How to Paint Interior Doors

Our interior doors get a lot of use and abuse throughout their lives, especially for homeowners with children or pets. Repainting interior doors is an important part of updating your aesthetic and maintaining a clean indoor home environment. In this post, the residential painting professionals at Peak Pro Painting are going to share their tips and tricks to perfectly paint interior doors.

How many doors are you going to repaint?

The size of your project is going to help you determine whether you should use a paint sprayer or a hand roller. If you’re painting 25 doors, it would take a long time to paint them all with a hand roller and brush. Similarly, if you’re painting two doors, it would be silly to go through all of the hassle of using a paint sprayer. A good rule of thumb is if you’re going to paint more than 5 doors, it’s worth it to use a sprayer.

Set up a containment site in your garage

Whether you’re using a hand roller and brush, or paint sprayer, it’s ideal to set up a containment area in your garage to repaint your interior doors. We recommend setting up your painting station in an indoor area, like the garage or a work shed, to avoid getting airborne debris on your door while the paint dries. Lay down several pieces of contractor plastic and/or paper below your work area and position two sawhorses to support your door.

Remove the door from it’s hinges

There are several techniques to safely remove a door from it’s hinges. A spring tool will allow you to quickly and easily remove the pin from a door hinge without a hammer. Otherwise, you’ll need a flathead screwdriver and a hammer. Once you have removed the door from it’s hinges, carry it out to your containment area.

Remove the hardware

Before we start painting the door we want to make sure that we have removed all of the additional hardware, such as the door knob, any additional locking mechanisms, mail slots, etc. Be sure to keep your screws and hardware organized for easy re-installation after your door has finished drying. Mask off any hardware that isn’t easily removed with a reliable painter’s tape.

Prep the door for painting

If your door was previously painted with an oil-based paint, you will need to sand the door surface before you apply any primer or paint. If your previous paint was a water-based paint, you are mostly like ok to skip the sanding step and move right along to primer! Apply a consistent coat of primer to your door finish and allow to dry. This step is particularly important if you are painting the door a lighter shade than it’s previous finish.

Roll or Spray Paint your Front Door

Your primer is dry and it’s finally time to paint your door! Depending on the number of doors you are painting, you’ve either chosen to use a hand roller and brush combo or you’re using a paint sprayer. Apply a consistent coat of paint to your entire door surface. Be sure to paint the edges of your door too! Allow one side of your door to dry completely before flipping your door over to paint the reverse side. Make sure both sides are thoroughly dry before your return the door to it’s frame!

If you are looking for a Front Range painting company in Colorado or Austin Texas, Peak Pro will take the DIY painting project off your hands and give you the professional paint look. Request a quote here from the best Highlands Ranch painting company!