Painting a steel door..Any tips?

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GarageBoy

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May 23, 2003
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Well, I gotta paint an exterior steel door soon that's slightly rusty. I wanna smooth finish that looks decent. Any tips? (sorry, no access to paint gun)
 
Rub down lightly with 320 grit wet and dry. Treat rust with a rust converter and leave 24 hours. Wash rust converted areas, and give one coat of acrylic based undercoat. When dry paint one coat of acrylic top coat. Wait 24 hours and rub down very gently with 600 grit wet and dry. Wipe with a damp cloth, wait until dry and give one further coat of top coat. If the door is flat, use a short pile roller. If the door is panelled, use a short pile roller for the panels and edges of the door and a 1" paintbrush for the detail mouldings. when you paint keep a wet edge running as you paint, in other words, don't paint one area and come back 15 minutes later and try to paint the area next to where you have painted as it will be dry and will show a line. Keep the roller or paint brush filled, brush or roller the paint out evenly, don't overbrush the area, but don't leave too great a thickness of paint or it will run.

If you are new to painting, use painters masking tape to cover the edges of glass and locks. Put a dust sheet or a sheet of polythene on the floor to save on drips and splatters. Paint early in the morning so the door has time to dry before you shut it for the night. Don't paint on humid days or the paint will 'bloom', and will be slow to dry. Don't paint in full sun or the paint will dry too quick.

Acrylic paint is easier to work with and dries fast, but if you want a door like the British Prime Minister at Number 10 Downing Street, use oil paint and give 90 coats of top coat, rubbing down between each coat.
 
That pretty much covers it - I wish my residential customers knew steel doors come primed and will rust like an old chevy street rod without paint.

Choose a light color if it faces the evening sun - it will bow enough to break the seal on the weatherstripping, which is the major insulative loss on this type door.
 
My cup runneth over. Thanks for the good tips.

I just bought a fiberglass entry door. Does all the above still apply? It's a 3/4 oval with panels on the bottom so I know I have brush work to do.
 
Just use a roller to put the paint on, after removing all the hardware like hinges, knobs, viewer, etc.

It works great. I did one steel door from my garage/shop to the house with semi gloss latex and the front door with acrylic. That was years ago and they both still look fine. The longest part is just waiting for each side to dry so you can turn them and do the other side.
I took mine off and did them on saw horses.
 
1. Wire brush (or wheel on portable drill) to get all rust off.

2. Sand or steel wool to get it smooth.

3. Prime it with a good primer/sealer like Rustoleum's.

4. Give it a finish coat.

5. Give it a coat of good car wax once it is well dried. This will give it additional waterproofing and prevent degredation of the paint. I do this about once a year on mine.
 
I'd advise against a water based paint. Use oil on an outside metal door. Buy a decent nylon brush for $7.99 and throw it away when you're done, that way you don't have to mess with thinner. Don't roll it as others have said as it will leave fuzz and roller texture and does not look as professional. I'm sure you'll do fine.
 
Hi GarageBoy-

The devil is in the preparation. Thorough scraping, extensive sanding, priming, and high-quality paint will reward you with years of service. To answer your question, yes, you absolutely need a primer coat. This will serve as the "platform" for your paintjob.

~ Blue Jays ~
 
Absolutely, the right primer is hugely important especially when dealing with steel. Living near the ocean, I've found that a product called Rust Destroyer does an excellent job. Plus it's available in spray cans so you'll be able to keep your surface nice and smooth.

http://www.rust007.com/destroyerabout.htm

Also remember that when it comes time to apply the oil-based topcoat, most paint stores can now take just about any kind of paint and actually put it in an aerosol can for you. I haven't tried this yet myself, but a local shop owner whom I trust implicity says the technology works well. If, however, you're forced to brush on the topcoat, try cutting the paint a little with a product like Floetrol. This will all but eliminate brush strokes.
 
Peter Atwood said:
I'd advise against a water based paint. Use oil on an outside metal door. Buy a decent nylon brush for $7.99 and throw it away when you're done, that way you don't have to mess with thinner. Don't roll it as others have said as it will leave fuzz and roller texture and does not look as professional. I'm sure you'll do fine.
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Funny, mine both look just fine. No "fuzz", etc. The door with the latex was done around 10 years ago and still looks great. The acrylic door to the outside that was rolled is the same except it weathers more to the outside as it's pointing due south and gets sun for 7-8 months of the year. AZ sun has a habit of doing that to any paint.
 
Mike, the "fuzz" problem associated with rollers is much more often encountered when using oil based paints (and particularly when using the cheap smaller diameter 'weenie' type rollers). The best remedy for this is to buy yourself a good quality roller cover from Purdy or a similar company and then, before using it, roll off a nice long strip of masking tape and basically run your new roller cover up and down the sticky side. This will remove most of the fuzz that is present.
 
Not necessarily. If you use a rust converter before priming such as Andrew suggested, or if you use a rust neutralizing primer such as Rust Destroyer, then it's not important to sand away every last bit of rust. Of course, you have to remove all the loose flaky rust. And be sure to remove any paint that's bubbled because there's likely rust under there as well. For deep pitting, an application of naval jelly is usually a good idea- and if you want to get real fancy, the pits can be filled with bondo. Beyond that, where there's good paint still present and well bonded to the metal, all you have to do is rough it up a bit with some fine grit sandpaper, wipe down and reprime.
 
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