Last year I painted the front door of my beautiful house and never got around to posting about it! I miss my house so much and cannot wait to have a place of my own again. One day!
Materials
Most materials can be found in your garage! I’ve included links to amazon for what you don’t have so you can just order them NOW and be ready for your weekend warrior project!
I used Valspar Door & Trim in Dark Kettle Black. I picked it up at Lowe’s, retails at $25 but there’s always coupons! One quart is enough to cover an entire door, but I only painted the exterior. I am very pleased with Valspar’s Door & Trim paint, it’s easy to work with, covers well, and doesn’t require sanding or much prep.
Paint tray & liner (I use tin foil! Love it)
Directions
Remove hardware
The only thing I removed from my door was the kick plate. I chose to keep the handle and lock on instead and just covered them with tape and tin foil (after cleaning!).
Clean surface and edges
Dawn dish soap is my go to for paint prep. It’s gentle on surfaces and removes all dirt and grime. I used warm water with a touch of dawn and a sponge. Clean all surface you plan to paint as well as the surrounding areas, you don’t want your brush snagging dirt off something and spreading it onto your door!
Tape
Tape all trip and edges. Instead of removing my handle and lock, I covered mine with tape and tin foil. (Can you see how scuffed my door was? And that’s after cleaning! It looks sooooooo much better now)
Paint
If your door is paneled, start inside the panels. I included a diagram with what order to paint it all with. I used my brush to cover all the details and then rolled the flat surfaces to even out any drips or streaks.
Tip: Pay attention to the temperature outside, if you’re using an oil-based make sure it’s between 40f and 90f and if you’re using latex make sure it’s between 50f and 85f. Temperatures too high or too low can cause the paint to not bind properly which can lead to cracking and pealing.
Remove tape
As soon as you’re done painting, remove your tape and any tin foil. If you let it dry first, when you remove the tape it will pull off some of the paint as well. I had a few areas the paint bled through the tape, I use a wet paper towel and my thumb to carefully clean up the edges.
Painting my door was SO easy and made such a difference to the curb appeal. I will definitely keep this in mind for my next home!
