Nice? I’m so glad it’s finally over! I gave my doors a nice coat of
glossy paint.
Many tell me painting the door is tough and it’s different from
painting the walls. Door paints (for wood and metals) for the fact is oil
based, which also means:
- You need to handle it faster than water based
paints. Once it reaches the semi dried state, you won’t want to brush
through it.
- It “bleeds” at the corners (I’ll show you
how to minimize that).
- It’s messy and sticky
- The fumes are suffocating (it’s best you
work in a well-ventilated place).
- To clean off any stains, you’ll have to use turpentine, which I find it quite damaging to my skin (advisable to use gloves handling this)
Well, it is tough, because I had to paint all 11 doors… :(
I can only manage 3 doors + frame in one day. Plus I took breaks in
between before completion. I tried painting 2 days in a row, I ended up with
muscle cramps in my fingers and a sore wrist!
In short, if you have newly polished parquets like mine, you’ll avoid
all cost to step on the drips of paint from your prepared surface onto your
floor. Cleaning it when it has fully dried is quite a time consuming task.
Amidst the chaos, you’ll have to act fast to reduce visible brush strokes
setting on your door… a lot to juggle right?
Let’s begin…..
Tools you’ll need:
Super must haves:
1)
Short haired roller sponge
See the sponge
next to the gloves? This is the number #01 must haves in my list of door
painting. Make sure it is the short haired types. It’s quite hard to find and most
hardware shops sell only the standard ones. Also, buy a bunch of them. I never
wash and reuse them because you’ll need to use a lot of turpentine to clean it,
plus it’s a hassle to dispose the turpentine.
2)
Plenty of disposable gloves
3)
Natural haired paint brushes (works better than
nylon ones)
4)
Odour-lite door paint (I’ve tried using the
standard wood paint. I’ve not seen odourless types in the market though. Boy,
the fumes were unbearable & I feel dizzy after breathing in the fumes for
the whole day)
You’ll need lots of prep work as well:
Make sure you tape vital areas and protect the surface
of your floors.
Take note if you use newspapers, have it thick enough so that the paint
won’t seep through. Remember, it’s not like wall paint.
Get rid of any peeling paint, stickers, and stains by sanding that off
lightly. If you want, you can also give your door a wipe before painting (I did
for mine).
After painting, make sure to leave the tape 1-2 days at the corners to
completely dry and stop the “bleeding” process. Look at the screw up of my
first painted door. I didn’t expect the “bleeding” to continue after 1-2hrs of
painting, but it seems like it did. It’s still there and I’m having a hard time
removing it.
Some pointers when painting doors:
1)
Take out excess paint from your brush before
painting
a.
This will reduce dripping paint onto the floor
b.
It reduces “bleeding”
2)
You’ll need 2 coats to have an even colour. If
the base of your door is a dark colour, you may need 3 or more coats. It’ll be
better is you can sand down the door a little, but I’m too lazy to do so. Just
make sure that coat 1-2 is completely dried before putting on the 3-4 coats.
3)
While painting the 2nd coat, check on
“bleeding” at corners & brush them off lightly before it dries.
4)
Always wear gloves! In my first attempt, I didn’t
despite my mum telling me. I had paint all over my hands and soles of my feet!
Best part was, I forgot about it and touched other things in the house!!! It became
a mess!
5)
If you accidently drip/ stain places where you
don’t want the paint to be, get a ragged cloth and quickly clean it while it’s
still in its liquid form. (In the picture above, I’m really having a hard time
as the paint has already dried. Smart me thought I could use the scrapper to
scrape it out… I just made it worse!)
I always paint the areas which my roller sponge cannot reach with a
brush first. Like the frame, patterned areas of the door and corners. My record
is painting 3 doors a day, so I’ll make sure to maximize the use of my sponge
rollers. I didn’t wait for the paint to
dry before painting on the second coat. The roller sponge is good as it doesn’t
leave brush patterns on the door. It also gives an even coat of paint without
much dripping and splashing droplets of paint out (provided you roll out the
excess).
I’m pretty happy with the results. It feels like having a new shiny
door now!
If you’re attempting it, try out my method and take note on the
pointers. I screwed up 2 doors before getting it right. Lastly, you really need
a lot of patience. In my opinion, painting the doors take more effort than the
wall.
Good luck!
