Painting a front door - advice needed

Rosa_Damascena

This sounds pathetic, but I need some advice in painting my wooden front door. How hard can it be...?

Having first primed it, I painted it with 5 separate layers of paint last year (red on existing red). The first two coats were applied with a brush, and the brush marks were clearly visible. Coverage looked very patchy and just horrid. I then left it for a fortnight, sanded it down and repainted with the same paint (this time using a small roller) in 3 separate occasions. Looked better, but was still rocking a nasty shabby chic look. I put this down to the paint I used - don't crucify me, but it was a value brand and cost £1 for a 125ml pot and I used about 4 in total.

So I decided to bite the bullet and repaint with another couple of coats today. I've bought a Ronseal gloss that dries fast and is supposed to last for years. The first coat went down at 7am, I went out and tested it earlier and true to its claim it was touch dry in an hour so I am prepared to put the second coat on after 11am. The problem its it looks worse than before! Not as bad as this, but not far off with respect to uneven look either:



I just don't get it, I painted a metal front door several times before and had none of these problems. What am I doing wrong? Why does the wood appear to be taking the paint? All I want is a door that looks as good as this:

 

Mistral001

First of all it is good to see someone painting their front door in a colour other than grey, black or white.

Painting doors are difficult to get right and is almost a dying craft. 

The problem could be with your technique.  You probably are using too much paint.  You should only use as much paint as you need.  To do this make sure that you empty your brush before loading it with more paint.   As the paint loaded in the brush reduces and the brush becomes drier, it will pick up areas that have too much paint on them.  Do not be afraid of making a lot of brush strokes very quickly.  Some people suggest "laying off" the paint once you have finished.  Laying off is going over the door, with a light continuous stroke from top to bottom.  This will help, but only marginally if you are using too much paint in the first place.

Rosa_Damascena

Mistral001 said:

First of all it is good to see someone painting their front door in a colour other than grey, black or white.

Painting doors are difficult to get right and is almost a dying craft. 

The problem could be with your technique.  You probably are using too much paint.  You should only use as much paint as you need.  To do this make sure that you empty your brush before loading it with more paint.   As the paint loaded in the brush reduces and the brush becomes drier, it will pick up areas that have too much paint on them.  Do not be afraid of making a lot of brush strokes very quickly.  Some people suggest "laying off" the paint once you have finished.  Laying off is going over the door, with a light continuous stroke from top to bottom.  This will help, but only marginally if you are using too much paint in the first place.

Thanks! Your advice is counter-intuitive, patchiness indicated to me that more not less paint needed to go on - hence I loaded my brush fully this morning!! - and I thought over-painting would make it even worse. Let me give your technique a go.

daveyjp

With so many problems it may well be the door and not the paint.  You may need to get the paint stripper out and get it back to plain timber.

Rosa_Damascena

daveyjp said:

With so many problems it may well be the door and not the paint.  You may need to get the paint stripper out and get it back to plain timber.

Well its on its last chance with the paint for now.

Although the door I inherited had its problems, the actual paintwork looked reasonably smooth so I have to accept the fault is with me. Can't even blame the paint today!

Mistral001

Rosa_Damascena said:

Mistral001 said:

First of all it is good to see someone painting their front door in a colour other than grey, black or white.

Painting doors are difficult to get right and is almost a dying craft. 

The problem could be with your technique.  You probably are using too much paint.  You should only use as much paint as you need.  To do this make sure that you empty your brush before loading it with more paint.   As the paint loaded in the brush reduces and the brush becomes drier, it will pick up areas that have too much paint on them.  Do not be afraid of making a lot of brush strokes very quickly.  Some people suggest "laying off" the paint once you have finished.  Laying off is going over the door, with a light continuous stroke from top to bottom.  This will help, but only marginally if you are using too much paint in the first place.

Thanks! Your advice is counter-intuitive, patchiness indicated to me that more not less paint needed to go on - hence I loaded my brush fully this morning!! - and I thought over-painting would make it even worse. Let me give your technique a go.

Yes it is counter-intuative.  That is why I was getting it wrong for so long.  Naturally you would think  that lots of paint would look more shiny - like liquid.  A few youtube videos watching professional painters working - painters who were not promoting rollers or paintpads - changed my thinking.

neilmcl

Mistral001 said:

First of all it is good to see someone painting their front door in a colour other than grey, black or white.

Painting doors are difficult to get right and is almost a dying craft. 

The problem could be with your technique.  You probably are using too much paint.  You should only use as much paint as you need.  To do this make sure that you empty your brush before loading it with more paint.   As the paint loaded in the brush reduces and the brush becomes drier, it will pick up areas that have too much paint on them.  Do not be afraid of making a lot of brush strokes very quickly.  Some people suggest "laying off" the paint once you have finished.  Laying off is going over the door, with a light continuous stroke from top to bottom.  This will help, but only marginally if you are using too much paint in the first place.

Agreed, laying off is a valid technique, particularly when using a gloss paint, the idea is to "feather" the paint so the brush strokes disappear and you get an even distribution off paint. You can buy special brushes for this but I just tend to use the brush I'm working with very little paint on it.

@Rosa_Damascena have a look on youtube regarding how to paint a panel door.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyLZmupK2uo

FreeBear

Rosa_Damascena said: ! Your advice is counter-intuitive, patchiness indicated to me that more not less paint needed to go on - hence I loaded my brush fully this morning!!

Multiple thin coats of paint is the way to go. Going on thick means runs, drips, and sags.

twopenny

Red is one of the most difficult colours to use. Been there, done that and then a painter told me.

Ever thought that photo could have been touched up?

And hard gloss not water based. That won't withstand weather.

Also I wouldn't put on another coat until the Undercoat has dried for at least a couple of days and a second top coat for about 5 days until it's really hard. Also source some fine brushes that won't leave streak marks. A good local paint shop should be able to recommend.

I'm all for DIY but in this case it's important. Do you know a friendly professional painter who would come and do it for a Saturday job? My friend is a contract painter and in between he's done some of mine. The result is amazing and even.

Good luck.

Rosa_Damascena

neilmcl said:

Mistral001 said:

First of all it is good to see someone painting their front door in a colour other than grey, black or white. 

Painting doors are difficult to get right and is almost a dying craft.  

The problem could be with your technique.  You probably are using too much paint.  You should only use as much paint as you need.  To do this make sure that you empty your brush before loading it with more paint.   As the paint loaded in the brush reduces and the brush becomes drier, it will pick up areas that have too much paint on them.  Do not be afraid of making a lot of brush strokes very quickly.  Some people suggest "laying off" the paint once you have finished.  Laying off is going over the door, with a light continuous stroke from top to bottom.  This will help, but only marginally if you are using too much paint in the first place. 

Agreed, laying off is a valid technique, particularly when using a gloss paint, the idea is to "feather" the paint so the brush strokes disappear and you get an even distribution off paint. You can buy special brushes for this but I just tend to use the brush I'm working with very little paint on it.

@Rosa_Damascena have a look on youtube regarding how to paint a panel door.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyLZmupK2uo 

FreeBear said:

Rosa_Damascena said: ! Your advice is counter-intuitive, patchiness indicated to me that more not less paint needed to go on - hence I loaded my brush fully this morning!!

Multiple thin coats of paint is the way to go. Going on thick means runs, drips, and sags.

Heavens, who knew it was so involved as the YouTube clip? I'd seen it done on HGTV's "Our House" in the early hours one morning and not only do I find the sequence of painting is completely different, but so is the amount of paint used and the length of the strokes. I can't believe this chap made the paint go so far!

I did consider diluting the paint but there was no mention of this on the instructions and I thought doing so would compromise the finish(!) and mean an extra coat or two of paint for me. 

stator

I painted mine Oxford blue using Johnstones non-drip gloss

Like you I found I very difficult to do. If you put it on too thick you get drips, too thin and you get brush marks.

I'm afraid I have no advice except keep sanding and trying again. You will get it right eventually, hopefully before the tin runs out.