Painting Composite door

booter

Hi all. I have a half glazed composite door in a light oak colour. The beading around the glazed bit is upvc. 
The colour of the beading has faded beyond that of the door, and the door itself has started peeling (lacquer?) exposing faded colour underneath. 
I can't afford a new door, so thought I may try painting it. Online searches recommend this one from Screwfix 
https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinsser-all-coat-exterior-paint-white-1ltr/5946g
Does anyone have any experience with painting their composite door and does anyone have any advice/tips please?😊

theonlywayisup

We used Owatrol Polytrol on our composite door and it is as good as new.  The restorer lasts about 18 months before we reapplied.  Very quick and very cheap.  The 100ml sample pot will give you 5-6 door applications and is £5.

I bought direct but you can check Amazon for the reviews (some with photos).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/OWatrol-Polytrol-0-5-l/dp/B003BZXN9Q/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=polytrol&qid=1598860247&s=diy&sr=1-2

booter

Thanks theonlywayisup. It looks like the one you used isn't a paint as such, more a restorer? As the lacquer is peeling on my door I'm not convinced that a restorer will work. But thanks anyway 😊

babyblade41

try Frenchic paint , loads have painted their composite doors with this.  Checkout the Frenchic fb pages to have a look.

I haven't done it but it may give you some idea

john.h

My mother has just had her faded composite door painted with Bedec multi surface paint. It now looks like a new door now. 

Jeepers_Creepers

I was going to suggest the Bedec MSP too after seeing a thread on the Screwfix forum from someone who's done just this on their, I think, PVC door. 

I've heard nothing but good stuff about Bedec paints in general, so understand they are a well regarded brand.

If your composite door has a physical texture such as 'woodgrain', it'll help to give a convincing finish - much easier than a perfectly flat surface where you sweat over brush marks :-)

Preparation is everything - super-clean, and possibly lightly keyed using wire wool or similar - it's worth doing research on that aspect to find the best way for your specific door surface - do you know what the surface layer is made from? 

Of course, once you paint you cannot stop; it'll now become a regular - but hopefully not too common - part of your house maintenance. That annoying scratch from a fumbled key insertion will make you groan.

booter

Thanks all for your input. It seems like the Bedec paint is Toolstation's version of the Zinsser from Screwfix. So I bit the bullet and went for the Zinsser (mainly based on the reviews and manufacturers responses to questions on the Screwfix site).
The result is great! I'm really impressed 😊 For anyone wanting to give it a go, my advice is to prep properly - I washed (soapy water), rinsed, sanded back the flaky bits til it was sound and lightly sanded the rest to give a "key". Then washed again and wiped it over with meths. Then I masked off what I didn't want to paint (!) The first coat was dry in about an hour, and didn't cover all the colour, but another coat and it looks like I've got a new door 😁
I think you're right,  JeepersCreepers, prep is everything - it took longer than painting! I also recommend a decent brush.  I also think you're right in that it may be one of those regular jobs - oh well! Hopefully it'll do me for a few years.
Super impressed with the paint though - £20 cost and I've used less than a quarter of the tin! It went on really easily and gives a lovely satin finish.  So glad I tried it!

Rosa_Damascena

theonlywayisup said:

We used Owatrol Polytrol on our composite door and it is as good as new.  The restorer lasts about 18 months before we reapplied.  Very quick and very cheap.  The 100ml sample pot will give you 5-6 door applications and is £5.

I bought direct but you can check Amazon for the reviews (some with photos).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/OWatrol-Polytrol-0-5-l/dp/B003BZXN9Q/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=polytrol&qid=1598860247&s=diy&sr=1-2

Seriously?

Jeepers_Creepers

Nice job Booter. 

What colour did you go for? Any chance of a photo, please? :-) 

booter

Jeepers_Creepers said:

Nice job Booter. 

What colour did you go for? Any chance of a photo, please? :-) 

There were only black and white in stock, but I believe you can get other colours online. I wanted to catch the dry weather so went for black 😊
Not sure how to post a pic - does this work?
http://imgur.com/a/t5fyhmR

Rosa_Damascena

booter said:

Jeepers_Creepers said:

Nice job Booter. 

What colour did you go for? Any chance of a photo, please? :-) 

There were only black and white in stock, but I believe you can get other colours online. I wanted to catch the dry weather so went for black 😊
Not sure how to post a pic - does this work?
http://imgur.com/a/t5fyhmR

Looks good, but I personally prefer the previous finish. In picking a composite door, why did you not pick the colour you wanted in the first place? Or has this door been installed for a while and you just fancied a change?

I like the look of the original door, can i be cheeky and ask where you bought it from, and how much it cost?