Tips for Painting Interior Doors
Over time interior doors can take a beating and can start to look scuffed and dirty. Simply adding a fresh coat of paint to your interior doors can spruce them up and make them look like new again. Painting your interior doors is an easy project that you can do in a weekend.
Here are some tips on how to make painting your interior doors fast and easy that will give you great results that you can be proud of.
The first thing you will want to do is to remove all of the hardware from your door including the doorknob and any other accessories mounted on the door. Use a screwdriver to remove the door from the hinges and take it down and out of the door frame.
It is helpful to put all of the hardware and the screws from the hinges in a safe place like a bag or a box so that you don’t lose them during the course of the time the door is down for painting.
Next you’ll need to find a place where you have enough room to paint the door. To make painting it easier on your back it is helpful to set the door across two sawhorses to raise it to a more comfortable height. However, if you don’t have saw horses you can just spread old newspaper on the ground and lay the door on that for painting.
Next take a fine grit sandpaper and gently sand out any scuff marks or imperfections in the surface of the door. When you are done sanding take a damp wash cloth and wipe down the door removing any grime, dirt or sanding residue. Allow the door to dry and in the meantime gather together your painting supplies.
Because doors get a lot of use and are often touched they can get dirty easily so you should choose an interior semi-gloss latex paint for painting the door. This will help make cleanup easier and keep the door washable.
Choose a paint color that matches your decor and that you think would look nice with both rooms that the door is visible from. You will also need to purchase primer to prime the door before painting and a good paintbrush.
Begin by priming the door with your primer. Allow the primer to dry overnight and then paint the door with your latex paint. It is helpful to begin by painting the edges of your door first. Then, move on to the top of the door and begin working your way down, following the grain of the wood in the door and using overlapping strokes.
It is better to apply two light coats of paint than one thick coat since if you use too much paint it can pool on the door while it is laying flat. Once you have finished painting the first side of the door allow it to dry thoroughly.
When the first side of the door is dry, flip it over and repeat the process on the opposite side using the same technique. Again, allow the paint to thoroughly dry. Once everything is dry you can re-attach the door to the hinges and hang it back in the door frame.
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