Don't Remove It! Paint Your Front Door (Beginners Guide) 

You are most welcome good sir 🫡

Hahaha, yeah that’s my brother. We’re going to be doing more of these types of videos. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching! I think we'll be doing more tutorials like this with my brother and I being idiots. 😁

Thanks for noticing the music! Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats are one of my favorite bands and I was pumped that we can use their music in our videos. Thanks for watching and for the kind words good sir 🤙

Hahaha, at least you’re getting some practice!

It turned out well! Thanks for watching!

You are welcome! Thanks for watching 😁

Thanks for watching!

@@SuperVassarBrothers Curious why you did not roll this door with a 3 or 4 inch roller?

Hahaha! Thanks for watching!

I’m glad you enjoy the banter between my brother and I 😄. Dry time depends on the conditions in the room. Usually 2 hours is plenty between coats. If it’s dry to the touch then you’re good to go.

I start with trying to scrape the paint off with my fingernail. If that doesn’t work I will carefully use a razor blade (emphasis on carefully). If it’s still not coming off then you can use Goof Off or a similar product to break it down then go back to you using your fingernail and a rag to remove it.

@@SuperVassarBrothers I recomend removing the lockset before painting to prevent this.. lol

2 1/2 inch Corona Cortez. My current favorite brush for trim and doors is the Corona Vegas in a 2 1/2 inch. It's excellent and you can usually find them at a Benjamin Moore retailer.

I’d suggest using Benjamin Moore Moorglo Soft-Gloss paint in whatever color you prefer. Paint it using the same technique I used in this video and you should be good to go. You will likely have to do between 2-3 coats. Happy painting!

Sanding is a good idea. I’d go with 100 or 150 grit to get those bristles out and smooth things out. Good luck!

@@SuperVassarBrothers ​ serious girl here)) i went in with a knife. it worked out. i used the cheapo brushes though and they sometimes also leave bristles, so one has to watch carefully and remove them immediately. seeing how quick that paint dries, there is no way to even reusing the same brush for 2 coats. bummer...

Thank you kind sir 🤙

I would sand it but you probably don't need to prime it going from red to blue. My favorite front door paint is Benjamin Moore Moorglo Soft-Gloss. It generally does pretty well with color shifts. You'll likely be doing 2-3 coats.

Got it, thanks and I am a fan with your videos.

@@SuperVassarBrothers How long should I wait between the first coat using the BM Soft Gloss MoorGlo W096 2x? This is what the wife bought. Thanks. Doing this project after work today.

I'll give you my best take without seeing your door. You definitely want to remove all of the loose paint. You don't have to get all of the old paint off, but you should scrape off the peeling stuff with a spackle blade or some other type of scraper. Then sand the door down with 150 grit or 100 grit sandpaper. Try and get it as smooth as you can. Depending on what the door is made of you may need to prime it first. Then you can go over it with your finish paint. My current favorite front door paint is Moorglo Soft-Gloss from Benjamin Moore. I hope this was helpful. Good luck with your door!

@@SuperVassarBrothers thanks so much for this my man, you are a great help here! Making my life so much easier! The door is made of wood, would I still need to prime it?

For sure you can repair it while it’s on the hinges. We do it all the time. MH Ready patch also works pretty well.

@@SuperVassarBrothers thanks so much!! You should come to Brooklyn and do my door for your channel. 🥹 🤪 I need to sand and paint the frame as well.

We usually do 2 coats of finish paint. Sometimes we do 3 if it’s needed.

Pull the weatherstripping. Paint the door (however many coats it takes). Wait 24 hours before putting the weatherstripping back. You’ll still be able to close and lock the door without the weather stripping.

That was a brand new factory primed door. I believe we did wipe it down prior to painting but that may have been cut from the edit. You are correct though. I generally sand doors down with 150 or 220 then have at it.

Ugh, that is an unpleasant process. If you’re painting it then you just need to get it good enough so that your new product looks good and adheres properly. If you’re staining it, then best of luck 😬

@@SuperVassarBrothers Thanks! i'm close to finishing the prep a little more scrape and sanding should do it. i purchased the best primer i could find and ready to apply. I am painting the door black.

Excellent question. If the door swings into a room (very common in a bedroom) then you would paint the front face of the door and the heel (hinge side). Then you’d paint the interior face of the door and the toe (latch side) the other color.

A timely question good sir. The next video that I’m releasing has to do with different finishes on doors. We’re mostly a brush and roller crew so that’s what we’re the fastest at. A lot of times (at least for us) it’s fast to brush or roll a door vs. using a sprayer and doing all of the necessary prep out

Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel works well for that application. You can use it on both sides and it should hold up well.

Thank you for the quick reply! Your video is very helpful!

You’re probably going to want to prime that front door with an exterior oil primer before you paint it. Once it’s primed I’d go with Moorglo Soft-Gloss from Benjamin Moore. That’s my current favorite front door paint.

@@SuperVassarBrothers Thanks, but what about if you just want to re stain? Should I sand and scuff it first? And is a roller or brush better?

Most door knobs / handles are metal. I wouldn’t recommend painting them. I’d replace them or try and clean them.

I’d recommend using Benjamin Moore’s Moorglo Soft-Gloss for your front door. That’s my favorite paint for front doors and it holds up really well in direct sunlight.

Hmmm, it could be an adhesion issue with the paint. Also, if your front door gets nailed with direct sunlight and gets super hot then the heat may have bubbled the paint where it didn’t have a good bond with the surface. That’s my best guess without seeing it. The way to fix it (again this is me saying this without seeing it) would be to sand off the bubbled areas and then use a filler like HM Ready Patch or any exterior spackle / filler, let that dry, sand it smooth then paint the door again. My preferred exterior paint is Benjamin Moore Regal Select Exterior Soft-Gloss. It has good UV protection and holds up well in direct sunlight, at least in my experience. I hope that helps. Good luck with your door!

Good luck! I hope it turns out well!

@SuperVassarBrothers thanks bunches! it will turn out ok I suppose, but not as good as a pro.

I’m prepping to do mine - double doors, stained, chipping, set in glass details. It’s gonna be a job! 😂

@@sarahrasmussen1369 Good luck with that. What color?

Roughly 2 hours between coats depending on drying conditions. I can do each coat in under 15 minutes on front doors. Often under 10 minutes.

My current favorite trim brush is the 2 1/2 inch Corona Vegas. For walls I like a 2 1/2 inch Corona Cortez. You can get them at most Benjamin Moore retailers.

It’s doesn’t really matter as long as they’ve been primed from the factory. Whether you spray or brush it is a personal preference and also impacted but what you feel confident using.

Yes. If you are painting the exterior of a doorframe then you would paint all of it. The main thing with that is to remove the rubber coping / weather stripping then paint the frame / door. Leave the stripping out for at least 24 hours to give the paint time to cure. That’s usually what front doors will stick to, not the frame itself.

Thank you so much!!

I’d recommend sanding down the door with 150 grit sandpaper then going over it with Benjamin Moore’s Moorglo Softgloss. That’s my favorite paint for shutters and front doors. It holds up well in direct sunlight.

Our current go-to trim paint is Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel

I believe we scuff sanded it prior to filming. There’s no need to prime it since it was previously painted with latex

I used Emerald Urethane trim enamel on this door which is a hybrid. The other paint that I use a lot of front doors is Moorglo Soft Gloss from Benjamin Moore. When I paint front door I remove the weather stripping and shut the door overnight. Then I reinstall the weather striping the next day. That way the paint won’t marry into it and pull off. It works for the products we use.

@@SuperVassarBrothers Thanks I'll try your method..

The corona Cortez is my favorite brush for pretty much everything 3 Reasons Why This is My Favorite Paint Brush Ever ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-H1w7lZlkS1U.html

If you use a brush, then there will be visible brush strokes. You just want to try and minimize it. I use a corona cortex. It’s an excellent brush 🫡

Fiberglass

Well, if you leave the door hung then that’s going to be tricky. I’m not saying that it wouldn’t be beneficial, but we don’t paint the bottom and I don’t know of many crews that do.

You can if you like that finish. For this particulars door (and most front doors) I prefer a hand brushed finish. We’ve got other flat panel door videos where I use a mini roller.

@@SuperVassarBrothers WOW. Thank you for the fasted response.

Semi-gloss

@@SuperVassarBrothers Thank you for the quick response! I’m going to try this method tomorrow on my door!

Yes we paint the door jam area. This video was just about the door itself, not the door frame.

The client preferred a brushed finished which is common for front doors. Emerald Urethane levels out quite nicely. I do use rollers for flat panel doors that don’t have a grain pattern to them and aren’t front doors.

I was just trying to give pointers to speed up your slow process and give a better finish. No one wants brush marks anywhere buddy I’ve been painting for ten years. Actually I could do that whole door with just a roller no brush at all

That works too

Vertical strokes…very carefully

I was being a bit nit-picky with the 3rd coat, but it didn’t take long. 3 coats is common with new factory primed doors.

@@SuperVassarBrothers where's your company based out of

Removing the hardware is not the issue. Getting it back on without marring the finish can be a point of friction. We had to be able to shut the door and lock it for the client at the end of the day, so that’s how we do it. If you’re painting your own door then you can have at it

I have a burgundy door and I want to paint it blue. Do I need to prime it first? I think the door is like yours…fiberglass.

@@djmelotte8220 you asking me

Quite an astute observation Daniel 🤫. I also prefer a brushed finish on most front doors. If you’re concerned about that orange peel effect then make sure you sand it down with 150 or 100 grit sandpaper before you try brushing it. Otherwise that texture will show through your brushed finish.

😁

Interesting. Emerald Urethane is still our go-to trim paint. It pairs nicely with a Corona Vegas brush, but it’s not for everyone 🤷‍♂️

Emerald can be tricky. It flattens very well but doesn’t like to be retouched after the surface has been covered. It also looks the best when you paint as thick of a coat as possible on the surface, but not too thick and the paint begins to run. It also has a big delay time before it starts to run if it’s going to. Until you get used to it…paint a small area before moving on to the next and always go back 5 mins-10 mins-20 mins after that area was painted and check for runs. If they are very fresh and still wet, take a soft brush and feather the drip and it will settle again. In most cases, even if the paint appears wet to the touch, let it dry with the drip and you can easily sand it off after it dries and touch it back up. This paint loves to be applied, left alone and not re-rolled/brushed again until dry. Lay it on thick and it will flatten out smooth as butter. Don’t use small 1/4” and fine nap rollers. They don’t apply enough paint to most surfaces to give it enough time to flatten out before it dries. A good 3/8-1/2” microfiber lays it on thick and the results are amazing.

I believe I explained this in the video, but that was a new door with a new lock set. The homeowner won’t be changing it since she picked it out in the first place so that is not a concern. I’d challenge your time estimate on how long it would take to remove the lock set. Maybe your a lock smith and you can do it quickly with no risk of possibly scratching the new hardware, but those lock sets can be a big pain in the balls to get it back together. On this particular door it we decided to keep the lock set on. Sometimes we do remove them, but like I mentioned we had to shut the door and lock it at the end of the day. Of course we remove switch plate covers. Like I said in the video, if it’s your door or your job then you can do whatever you like. This is how we do it and it turned out great and the client was happy. Thank you for leaving this comment and confirming my prophetic joke.

@@SuperVassarBrothers That's what I'm here for, fulfilling prophecies and helping the YT algorithm. But honestly, 3 screws remove the handle and 2 remove the lock. 4 more remove the latches. A screw gun literarily takes less then 2 min to remove all. Not a locksmith, and have never scratched a lock set before. If u have the patience and care to cut in the lockset, I'm sure you qualify for removing one safely. Also, don't see why you cant reinstall it after painting.

We have a similar (but older set) and we had to remove and replace something because it wasn’t working correctly. It took HOURS to get it put back together and fully functioning in the door (this didn’t include the broken part, just getting it set right in the door and making sure everything was reconnected). It was a nightmare!

indeed I am

Emerald urethane dries reasonably quickly depending on the conditions of the room. You can usually record within 2 hours or so