If you recall, I posted a few weeks ago about replacing and painting my new front door. Well, the tutorial I wrote for it is now live on True Value’s site – Start Right Start Here.
I share the products used and some tips on painting the doors in your own home.
(By the way, I know that the door looks really streaky in the final picture on the tutorial. The door is solid black and smooth in person, but the light reflecting off of it in the pictures shows every bit of grain and tiniest undulation in the finish, unfortunately. It looks great in person, but I wasn’t able to capture that in the picture.)
The door looks great, but I do still need to stain the back. Man, the to-do list is endless! Such is the life of a DIYer…
I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.
21 Responses
Great timing–we need to paint ours. I will check it out but we will be painting over stain. And the door is way too heavy to remove! The never-ending to-do list…a mom with kids, an etsy shop, daily duties, and projects to complete around the house. My projects are usually more fabric oriented and my husband and I work together on wood projects. There is never enough time. Be thankful you don’t suffer from migraines–that is a “fun sponge” right there!
Marian, I notice you’ve put Frog tape on the edge of the door, do you only put colour on the face … Not the sides? I never know where to stop so end up painting the front and back the same colour which is silly!
I actually did just paint the front and then I’m going to stain the sides and back a dark walnut with a tung oil finish.
Hi,
The picture they’ve got posted is not showing what I am sure is a beautifully painted door. Seeing your work on the blog, I can not imagine you’d hang a streaky door and call it done. Go take a look…
Yeah, it does look streaky in the pictures, but not in person. That was driving me crazy, but it’s a semi-gloss plaint and the light reflecting off of it picked up on every line. In person, it looks great.
I love a classic black door, but have fond memories of my red door- I think I may need swap doors so I can change them out 😉
When I click over to the True Value link, I can’t find anything but a paragraph about “Don’t forget the front door”. That’s it! No pictures, no mention of you, nuttin.
It works for me, so I’m not sure what’s going on there…
Marian, I believe you when you say the door looks great, because everything you paint looks great. 🙂 But, have you seen the comments on True Value’s link? The bad picture kind of does them a dis-service. You might try taking a shot of the door at night or when the sun isn’t on the door or something. I don’t know, but they are getting some pretty negative feedback on the bad picture. Of course, it is up to you… just thought I would mention it.
I am a loyal follower and love your work, so I mean no disrespect in mentioning it. Karen
Yes, sigh, I’ve seen them. I will try to take a picture at night. I tried several angles during the day, but the reflection shows every little grain and detail an it makes the door look streaky.
I don’t like it when people pick and put such negative feedback. They obviously don’t check into you or the things that are written. You do beautiful work and th time and effort you put into your website and products has helped me so very much so thank you for all you do and share. You are amazing!!! God Bless
I do use oil based paints…A LOT! So I am going to give a bit of advice when using it….and you should use oil based paints on any natural wood…trim, cabinets, doors, shelving, etc. The new latex paints are better than they were, but nothing holds up as well as oil based products. Clean up is messy, the smell isn’t great…but it is a small price to pay for a superior finish!!
Anywho…two suggestions that will help give a perfect finish….even on a door like this!
1) Penetrol. You should use this additive EVERY time you use oil based paints. And Floetrol is great for latex if you want a nice finish without streaks!
2) Foam rollers. I use a 4″ roller on doors…it leaves a little “eggshell” finish at first but the oil based paint levels itself out as it dries if the “climate” is stable (in other words, not too cold, hot or humid)
I actually have a harder time getting a decent “streak free” finish with spray paints. I rarely have brush streaks with oil based paints…smooth as glass! When I have used spray paints on large flat surfaces (like dresser tops, tables, etc) it often streaks…no matter what the temp or how many coats I put on! I pretty much save it for smaller “ornate” projects!
Yes, great tips! I’m with you on spray paint. I never use it for large surfaces because of the spray marks.
Regarding what to paint the sides….rule of thumb for doors…you should paint the sides the color you see when it is open.
So on a front door, you would paint the “hinge side” the color of the outside, and the “knob side” the color of the inside of the door.
In other words, the hinge side would be the color of the door you see when any door swings away from you. The knob side would be paint the color of the door you see when it is swinging towards you.
Maybe I am complicating things because it is kind of hard to explain…but if you have two different colors on the faces, you will have two different colors on the sides.
BTW Marian, I think you did a marvelous job describing how to paint a door…people don’t understand how hard it is to “write” how to do something you just do! And getting a decent picture can sometimes be impossible! I don’t know how many times I have had to apologize for cruddy pictures!
Have you tried having someone holding a large blanket in front of the door (but out of view of the camera) to block the direct light and create a shadow…kind of like what you did with the bath pics but on a large scale?
I know you said you were going to stain the back and sides, but an oil finish will not seal the edges to prevent warping on this wood door. Trust me, I have had many customers complain about door warping after they neglected to properly seal the edges.
You are probably right J Koontz…if it is a true solid wood door (as opposed to fiberglass or steel), it will certainly warp if it is not sealed properly all the way around. I noticed she said she was going to use tung oil on the inside finish. I LOVE tung oil and use it on all my natural wood finishes! I think if she will put 2-3-4 coats of tung oil on the top and underside when she does the inside of the door she should be fine.
Most exterior doors have a “seal” of some type on the underside…weather striping or sweep….usually screwed into the bottom. That should be removed before applying the tung oil just to make sure you get a good seal on it!
BTW, if you have a fiberglass or steel door, this step is not necessary IMO…what do you think?
Becky has soo much wonderful info. Maybe you should take down the pic of the completed door. Not your best work…Not the best advertising for True Value. I understand it is the pic. but you would probably not be happy with bad pics of your paint, whether it is the paint or the pic. it reflects the paint…Not trying to be a Debbie Downer…just reality . Door really looks unfinished…would I think of using True Value paint after seeing your door……NO… Maybee’s MOM
I’m currently looking to change my exterior house colors and doors – if I may ask, where did you get your solid wood door? – it is exactly what I am thinking of for a new front door. I’ve also taken pictures of glossy finished pieces and had the streaks appear in the photos – but they’re not there in person – so I feel your pain.
JK…I use tung oil to seal stained and natural wood all the time…it is exceptionally durable and holds up better to wear and wet than most poly finishes. And it is MUCH easier to apply and is almost fool proof. I believe that oil based paints have linseed oil in them. Not sure why tung oil wouldn’t seal wood as well as any oil based paint…seems it would be better than latex paint, which is what a lot of people use these days on doors and trim.
Just wondering…I still have my daddy’s “old school” mentality that was drilled into me every time we worked on a project…he wouldn’t touch poly! But I am not sure tung oil was his varnish of choice…can’t remember. I still have walnut furniture he built 50 years ago and the finish is almost flawless.
Yeah! Just saw the new photo on the True Value site and the door looks great!
As always, excellent teaching and inspiration. It looks beautiful! Thank you so much!