How to Paint your House Exterior Door in Toronto

Painting exterior doors can be a messy endeavour. Homeowners love the idea of painting front doors (specially painting an exterior door red or black) because of the added protection it can give during Toronto and the GTA’s harsh weather conditions although the cost of painting a door is almost nothing. Regardless painting a front door can be as easy as 1-2-3 if you have the know-how. We’ll give you the green light tips you can use for a perfect DIY exterior door painting project.

Prep-up for Painting Exterior Door

• Never start a project on a very warm weather in Toronto. Avoid full sunlight contact before starting the paint project
• Ideal temperature is between the range of 10° to 30°C. Also make sure that there aren’t any rainfall forecast for the next 24 hours. Moist can ruin freshly painted exterior doors or other surfaces.
• You can either choose to remove the front door or fill in gaps with tape to lessen paint mess on floors.
• Weather is an important consideration so painting an exterior door is best done during milder seasons such as spring or autumn.
• Early morning is a perfect time of the day to prep up and paint. Why? It will give your outside door enough time to dry up until the sun shines down.
• Preparing the front door also indicates removal of knobs, knockers or peepholes.

Things you need before painting the Front Door?

• The paint of course, primer, brush, undercoat.
• To prep the door, wash it, wait for it to dry and then sand it. Colour sticks better in sanded doors. But sanding is only advisable for heavily weathered doors. Skip this step if not applicable.
• If your doors have any glasses installed, cover them up with newspapers.
• If you decide not to remove the front door, put a drop cloth under the door to cover the floor from excess paint.
• Use sawhorses if you removed the door. This is best when already painting exterior doors.
• For paints, it is important consideration to choose the right colour according to preference and style. Attune it with your home exterior’s colour scheme too to make it blend.
• Door condition and material may also help you choose the kind of paint. High gloss paints are not advisable for old doors.

Actual Painting Exterior Door Process

• No don’t paint just yet, apply undercoats yet. Make sure it has the same palette as your main painting colour.
• Start with primers! Primers would be necessary if existing paints in your door are not in good condition or if you’re transitioning from a gloomy colour to a more vibrant hue.
• Prime door one section at a time. Adhesion primers can be good to let paint stick better.
• Cracking is a problem, we at Handyman Painters Toronto has lots of experience painting exterior doors, but you can apply caulks on your own or hire someone to do it.
• Painting exterior door is not a one way process. If your doors have panels, paint it with undercoat first. Next in line is the rails. Paint the stiles last. Brushes or rollers are applicable tools to use.
• Let the undercoat dry for a minimum of 4 hours. After that, you can already apply the first top coat.
• Always start at the centre and end with the sides while painting the front door. Let it dry for 2 hours or more and second coating can be applied.
• Apply final coating using the same techniques.
• Drying time is actually dependent on specific conditions but overnight drying (even 24 hours or more) is optional.

Done reading painting exterior door process? Do you think this is something you can do? If it seems a bit challenging you can always hire someone professional painter or handyman in Toronto to do it for you. Handyman Painters Toronto can make it seem like it won’t be any mess at all! We can all make it seem like magic while giving you satisfaction over your requirements. Email us now for your free quotes: Brian@handytoronto.wpengine.com or call us on 647 494 5545. We’d be happy to accept your enquiries.