How to Re-Paint a Door

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Repainting a door is a fun way to instantly transform a room without a lot of effort. I have several doors on the main level of my house that the previous owners painted a cherry-brown color. I wouldn’t mind except the color doesn’t match the floors or even the trim that they put in. Not only that, the doors were painted unevenly and look pretty bad if you inspect them. So I finally decided to repaint them.

I started with the closet door in my craft room and it turned out really good, so I wanted to share what I did. I have lots of experience painting walls, but this was my first time painting a door and I love how it turned out.

Determining the Type of Paint to Use

Before buying any supplies, it’s important to check what kind of paint was originally used on your door. The reason is that latex paint will not stick to a door previously painted with oil paint unless you use a special primer.

To check the paint material, dab a cotton ball or paper towel in a little rubbing alcohol. If you are checking the paint on a white door, use a colored piece of cloth instead. Next, choose an inconspicuous area of the door and rub the cloth over the paint.

• If the paint comes off, it is latex paint, which means you can use any paint to repaint the door.
• If the paint does not come off with rubbing alcohol, it is oil based paint. To repaint it with latex paint, you will need to use a bonding primer on the door first.

If you are trying to paint over a stained wood door, you will need a stain blocking primer instead. Without such a primer, the stain tends to soak through the paint and leave a tinged color to your final result.

Supplies & Materials for Repainting a Door

One of the nice things about painting a door is that it’s a pretty inexpensive project. Here’s what you need to paint a door:

• Foam Rollers – I like the 6″ ones because they make the job faster but 4″ rollers would work too.
• 2″ Paint Brush – You can paint most of the door with foam rollers but it helps to have a brush too.
• Paint Tray – I use this one because the metal base is reusable. I also continue using the liners for multiple jobs to make it more economical. I get the large trays because you can use them more easily for other projects.
• Painters Tape – This wider tape works best for covering hinges.
• Drop Cloth – Canvas drop cloths are reusable.
• Paint – I used Behr Premium Plus Hi-Gloss Enamel because I wanted a smooth, shiny finish. This Rust-Oleum Ultra Cover paint would be a comparable option. One quart (32 oz) should be plenty for painting one door.
• Paint Primer – only needed if you are trying to paint over stain or oil based paint. See above for recommendations.
• Wood Filler – If you are painting a solid wood door that has scratches or dents, you may want to use a paintable wood filler first.
• Rags & cleaning solution. I used TSP-PF (phosphate free) powder. You will also need gloves if working with a cleaner such as this.
• Screwdriver or drill for removing door hardware such as handles.
• Razor blade or Exacto knife for cutting painting tape around hinges.

Prepping Your Door

The first step in painting a door is to clean the surface. I used TSP-PF powder mixed with water according to the package directions. You can, of course, just use a rag with water and a bit of mild detergent. However, the TSP works great and will help the paint stick better. Be sure to wear gloves if you’re working with a caustic cleaner.

If you have dents or scratches, use the wood filler to repair them. This will give you a much more polished looking final result. My doors are made from particle board so I didn’t need this.

Next, you will want to cover the hinges with painter’s tape to keep them clean. You could alternatively remove the door from the hinges, but I personally found it worked just fine to keep the door in the frame. Tape over the entire hinge and cut around the curve with a razor blade.

Lastly, you should remove the door handle, latch, and latch plate. If you’re not comfortable with this, you could tape around the hardware. However, it’s way easier to paint without the handle in the way and it’s pretty challenging to tape round handles securely.

If you are painting over oil-based paint or stained wood, be sure to apply the appropriate primer (see above) to the door at this stage.

Painting The Door Step by Step

Now comes the fun part! I started by painting the trim first, followed by the door frame and finally the door itself. I don’t think it matters what order you paint in. For the door itself, though, I found it went fastest to paint in a particular order:

• Paint the sides and top of the door first. You will have some paint squish over the edges, so it’s easiest to start here and smooth out any excess paint right away.
• Next, paint the panels. These are the indented parts of the door. Start with the flat center portion and then smooth the paint into the grooves. Be sure you also get into the corners where it’s the hardest to apply paint.
• After the panels, paint the vertical parts between the panels, also known as the mullions.
• Next, paint the top, middle, and bottom rails, which are the horizontal parts above, between, and below the panels. When painting the bottom rail, I placed a piece of newspaper under the door so I could get all the way to the bottom with my roller.
• Finally, paint the remaining vertical portions along the edges of the door.

You don’t need to paint in exactly this order. However, I found that it helped to follow a set order when applying my second and third coats of paint. It was pretty obvious where I had already painted, but following a set order ensured I went over everything with the same amount of paint and nothing got missed.

Painting the Door Trim

The hardest part for me was deciding whether to paint the wood trim around the doors. I have a hard time with the concept of painting over wood. In the end, however, I decided it would look best to have the trim match. I opted not to paint the trim in the rest of the room – just the trim around the door. The trim does match the floors and because it’s wood, I couldn’t bring myself to paint all of it.

How Many Coats of Paint?

Depending on the original color and condition of your door, you may need anywhere from one to four coats of paint. I ended up needing four coats because of how dark the door was underneath. However, in retrospect, I could have applied the paint a bit thicker and done it in three coats.

Drying & Finishing

When you’re done painting, remove the tape right away. Leaving painting tape on too long can make it difficult to remove cleanly. Not only that, the tape can actually peel off little bits of your finished paint job,

Another tip is to leave the door open for as long as possible after painting. Paint remains tacky for quite some time even after it dries (especially high gloss paint). I left my door open for about 3 days before closing it. The last thing you want after all that hard work is to have your paint stick and peel off when you open the door!

When everything is dry, you can put the door hardware back on and your door is now ready to use!

If you notice that any paint got onto your hinges or hardware, you can use a product like Goof Off to remove it. Alternatively, latex paint can also be removed pretty easily with simple rubbing alcohol.

How Long Does it Take to Paint a Door?

It took me probably 3 hours of total work to paint my door spread over two days. Part of the time included me painting the trim. Because I needed to apply four coats, it also took me some extra time. I applied the first three coats the first day, letting it dry between coats. I decided to apply a final coat the next day because there were a few areas that didn’t get fully covered.

In the end, I was super happy with the result of painting my closet door. It completely transformed the room and made it much brighter without a lot of effort!