Tips for Painting Your Garage Door

It’s amazing how much a simple coat or two of paint on your garage door can change the look of your house. This can either transform it for better or worse. You need to put some thought into what color or colors you will use as well as how to prepare for the painting project.

If you’re thinking about reviving your garage door with fresh color, you can use the advice within this article to help you get the best results.

Pick Your Paint

Before any other steps, do some brainstorming to figure out what color or colors you will use for your garage door. There are so many color combinations that you can pick from to complement the color of your house, or you can simply just match it to the color of your house or its trim.

No matter what, you’ll need to use exterior paint so that it can endure the elements. However, the material that your garage door is made of should determine the specific paint type that you buy.

If your garage door is the standard vinyl material, you should use paint with a latex base that also includes a bonding agent. For garage doors made of steel or wood, an oil-based or latex-based paint will do the trick, and for aluminum garage doors, acrylic paint is best. If you have a two-car garage, one can of paint should be sufficient for covering the whole door in a few coats.

Getting Started

First, pick out three days of good weather, between 50 and 80 degrees with little humidity. After you have figured out the best time to paint based on this, gather your supplies. You will need a ladder, primer, paint, paintbrushes, rollers, a paint tray, sandpaper, a tarp, a bucket of water, some soap, and a rag. Also, be sure to shut off your automatic garage opener.

Before the actual painting part of the job, you will need to scrub away all the dirt and loose paint from your garage door. You can use sandpaper for part of this step. Then you can wash the door with soap, rinse it off, and let it dry.

Next, lay a tarp down in front of the door to avoid getting paint on your driveway, and protect the areas around the door with painter’s tape. Now, it’s finally time to prime and paint.

Painting Time

Paint primer onto each panel of the garage door using a roller for the flat parts and a brush for the smaller parts that have texture. You will need to wait for this to dry completely before using your paint over it, which should take about 12 hours.

Now, repeat the painting process with the color you chose. You may only need one coat of paint depending on whether you are covering a dark color with a lighter one or vice-versa. After the door is dry, you can move on to painting the trim around the door. It’s that simple!

Admiring Your Work

Turn the automatic opener back on, remove the painter’s tape and tarp, and admire what you just accomplished.