How To Paint Doors Smoothly

Decades of paint buildup can make a door rub against the jamb or door stop molding.

How to paint doors smoothly. Sand the door smooth. After painting the door itself paint the doorjamb and casing beginning at the doorstop and working out. Using a small roller to paint doors can greatly speed the process. Remove all the hardware and mask off anything you don t want painted such as the glass insert.

Work quickly by rolling on the paint then use a brush to smooth out the paint and fill in the detailed areas around the flat panel. When painting a panel door a paint brush may be more effective than a roller. After your final coat goes smoothly fingers crossed it s a good idea to hit it with a little more 220 grit sandpaper once it s dry. Smooth out chipped paint and imperfections from previous paint jobs.

The fastest way to remove paint buildup on a wooden door is with a sharp stainless steel or carbide scraper. Begin by applying paint to the inside of the top panels. Although you ll never get a mahogany door as smooth as you can a birch door sanding between coats helps especially if you re priming and painting a new door. Lay door horizontally on saw horses or a table.

Coat the recessed areas first and then the faces of the panels. This is one of the most important tips for getting a professional look. But interior doors are often paneled and should be painted in the following order. Many people have success painting doors using just a brush but i like to use a combination of a brush and a small roller because it gets the job done faster and results in a much smoother finish.

Smooth out the paint working with the grain. Hot steel doors are nearly impossible to paint as the paint dries almost instantly and you won t have a wet edge to keep up with. Begin by rolling paint on the flat panels. How to paint smooth skin doors.

The basic technique for painting a flat door is long smooth brush strokes or vertical roller strokes. Start with a light sandpaper or a sanding sponge 180 or 220 grit. Cover hinges with painter s tape if you want to keep them free of paint. Rather than simply painting the door from top to the bottom you can get the best paint job by painting paneled doors in a certain order.

Today s homeowner co host chelsea lipford wolf shows you how to make painting doors more efficient and effective on her blog checking in with chelsea. This is usually the most time consuming tedious part of the project. You ve seen her paint the qualls family s kitchen island and the harkins family s bathroom cabinets with it among many others. This will roughen the surface a little and allow the primer to adhere better.

Lightly scuff sand the surface with a scotch brite pad or fine sandpaper.