I am about to repaint my 100 year old front door, from white to black. I have reviewed the existing Q&A on the site, but none seem to specifically cover my issues. The door
- has been previously painted with what appears to be latex/acrylic paint (although there are probably remnants of old oil based paint under there somewhere)
- has a dull look, but does not seem too chalky
- is in pretty good shape, does not need a lot of repair/filling, and the paint is not chipping
- is Dutch style with 30 small windows and a dozen molded panels
- I am only painting the outside face, and not repainting the edges.
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How do I go about painting the door so the finish looks good, is durable, and takes the least reasonable amount of work?
Specific issues:
- Do I need to sand or is a good wash down enough? Or maybe a liquid sander? All that cutting in will be hard enough without struggling to sand all those mullions and moldings (to say nothing of not scratching 100 year old glass).
- Do I need to prime, or is the old paint (cleaned a bit) good enough?
- Is there any special paint, other than exterior trim (probably satin or semigloss) to consider?
- Is there any additive I should use with the paint for flow, finish, hardness?
- Do I really need more than 2 coats?
- Is there something else I am failing to ask/think about?
Best Answer
A good wash, followed by a thorough drying, followed by a light sanding with fine grit sand paper to rough up the existing surface. Sanding ensures the new paint will get a good grip on the old paint.
No, its been sealed long ago - just clean and sand.
Since there's already latex on it, exterior latex should be fine.
No.
If it were white over black- you might need 3. Black over white, you might only need one good thick coat.
Get saw-horses. Lay door flat on saw horses. Remove door from hinges, remove all hardware, tape all glass. Paint ONE SIDE only at a time, let try completely, then paint other side.