Freshen up Your Curb Appeal: 6 Steps To Paint Your Front Door

Before buying your paint and primer you need to test to see if the exisiting paint color on your door is oil-based or water-based. To do this you:

• Take a cloth soaked with methyl hydrate and rub a small section of your door
• If color is on the cloth, it is water-based
• If the surface shines and no color comes off it is oil-based.

If you have an oil-based door you will need to prime it with Benjamin Moore Fresh Start All-Purpose Primer. This product allows you to then paint with any water-based exterior paint.

When choosing a paint color make sure you bring your Benjamin Moore color chips outside before you commit to a color. The sun tends to bring out pinky undertones of colors that you might not see in indoor lighting. Once you have chosen your paint color and sheen you need to find a nice day! Fall is great for outdoor projects as the weather is not too hot and not too cold. Find a day where it is not windy so dust and debris don’t blow onto your master piece, and find a tarp or old door to keep out bugs, dirt and critters from invading your house while you work on updating your front door. Now you are ready to start your project in 6 easy steps!

Step 1:

Remove the door from your house by wedging a screwdriver in the joints between the hinges and hinge pin and tapping lightly with a hammer until the pin comes loose. Put the door on a pair of sawhorses and remove all hardware such as knobs.

Step 2:

Wipe the door to make sure it is clean and then scrape off all blistered and peeling paint. Sandpaper the door until the surface feels smooth. Repair cracks with paintable filler by working the filler in with a putty knife. Let it dry and sand until smooth. Before you prime, wipe away all extra dust with a damp cloth.

Step 3:

Use painter’s tape to cover anything you want protect and keep free of paint such as windows or glass accents.

Step 4:

Apply a coat of Benjamin Moore primer to the front and all the side edges with a foam roller or wide brush. Don’t skip this step as priming prevents the door from absorbing moisture and smooths out the texture and keeps the paint from seeping into the wood.

Step 5:

Now for the fun stuff! When the primer is dry you can paint your door. Follow this order:

1. Bevels
2. Panels
3. Center stile
4. Rails
5. Outer stile

Everyone asks how to paint the sides of a door when you have different colors on either side. The answer is that the two side edges get a different color. The hinged edge gets the exterior color when the door swings in. If the door swings out, the side with the knob gets the exterior color.

Step 6:

Refer to your paint specialist at Catalina Paint for recommendations on drying times between coats. Apply a second coat of paint for a smoother finish and truer color. When the door is no longer tacky to touch, you can reinstall the hardware and put your door back on your house.

After you reinstall your door, step back to the curb and appreciate your hard work! First impressions are no longer an issue as your house now looks like the new kid on the block.