How to Paint a Front Door for Added Curb Appeal!

Supplies Needed to Paint a Metal Front Door

• A bucket of warm soapy water
• Dropcloth
• Metal Primer and/or Stain Blocker if needed (see below)
• Masking tape such as 3M ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape*
• Paint brushes such as the Wooster Shortcut Angle Sash Paintbrush, 2-Inch*
• Americana Decor Curb Appeal Paint (Farmhouse White and Harbor Blue)

Curb Appeal paint is formulated to cover surfaces without the need to sand or prime beforehand. However:

• • if your metal door is extensively damaged by rust you will want to sand down the rusty spots and seal with a Metal Primer to block further rusting;
  • scrape off any peeling paint from an old door (or use a powerwasher) and sand out any uneven lines;
  • lightly sand new plastic shutters before painting;
  • fill any holes or deep scratches with a paintable wood filler (sand and dust off before painting);
  • consider using a Stain Blocker/Sealer on any wood surfaces where bleed-through of stain or tannins is a concern.

STEP 2: PROTECT AREAS WHERE YOU DON’T WANT PAINT

Use masking tape to tape off the windows and the knobs and handles and locks. Place the drop cloth under the door to catch any paint drips drips. Taping out our window panel actually took the most amount of time because of the intricate design.

STEP 3: PAINT THE FRONT DOOR

Open the door as far as possible to be able to paint along the edges. Keep the door open at least 4-6 hours (depending on your temperature and humidity level) to make sure it doesn’t stick when closed.

Work from your lightest to darkest colours.We used the Farmhouse White paint* for the plastic window insert. It actually took several coats with about 2 hours of drying time in between to get full coverage.

Once the window panel plastic was painted and dried (overnight) we gently removed the masking tape. We reapplied the tape around the outside of the window frame (don’t press too hard to minimize the chance of the fresh paint peeling away with the tape).

We painted the outside door surface using a paintbrush. The Harbor Blue paint* provided full coverage of our steel front door in just one coat. About 10-15 minutes after applying the paint I checked for and brushed away any paint drips.

Once the paint was completely dried we just had to touch up a few spots that were missed the first time around.

We then painted the inside of the door with Farmhouse White (not shown).

We’re so happy with our bright and bold new door. It’s the perfect first impression for our coastal-style cottage. Here are just a few additional thoughts on how to paint a front door using  Decoart Americana Decor Curb Appeal paint:

• the paint is quite thick (almost like a oil based paint) and goes on thick. It’s tempting to do a thick coat but we found it better in the end to do a few thinner coats for the best result.
•  although the paint left streaks when originally applied to the door surface, over time it self-leveled to a nice smooth finish.
•  we painted the door without removing it (it remained on its hinges) and had no problems other than a few drips which we made sure to brush out before the paint dried.
•  while it’s fast drying, there was enough time to work with it and smooth out any globs before it fully dried

So this might be my new favourite place to hang out with my morning coffee while at the cottage. The front patio is west-facing and beautifully shady in the morning.

We hope you found this tutorial and tips on how to paint a front door helpful! We also have handy tutorials on how to paint a dresser without sanding as well as how to easily paint your bathroom vanity.

Do you like to change up the colour of your front door?

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