Tips for Painting your Garage Door

There is nothing more off putting than an ill-looked after garage door. Paint chips, scuffs, blemishes and stains can be enough to put anyone off entering your home.

A garage door forms part of your home’s appearance, with some even taking up as much as a third of your property’s exterior. So you need to be making sure you’re taking care of it by caring out some regular maintenance work. This includes re-painting your garage door when it starts to show signs of looking a little worse for wear.

A freshly painted garage door can go a long way to boost the kerbside appeal of your house (which is especially important if you’re looking to sell your property), and it doesn’t have to be a difficult or timely task either!

The team here at Garage Door Fitters are going to share with you our step by step guide of how to re-paint your garage door in a simple and easy way.

Clean the door

• Wash your garage door down thoroughly using a garden hose for convenience and ease.

• Scrub the door with Phosphate Trisodium. This will remove any dirt or grime and give you a clean canvas to work with.

• Rinse the door down and leave to dry.

Sanding down

• Regardless to the type of garage door you have, whether it’s metal or wood, it’s important to sand down the surface before applying any paint. If you miss this vital step, the fresh paint will not attach itself to the door properly.

• Work your way over the door by sanding each panel with medium grade sandpaper.

• Any rusted areas on a metal door will need heavy grade sandpaper.

• Remove any dust by vacuuming or wiping down.

• If you have accidentally removed the enamel from the door by sanding too vigorously you should use a primer as an undercoat, preferably a zinc primer, and then wait for at least 16 hours until fully dry.

Choosing the Paint

• For a metal door use a specialist metal paint.

• Try to avoid any oil based paints as these tend to show up any imperfections and blemishes on the door.

• Bear in mind that if you are re-painting with the same colour, you won’t need to buy as much paint as if you were changing the colour of your garage door.

• If you’re painting it a new colour, you may need to apply more layers to ensure the old colour is completely sealed, so will probably need to buy more paint.

Painting the door

• Place a large rag or dust cloth over the concrete that is beneath the garage door so any paint doesn’t drop into your driveway and stain it.

• Use a roller to roll the paint onto the garage door.

• Start from the top of the door and work your way downwards.

• Use a standard sized brush to trim around the edges of the door and then finish using a contour brush to smooth any drips and make any necessary touch ups.

• Allow the first coat to dry before applying a second using the same method.

• Remember not to use the garage door for a few days until the paint has thoroughly dried.

So, now you can stop neglecting your garage door and follow these simple steps to freshen up your garage and brighten up your home!

If you’re looking for a garage door company in Manchester, then please get in touch with Dimension Garage Doors today. Serving throughout North West regions of the UK for over 20 years, we can offer you a high level service, whether it’s installing a new door, repairs or maintenance work you’re in need of.