boomerblog

Painting doors can be very rewarding. A new color can really spice up the color of your old stale door. Doors separate the space we share. A new color on a well painted door can make you feel like you’re entering a new dimension. Here’s how to paint doors like a pro.

1. Remove the door knob. This only takes two screws. Yes, they are really long screws but it makes the job go so much easier to remove the knobs.

2. Sand the door. Sand off all those greasy fingerprints. Sand the whole door really well with a fine grade sandpaper, then wipe it down with a dry cloth—an old pair of underpants works great. Get all the dust off the door.

3. Carefully tape off the hinges and the latch assembly with masking tape. This is going to be a professional looking job so do a good careful job of masking—don’t get sloppy.

4. Put old newspapers under the door. They are flat enough so that they won’t “bunch up” against the door if someone moves it after you paint it.

5. Put your favorite Doors CD into the portable player and break out the weenie roller with a knap roller, the weenie roller tray and a quart of your selected paint.

6. As you’re dancing to the Doors start the weenie roller at the ledge at the very top of the door, then work your way down. Don’t expect full coverage with the first coat. Relax. We are going to let it dry a little before applying the final coat. After you paint the outside go down the outside edge and paint down it with the weenie rooler. Be happy that you taped the latch so well. Paint the inside of the door the same way. Start at the top and roll in “X” type. Actually, it doesn’t really matter. You can roll in a “D” type if you want. You are leaving a “tack” coat to help the finish coat stick to.

7. There will be areas that you just can’t get with the weenie roller. Save these for later when you can break out your big expensive sash brush and finish them off. Right now you have a door to paint.

8. Go back to your starting point. This time the paint goes on thick. As thick as you can get without causing runs or drips. Go all the way down, along the outside edge and when you finish get the other side.

9. With weenie roller in hand, stand back and look for imperfections. After you apply your final touches, take a break.

10. The next day you can re-apply the knobs (remember those two really long screws?) Pull the masking tape, break out the sash brush and get any areas that you may have missed when you were dancing to the “Doors”.

Stand back and take a look at your masterpiece. A pro probably could have done it faster. For timed estimates in painting a door go to:

http://www.get-a-quote.net/QuoteEngine/costbook.asp?WCI=CostFrameSet&BookId=5&Pattern=Doors

And, if you can figure it out, you’ll find prices that pro painters charge for just about all work on this site. http://www.get-a-quote.net/QuoteEngine/costbook.asp?WCI=CostFrameSet&BookId=5&Pattern=Doors

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 14th, 2005 at 9:54 am and is filed under Home Improvement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.