Painting an interior door of your house is a do-it-yourself project that can be completed quickly. As most of the interior doors are heavy and hard to move, most people attempt to paint the door in place, instead of taking it off its hinges. The best way to correctly paint a door is to place it flat on the sawhorses. Always seek the help of a professional or paint store to determine the amount of colour that is required to paint a door.
Before sanding the surface, all the hardware on the door is to be removed. Place the hardware like knobs, plates, and lock mechanism in a bag, so that it is easy to replace them after completing the paintwork. If it is not possible to remove the hardware, then you could use painter’s tape or two coats of rubber cement, which can be removed easily.
If there are holes in the door, then cover them with putty. Clean the dirt and grease on the door using sponge saturated in tri-sodium phosphate.
After cleaning the interior door, it is time to sand the surface. If the door already has oil-based paint with latex, then you need to sand it very lightly.
Apply a coat of good quality primer on the surface of the door. Generally, a water-based gloss primer is suitable for all types of wooden doors. A good primer will help the paint to glide on the surface more smoothly. Check for instructions and see how many hours it will take for the primer to dry.
Use broad and even strokes to paint on the surface of the door. To create a smooth finish, avoid going back onto the areas that are already painted. It is recommended to apply two coats of paint and allow the first coat to dry before going for the second coating.
After the paint is thoroughly dried up, put back the hardware on the door and fix them. If you have removed the door from hinges, place the door back into its place after the paint has fully dried.
Steps to follow for painting an unattached door
Remove all the hardware present on the door. Pull the lower hinge pin out using a screwdriver and hammer. Ask your helper to hold the door in place as you drive out the pin. Now for painting on the surface of the door, place the door on sawhorses.
Always use the recommended paint types for the wooden surfaces. Use good brushes to paint on the panelled doors by following a particular order. First, paint the recessed panels, next horizontal rails and lastly, paint the vertical stiles. By following this order, there is no chance of leaving unnecessary brush trails.
If a second coating is needed, wait for the first coat to dry. Before the second coat, make sure to sand the surface lightly and wipe with a cloth.
To prevent moisture from entering into the surface of the door, use a clear wood sealer to seal bottom edges. If there is no sealing, water will cause the wood to warp and swell, making it difficult for closing the door.
It is easy to paint an attached door. Follow these steps for painting.
At first, apply colour to the inside of the top panels. Paint by working with the grain of the surface. Paint the recessed areas first and then move to the faces of the panels.
If the door has vertical center stile, then paint this part and blend in the brush marks from the center stile while painting the horizontal rails.
Now starting from the top, paint the rails to the bottom. After completing rails, paint the vertical stiles beginning from the left side. Keep the line as straight as possible while painting the surfaces. You could use a brush or roll to paint the door.
Remove all the hardware on the door, and it is not necessary to remove a flat door from the hinges. Removing the doorknob and others will make your work easier and faster. You could use a roll or brush for interior door painting. For painting the edges around the hinges, use a small thin brush to get a smooth finish.
At Executive Touch Painters, we provide Interior painting services and also help you in selecting the best colours that are perfect for your house interior. Our services include wallpaper installation, cabinet painting, crown mouldings, family rooms painting, and kitchen renovations. For a free consultation, call us at 416-410-0164 today.
