There might come a time when you get the itch to paint your garage door to spruce up your house. Follow these simple steps and you’ll have a brand new garage in no time!
Remove the hardware.
- Remove the handles and hinges. If your garage door has handles and hinges, take them off before you begin painting. This will give you a cleaner surface to work with and make your finished product look even better.
- Put them somewhere safe. Once the hardware is off, put it in a secure place where you won’t lose it or trip over it accidentally.
- Consider whether you want to paint the hardware in its entirety or just cover it with masking tape so that only the parts of it that aren’t attached to the door get painted. Remember: if you choose not to mask them, they’ll have drips on them or be different colors from one another when you’re done painting!
Clean everything.
Before you get going with your painting, you want to make sure that you give the surface a good cleaning. To start, grab a broom and sweep off any loose dirt or leaves from the garage door panels. You can use a hose to rinse down the door and then use your hands or a sponge to wash off any leftover dirt or grime. For particularly stubborn spots, use a mild cleaning solution and scrub them off with an abrasive brush or sponge. Once you’re done scrubbing, rinse the surface thoroughly and let dry completely before moving on.
Repair dents and dings, and take care of other damage.
Repair dents and dings, and take care of other damage. Use a rubber mallet or hammer to straighten out any large bends; you may need to back the panel with another piece of wood as you tap it into shape. Fill any holes left by nails or screws with a wood filler, then sand smooth and paint. To fill larger holes, use fiberglass cloth and epoxy.
Replace damaged or missing panels. Talk to your local home improvement store about the best way to remove the panels for replacement, then go about the repair process (you can find more info on repairing your garage door.
Replace any damaged or missing hardware—hinges, rollers, and so on—with new ones that match what’s already there as closely as possible.
Sand your garage door.
To begin, use some medium-grit sandpaper and a sanding block to lightly sand the door. Sand in the direction of the grain and not against it — meaning you’ll want to move from side to side, not up and down. Stop when you can feel that the paint is dull but not down to bare metal — don’t overdo it! Wipe everything off with a damp cloth after you’re done sanding so you can see how smooth your garage door is now looking.
Prime the door, if necessary.
To help ensure your paint job lasts, you should prime the door if it’s discolored or stained. You’ll want to apply a latex-based primer to give your finish coat of paint a smooth, professional appearance. One sign that your garage door needs priming is if you can see drip marks from previous coats of paint on the surface. If this is the case, you should scrape away any old paint first and then sand the entire surface until it’s smooth. After sanding and scraping, take a moment to wipe off any dust with a damp cloth before applying primer.
The next step will depend on whether or not your garage door has windows.
Apply the paint.
After you’ve sanded the door, clean it again with soapy water and a sponge. Allow the door to dry completely. It is essential that you do not skip this step; failure to clean away all traces of dust will result in an uneven paint job, as well as premature chipping.
After the door has dried completely, it’s time to apply the paint. Use a roller or brush to apply evenly over the entire surface of the door. Avoid using a paint sprayer unless you are highly used to its use; they tend to be messy and wasteful, resulting in uneven coverage and splotchy spots. Make sure you wear protective clothing when painting! Covering your hair and arms is especially important so that no stray drops land on your skin or scalp, which can lead to irritation or even poisoning in extreme cases. You may need more than one coat depending on how deep and saturated your desired color is. Make sure each coat is dry before applying another one!
Painting your garage door is something you can do on your own fairly easily.
You don’t need a professional to do it. You can paint your garage door by yourself fairly easily.
It’s a pretty quick process. It’ll probably only take you a day or two, depending on the size of your garage door and how much time you want to spend on it.
It’s an easy way to change the look of your house for not a lot of money. This can be good when you’re trying to sell your house because people often judge houses from the outside first, based on things like their lawns and their paint jobs. So why not make sure that your garage door is freshly painted?
You can use any kind of paint you want on your garage door. If you have leftover paint from another project, or if you have already bought paint for other things in and around your house, then feel free to use that same kind of paint for painting your garage door as well.