New paint adds visual interest to an old metal door.
If you're sick of staring at a drably painted metal front door, or if you just want to refresh a metal front door's existing color, you can paint over the old paint -- if it's an oil-based paint -- in a few hours. Oil paints accept new coats of paint more easily than raw metal does; with an oil-paint undercoating, you won't need to worry about extensive prep and priming. In a few hours' time, virtually any DIY homeowner can transform the look of an oil-painted metal front door.
Instructions
1. Remove the door from its hinges. Every door is different, but this is typically a simple matter of unscrewing the hinges or popping out the metal hinge pins with a screwdriver.
2. Place the door on a protective plastic sheet or lay it across two sawhorses.
3. Inspect the door for signs of rust. Typically, you won't need to prime over the existing paint. However, if you notice rust anywhere on the door, you'll need to sand off the rust with 150-grit sandpaper and coat the entire door with rust-inhibitive primer. Rust-inhibitive primer will provide a fresh, new seal on a rusting metal door. An oil-painted metal door in good condition can be painted as-is.
4. Paint the front door using an oil or latex exterior paint. Applying new oil paint over existing oil paint will provide good coverage in fewer coats, but you can use latex if you prefer. Use a roller for large areas and a paintbrush for any edges and raised or recessed door details. Wait for one side of the door to dry before flipping the door and painting the backside.
5. Apply any necessary additional coats of paint after the first coat dries. An unprimed surface will usually take at least two coats and maybe three.
6. Reinstall the door hinges after the final layer of paint dries.
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