Painting Your Garage Door - 7 Things You Need to Know

As the area’s premier garage door repair company we see them all the time: older garage doors that have been battered by nature’s non-stop assault. Fact is, if you have a painted door the time will inevitably come when you’ll need to address the fading, chipping and peeling paint brought on by exposure to the elements. If your garage door's still running smoothly and chipping paint is the only issue, you can often choose to refresh your home's exterior with a fresh paint job alone rather than replacing the garage door entirely. In which case you’ll have two choices: you can hire someone to paint the door for you, or you can put your DIY repair and renovation skills to work and paint the door yourself. If you’ve never painted a garage door before there are a few things you’ll need to know about the process before you get started.

Painting: The Most Basic Type of Garage Door Repair

In Commerce City and Broomfield garage door repair takes many forms. Sometimes it means garage door opener repair. Sometimes it means repairing tracks or replacing springs. But the most basic type of garage door repair is repairing the finish of the door. Here are 7 things you should know about the process of painting your garage door before you start.

1. When you do it is important - Sometimes a rainy or snowy day is the perfect time to take on a home improvement project. But that’s not the case when it comes to painting the garage door. In order to properly prepare the surface - and to insure the paint itself has a chance to adhere properly - you’ll need at least a few consecutive days of warm, dry weather. This means you’ll need to plan in advance, have all the materials you’ll need ready to go and then watch the weather forecast carefully. There’s really no compromising with this unless you want the paint to start peeling off a month after you apply it.
2. Preparing the surface is equally important - Painting the garage door is not as simple as grabbing a brush and slathering on the paint. Before any new paint touches the surface of the door that surface must be properly prepared, and this is true whether the surface is wood or metal. This is without a doubt the nastiest part of painting the garage door. It’s going to take patience and a lot of elbow grease and you’re going to end up with paint chips and paint dust in your hair and all over your clothes. Make sure you wear a dust mask at all times and work goggles as well to protect your eyes.
3. Prepping the surface Part I - As soon as you are sure you’re in for a stretch of dry, warm weather (sun is optional) it’s time to get to work. The first step in preparing the door to accept the new paint is to remove all the loose chipping, peeling paint. So put on your goggles and dust mask and go over any areas where there is obviously loose or peeling paint with a wire brush. Once you’ve dealt with these areas you’ll need to sand the entire door with a fine grit sandpaper (yes the entire door). If, while removing the loose paint you notice any damage you’ll need to fix the garage door before you paint it.
4. Prepping the surface Part II - Fill a bucket with soapy water and using a sponge scrub the door top to bottom. Once you have cleaned the entire door top to bottom, side to side rinse it down thoroughly with a hose. Inspect it to make sure you didn’t miss any dirty areas. Especially along the bottom of the door where excess gunk has a habit of accumulating. Once everything is good to go then put the hose away and go inside for lunch because you can’t do anything else until the door is completely dry.
5. You will need a primer coat - The door is exposed to the worst of the elements and needs to have a solid foundation under it if it is to survive over the long term. With the primer coat you’re going to want to give particular focus to those areas where the wood or metal is exposed to the air. Other areas where the previous layers of paint are still intact don’t necessarily need to be primed. But then again there’s no harm in priming the whole door. Just don’t rush the process. Make sure you cover every part that is exposed. That includes corners and any detailing. Work your way from the top to the bottom making sure you don’t miss anything and then allow the primer at least 12 hours to properly set. Which means your work is done for the day
6. Painting your door the right way is critical - Using a latex paint on a warm dry day paint your door in layers. Allow each coat to dry thoroughly before applying the next. You should have enough paint for at least two coats. Paint from top to bottom and from the center of each panel out toward the edge. Use long deliberate strokes to prevent streaking and don’t paint over areas that have already partially dried. If an area needs more paint wait until the door is completely dry and ready to accept the next coat.
7. The trim is part of the door - When painting their own door some homeowners forget to paint the trim. Others paint it the same color as the door, which is often fine. However, if the door is a different color than the trim on the house you’ll want to be sure that the trim on the door matches the rest of the trim.

Conclusion

Painting the garage door may seem like a straightforward matter of buying paint and paintbrush and getting busy. However, because the garage door is outside and is subjected to the forces of nature on a daily basis it’s crucial that you view this as a type of garage door repair and respect the process. If you don’t you’ll end up with a disappointing mess. Whether you need garage door repair in Littleton or a new garage door installation in Parker, contact A Better Garage Door's experienced garage door service team today.