Paint for a front door

Zudecke · Post by **Zudecke** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 11:56 pm

Hi guys

Our front door is a bit stiff where there wood has expanded so I'm going to give it a bit of a sand.

We'll sand the whole door and give it a lick of paint while we're at it, but we're a bit unsure about which paint to use on it?

Do I need a primer? How many coats of primer vs paint? Can anyone recommend specific products / models?

It's a timber door.

Many thanks

Z

London mike 61 · Post by **London mike 61** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 7:18 am

I’m NOT a trade decorator just diy but for a primer I would use Zinsser bulls eye 123 , it is made for priming exterior surfaces (although you can use it inside as well ) and covers reall well even though it’s a thin paint.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinsser-bull ... 1ltr/10135

As for top coat , that depends on colour but I would opt for a water based gloss and we all have our tried and tested favourites and again it’s hard to recommend any one without knowing what colour you want.

Mike

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 7:59 am

Really it is the wrong time of the year to paint externally, it would be best to leave it until spring when it has dried out. All wood absorbs and releases moisture through the seasons and this can cause expansion and contraction making the door bind in the frame somewhat. I would say leave it for now, also if you are going for a colour use traditional solvent based paints.

DWD

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:05 am

A further thought is a common misconception that the door has swollen when often it is the door frame. The inside wall fitting face of the frame often is not treated or it has just a primer. It can be the frame that has the seasonal expansion binding the door. If the door is sealed all around then the hygroscopic action is reduced considerably.

DWD

Croker · Post by **Croker** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 5:10 pm

I agree with DWD, wrong time of year for exterior painting at the moment. Most paints advise application in temperatures above 10 degrees Celsius, it’s just too cold at present not to mention a lot of moisture in the air.

As for the paint I had really good results painting a composite front door last year using Zinsser AllCoat exterior water based satin. The old paint was tired and faded so it was a pretty simple job of lightly sanding the surface, then cleaning with water and degreasing with meths before applying the new paint. It applied really nicely (4” foam roller and brushes for the tricky bits) and still looks good now.

This was with of the shelf Anthracite colour but it is available tinted to pretty much any colour you like. I’ve also used the black and white colours in the same paint to similar effect on other jobs.