Need to fix up main door

Our main entrance wooden door might be 20+ yrs old but functionally it's fine. Had an old alum storm door too but I removed it. What I want to do now is simply make the front entrance look nice. So need to patch up all the screw holes from the storm door + nicks and scratches on the door itself and then paint everything.

I prefer not to repaint the whole door, and I definitely do not want to send it because of the the "artsy" circles in the middle. But If I need to just paint the whole door without sanding it (other than the areas being patched up) that's OK too.

Never done this type of projects before so would like to know:
- What materials I would need? I got a can of Bondo filler. Is that a good choice, especially for small nicks and scratches, or is there something better?
- If I repaint the whole door, do I need to prime it first? If so, and since primer is white, I presume I can then paint the door any color, does not have to be close to the original color?
- How many times would I need to prime and paint the door?
- I am a bit pressed for time (need this done in the next week or two), so for a newbie like me, how long do you think it might actually take?

Thx!

There is an exterior spackle that you can use to fill the holes. As far as painting, always remember clean, dry and dull. This will give you good adhesion when applying new paint and having a paint job that will last.

If you are not stripping the door down to bare wood, you shouldn't need to prime. if you are going to a lighter color, then you might want to prime anyway to avoid color bleeding through. The little nicks around the inlays will just blend in once they are painted.

OK, lets get started and whip this project out!

1. You need to touch sand the entire door to provide best adhesion. Use a 180 grit paper and just scuff the entire surface to remove dirt, film, etc. No need to get crazy. Wipe with a clean rag. Remove door knobs so you don't have to paint around them.

2. Fill minor dings with high performance spackle. Bondo can be rigid and pop with temperature changes. I find spackle works better. Use it to fill the door and the trim. Get a cheap tub at Home Depot (qwhere you bought the sandpaper, primer and paint). http://www.homedepot.com/p/DAP-Crac...ste-7079812376/100211655?N=5yc1vZc5d1Z1z0szqu

3. Sand the spackle smooth and wipe again.

4. Painting is the application of a film to the body of the door. The smoother the film application, the better the outcome. Using a good quality brush such as 3" ANGLED (it will be tossed later), brush a light coat of KILZ onto the trim and the door. (KILZ is hard to remove from the brush, save time and sacrifice the $5.00 brush) Too much paint will cause runs. I would prefer to remove the door and lay it flat for this operation because it minimizes runs to almost none. Throw away the brush because it is not worth trying to clean it. When stuff is dry, sand off any remaining problem areas.

5. Using another brush, start painting from the "inside-out" ... meaning paint the medallions first then paint the main body of the door. For the main body, I prefer to use a 6" high density white foam roller because it leaves a good finish. They are cheap and easy to use. Be careful not to use too much paint and WATCH FOR RUNS. Paint vertically, overlapping your long runs. Press down evenly, trying not to push down too hard. Paint the trim around the door last, so you don't rub against it. Clean this final brush but toss the roller.

6. Be alert for runs.

I agree with Villa post except throwing the brush away. Buy a good brush and clean it up. I have brushes I have been using for years. Only painting tip I can add is to always brush into your wet edge and you won't get brush marks. Brushing out from wet to dry you will. It's easy to grasp this tip once you start painting.


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Thanks for all the details. Now a couple of follow up questions:

CallMeVilla said:

Using a good quality brush such as 3" ANGLED

Click to expand...

Any of these brushes better than the others?

CallMeVilla said:

brush a light coat of KILZ onto the trim and the door.

Click to expand...

I got a few different types of KILZ. Which one should I use? I live near Wash DC if it matters, so it's hot and humid in the summer and fairly chilly in the winter.

How long do you think the whole project (either in work hours or in calendar time allowing for stuff to dry etc) should take?

bud16415 said:

Buy a good brush and clean it up.

Click to expand...

What is the best cleaner for this stuff?

If you are cleaning a brush after a water based paint you clean it with water if its an oil based paint I use mineral sprits.


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You should be able to do this project in a few hours.


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The Linzer brushes are pretty good...good enough that you'll want to keep it to use again. The Purdy brushes are better, as the price indicates. If you get a Purdy, keep it clean and it will serve you well for a long time. There are other brands of brushes. If you go into a paint store, like Sherwin Williams, you will find other high quality brushes. Disposable brushes are tempting (no cleanup) but be careful, as most of them don't apply paint smoothly, leaving brush marks on your door.

As Bud mentioned, latex paints are water based, so if you are using a latex paint, clean your brushes with soap and water and rinse thoroughly. Hang you brush until it is dry. Oil based paints may better for exterior use (this will draw some opinions), but cleanup is tougher.

One other tip: you only use the tip of the brush to apply paint, so there's no need to dunk the whole brush into the paint. It just makes cleanup that much messier.

ilyaz said:

Thanks for all the details. Now a couple of follow up questions:

I got a few different types of KILZ. Which one should I use? I live near Wash DC if it matters, so it's hot and humid in the summer and fairly chilly in the winter.

How long do you think the whole project (either in work hours or in calendar time allowing for stuff to dry etc) should take?

Click to expand...

You can get away with this 2" angled brush for this project ... get two.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Linzer-2...02571343?cm_sp=BazVoice-_-RLP-_-202571343-_-x

Ask at HD but an exterior rated KILZ would do which is alcohol based so it dries fast. You can paint over it with water or oil base paint.

Give yourself a full day to do this in DC. Start early. Get to the primer stage quickly. Once dry, hit the door with your color coat. Let dry rest of day ... DO NOT close the door until you absolutely have to so the edges can harden.

slownsteady said:

The Linzer brushes are pretty good...good enough that you'll want to keep it to use again. The Purdy brushes are better, as the price indicates. If you get a Purdy, keep it clean and it will serve you well for a long time. There are other brands of brushes. If you go into a paint store, like Sherwin Williams, you will find other high quality brushes. Disposable brushes are tempting (no cleanup) but be careful, as most of them don't apply paint smoothly, leaving brush marks on your door.

As Bud mentioned, latex paints are water based, so if you are using a latex paint, clean your brushes with soap and water and rinse thoroughly. Hang you brush until it is dry. Oil based paints may better for exterior use (this will draw some opinions), but cleanup is tougher.

One other tip: you only use the tip of the brush to apply paint, so there's no need to dunk the whole brush into the paint. It just makes cleanup that much messier.

Click to expand...

just do some research and you will see this is false