House painting in Pleasanton doesn’t involve only doing the walls, but also the trim, the doors, and windows. After all, most parts deserve a fresh look after serving their purpose in your home. There are proper steps to painting a door to ensure that it looks good and lasts a long time.
First, remove the door and then remove anything that attaches to it such as doorknobs, hinges, and latches. It is good idea to lay it flat on at least a couple of sawhorses to prevent potential dripping. Like painting the walls and trim, preparation is also needed on the doors in order to achieve a good finish.
A door that has stood for a long time most likely has a buildup of dirt like dusts. Clean the door thoroughly to ensure proper adhesion of paint. After washing and the door has been dried, sand the entire door lightly with simple sandpaper or a sanding block – there is no need to use a power sander.
In case there are any flaws such as bumps and blemishes, make sure to sand them off, as well. If there are more noticeable flaws such as deeper dents and scratches, fill them with spackling compound. Let it dry and then sand off the excess dried compound to make it look more even.
Gently scrape off any flaking or peeling paint with a putty knife and sand the area properly.
Next, use a primer. This is a preparatory coat to help the paint adhere better and help it to achieve a smoother finish. Here are the following questions to help you determine whether you need a primer:
- Is your door made of bare wood? Has it ever been painted?
- Is your door stained?
- If your door has a dark paint color, are you planning to apply a lighter color this time?
- If your door is painted with oil, are you planning to use water-based (latex) paint over it?
If you answer a resounding “yes” to any of these questions, then you will need to prime your door. For doors coated with latex paints, however, the priming may be skipped.
If your door is designed with raised or sunken panels (instead of a flat, smooth surface), then it is recommended that you paint the panels first. However, this approach will work only if you know how to cut in corners so that you won’t accidentally let the paint drip on the other parts of the door such as muntins, cross rails, stiles, mullions, and bottom rails. If your door has at least eight panels (four on each side), you may begin painting the upper couple of panels first before going down to the lower pairs, and so on. You may use a smaller roller for the panels, and then use a small paintbrush to make the paint more even as well as to fill the spots missed by rolling.
Whether you use a brush or a roller, paint the panels in the same direction following the natural grain of the wood. After painting the panels, paint the middle vertical rails along the grain, then the horizontal middle rails against the grain.
Finally, paint the outer borders of the door: the top rail, the bottom rail, and the side rails (the stiles) — in that order. Make sure that you paint them in the same direction (along the grain) as you have done to the panels. Be sure to let this side of the door dry completely before turning it over to paint the other side. Once dried, repeat the same procedure on the other side of the door. NOTE: never paint the hinges as it won’t look professional.
Painting can be quite meticulous especially if you have to paint several doors with lots of panels. However, the painstaking house painting in Pleasanton effort will be worth it once your doors are attached back to the room or the facade of your home. It will definitely be a welcoming sight!
