Preparing Your Front Doors for Painting

Painting your entry doors is a perfect way to add some color to your house and fresh up its look. You might need to paint your front door to match a new paint job to the outside of your home, or you might simply want to make your doors as colorful as the day they were installed. No matter what reason you have for painting your front doors, the task will be much easier if you follow a few simple steps of prep work:Sand or Wash Old Doors: If your doors are in particularly rough shape or have original paint that is cracking and peeling, you’ll want to thoroughly sand them down first. You can also use putty to fill in any cracks or holes that may have accumulated over time. If the doors are in better condition, you should be able to do your prep work by cleaning them with soapy water and letting them dry completely before you start painting. Even in this instance, lightly sanding the doors can help to give the paint a rough surface to bond onto.

Tape Your Doorknobs and Fixtures: If you can’t or don’t want to remove your front door, you need to make sure that you aren’t painting on the hinges, doorknobs and other fixtures. You can do this by using painter’s tape as a mask to protect all of your fixtures so they aren’t accidentally painted on. Another solution is to apply a few layers of rubber cement to your fixtures; the cement can be easily removed later, even with paint applied on it.