to the cardboard core.
Using gloves, rub the thinner into the nap. Spin out the nap using the roller spinner. Pour your alkyd (oil based paint) into your paint tray. Roll into the paint and let the nap soak up the paint. Roll out excess on the paint tray. Start out rolling on NON primary area, a secondary area (like the back of the door instead of the front). This will release any nap hairs that mess up a job.

Brush and roll as you go.

The same applies to using water based enamels.

What ruins paint jobs by non pro's is the hundreds of nap hairs that pull out of the roller nap. It makes a smooth pre-primed door look like crap.

To the Original poster..you don't buy a roller nap spinner ($15)...forget it.

Edit: PS. Mini rollers are fine , only make sure you run thinner/water on them beforehand, they shed nap hairs too.

rancov

If the door is wood and is factory new, make sure your pull the door and paint the tiop and bottom rails. These areas are often shipped unfinished and will rot out if not finished.