Which paint for metal up and over garage door?

twopenny

I've looked online and the choices are many.

I've asked neighbours and they don't know, the painter just did it and didn't leave any left-overs.

Some have a lovely soft and subtle colour in pale green greys that has me thinking more like house paint.

I don't want to do Hammerite.

I've used Bedec Multi purpose paint for a lot of things and it's good, but expensive. However easily available.

Current finish is the original builders, it's coarse and gritty like exterior masonary paint which makes it hard to clean.

Has anyone done this and any advice on the different types? Something easy to apply and gives a smooth finish please.

FreeBear

Dulux, Crown, Leyland, etc, all do paints suitable for metal (just don't use B&Q's HomeStyle paint - It is crap, Valspar isn't much better). Go to one of their trade counters, and you can get a tin mixed to a colour of your choosing if you don't like any off the shelf offerings - Costs a bit extra, but worth it if you must have a specific shade.

Rodders53

twopenny said:

Current finish is the original builders, it's coarse and gritty like exterior masonary paint which makes it hard to clean.

Paint brand and colour is the least of your worries.

Getting the door back to a suitably flat smooth finish might be a very hard job.  Likely you'll just be refreshing the original manufacturer's textured paint finish with a new colour.  Builders are very unlikely to paint garage doors.

danrv

I've used Bedec barn paint before for a garage door with good results.

Bookworm105

painting is 90% preparation and 10% piloting a wet paint brush
if the current surface is not as smooth as you want then it needs to be sanded flat

in doing that you may expose back to bare metal

the question then becomes is it galvanised "bare" metal or a "cheap" door of ungalvanised metal?

if galvanised you will need to prime using a primer for galvanised surfaces, if not, then any metal primer will do 

once you have established either a primer coat, or you have flattened the existing coat without removing it so do not need to prime, then your choice of top coat is down to what you are painting over: metal paint or something else.

twopenny

Thanks everyone! That's really good and helpful and tells me all I need to know  

Looks like a job for a sunny day - if we get one.

I think I've got the bits and bobs I need apart from the top coat.

By the rest of the build I'd take a bet that it's not galvanised.

The dust washed down from roof tiles to the ground and rain beating it up the bottom of the door is grim not to mention the old paint so would be worth the efffort. It's a job not in view so has been put off.

FreeBear I'm always tempted to sky blue pink with polkadots to give the neighbours something to talk about

Albermarle

FreeBear said:

Dulux, Crown, Leyland, etc, all do paints suitable for metal (just don't use B&Q's HomeStyle paint - It is crap, Valspar isn't much better). Go to one of their trade counters, and you can get a tin mixed to a colour of your choosing if you don't like any off the shelf offerings - Costs a bit extra, but worth it if you must have a specific shade.

Or if that is not convenient, Homebase offer the same service for Dulux paints. Probably more expensive but maybe be more convenient.

ThisIsWeird

Hi 2'penny.

Could you post some pics, please, including close-ups at a low angle - will this texture show up?

In general, tho', it sounds as tho' you'd be painting over paint, and not bare metal. My go-to these days is Zinsser Allcoat 15-year, water-based.

Have a trial at lightly sanding the existing finish, to see if it does rub away quite easily. Use, say, 120 grit on a flat block, and easy does it. If there is no rust showing on this door, then you really don't want to get down to metal level anywhere, 'cos that will just complicate matters.

I'd be looking at carrying out the lightest of sanding just to remove the worst of the texture, and then mini-rollering on the Zinsser. The first coat can be quite thin and rolled-out - it acts as a primer. The second coat will go on much more easily, and can be more generous.

What colour? If white, then I'd suggest 'gloss', as it should shrug off dirt more easily. Satin is a nicer finish on garage doors, and I'd go for that if it's a darker colour.

I did mil's wooden windows a couple of years back, and chose 'gloss' white even tho' I prefer satin. Being water-based, it ain't as full gloss as oil-based would be, so more a shiny-satin. And, being white, it's just blinding anyway! Anyhoo, this was put straight over the cleaned old paint, bare wood, filler, and putty. It looks as good as the day it was put on.

If appearance - other than the actual colour, of course - ain't too important, then I'd go gloss for the extra durability and shrugoffedness. But satin will hide more of the old texture, if that matters.

twopenny

I had a look and it rubs off dusty with my finger!

But not down to the metal.

I'd bet it's some sort of undercoat as delivered.

I'm pretty sure the 'texture' won't show in a photograph + blinding white, well white now. It doesn't show to the eye. But you can feel it with your fingers.

So I'll use a sponge/scouring pad, the washing up sort, quite gently and see how it goes first. Just do one panel.

White at the mo.

Local colours - scarlet, muted grey green, soft pale green, pale blue so we'll see. I'm not great at choosing colours.

but good to have a choice. Dulux available here with trade discount. I'll check their shelves to see what else.

ThisIsWeird

Ah, the supplied finish? I thought you meant that 'builders' had painted it!
Try a test piece with your plan. Gently, just to remove that oxidised top layer, but not to cut through the paint too much.
If you are considering these green foam scouring pads, they can leave debris behind. Anyhoo, try a small area, and see how it goes.

twopenny

"green foam scouring pads" - those are the ones

The trick is to use a new one gently. They are really useful for smoothing plaster and getting the big drips off artex ceilings.

What a fun life I lead!

But yes, first I'll do the trip to the builders yard and look at what paint is available because this has to be a dedicated day or two to work on it and so far it's mostly cloud and rain.

Yes, the first builders of these places went bankrupt and another lot finished. One did a rubbish job, the other a good job so it's highly unlikely to be a finished surface..........Now I know why the neighbours have painted theirs