Leave Door Refurbishing to the Pros

Why You Should Leave Door Refurbishing to the Pros

Your door takes a lot of abuse. Thousands of handprints have deposited dirt, grime, and oil. The door has been slammed shut, kicked shut, banged into, even scratched by pets wanting in (or out). How many times have you tried to move an oversized item into the home and crashed into the door? And then there’s Northern Virginia’s weather, complete with UV rays, humidity, high heat, and freezing cold. Your front door leads a tough life.

There will come a time when you either want to change the color of your front door or the entrance to your castle looks like it has warded off invading barbarians. When that time comes, you’ll want to call professional residential painting contractors like those at Reston-based All American Painting Plus.

Refurbishing an exterior door offers too many opportunities to mess up to be seriously considered for a DIY project. We’ll list some of the more obvious ones to demonstrate why you want the professional painting contractors at All American Painting Plus to tackle the task.

How a Professional Painting Service Refurbishes an Exterior Door

Something to consider when refurbishing a door is the weather. That front door is coming off its hinges and isn’t going back up until the paint has dried. As you will see in the steps below, the process can take a while. You want to do this on a nice warm and dry day.

Just like most painting projects, preparation of the surface is the most time consuming and important part of ensuring the desired results. It’s also the step that takes the most skill and experience.

So here we go. This is how a professional painter brings a front door back to life:

• Remove the door from the hinges and remove all the hardware from the door. Place the door flat between two sawhorses. This makes it easier to prepare the surface and also prevents drip lines.
• Preparation of the door will depend on what the door is constructed of. As a general rule, the first step is to clean the surface to get rid of the dirt and grime that prevents new paint from adhering. If the door is in good general shape, then a sanding will be done. But if the door needs “refurbishing,” the next step will be stripping.
• If the door was installed in 1979 or earlier, it will have to be tested for lead paint. Assuming the door is lead-free, the painter will use a stainless steel scraper, sandpaper, or a chemical stripper to remove the old paint.
• Once the old paint is gone, defects in the door’s surface become more obvious. Dents, punctures, and cracks are treated with a filler.
• When all the holes are treated and the filler is set, it’s time to prime the door. A coat of primer (use a grey tone unless you are applying white as your final color) will help the paint adhere to the surface.
• When the primer is dry, the first coat of final paint can be applied. A second coat is usually required. A light sanding between coats will ensure the smoothest finish possible.
• Obviously, you want the door rehung as soon as possible. But even if a paint feels dry, it’s possible that it may stick to the jam. Painter’s tape applied to the jam will ensure that the door will not stick and transfer paint to the jam.

Every home painting project comes with its own set of challenges. Pro painters know how to deal with those challenges, and at the end of the day, their expertise will deliver a finished product faster and more effectively than the typical Northern Virginia homeowner.

If your front door is in need of a makeover, give us a call at All American Painting Plus now. We are confident that we can provide a painting estimate that will surprise you with its affordability. Call today.