Painting Doors: DIY-tutorial and Professional Tips

Yes, you can paint real wood as well as plastic and metal doors, veneered or foiled doors and door frames.

If you want to paint with light colours, it is worth priming real wood doors with MissPompadour To Bond & Block to prevent the wood from bleeding. Oak, tropical wood or even softwoods can otherwise release tannins and discolour the fresh varnish. Stains and stains can also bleed through new colour.

You should use a stain block to give raw metal doors and frames corrosion protection so that nothing rusts. If you want to paint plastic doors, you can use MissPompadour To Bond & Block to ensure better adhesion of the paint. This white primer also makes it easier to apply an opaque coat of paint to light white tones.

If you have space and the possibility, then hang the doors out and store them on trestles to paint. If this is not possible, or the effort is too great, then simply paint them hanging. It is then a little more tedious to paint the side on the hinges.

If the old varnish on your doors does not peel off, you can simply apply a new layer of varnish. You should only remove layers of paint that are not durable. It is best to start with slightly coarser sandpaper (grit <100) and then sand with finer sandpaper (grit >200).

Yes, if the glass is very smooth, it is worth priming it with MissPompadour To Bond & Block.

If your door has silicone joints, for example in glass inserts, you can paint over them with MissPompadour To Seal Silicone and then simply varnish them.

Yes, you can simply paint over the seals. To prevent them from sticking to the painted door afterwards, you can rub them with baby powder after the varnish has dried for 4 hours. Or you can take the opportunity to simply replace your door rubbers with ones in a matching colour.

Yes, you can also paint door handles. It is important what material they are made of. In our guide, we explain how you can paint metals or finish plastic surfaces, for example. However, please note that door handles are subject to a lot of wear and tear.

It is best to pour the varnish into a small paint tray and work with a varnish roller for water-based varnishes. Then paint, or rather roll, the paint thinly and evenly onto the door leaf. The easiest way to paint the edges is with our To Paint - Fine MissPompadour Brush. Our brushes are also perfect for the corners and recesses of panelled doors.

For a normal door, approx. 90 cm wide, approx. 2 m high, without glass insert and with frame, we reckon with an area of approx. 5 square metres. If the door is painted, you will need about 0.5 litres of MissPompadour Eggshell Varnish for two coats of paint.

For light shades of white or large colour differences, two coats may not be enough. In this case, it is better to order a little more.

Basically, the procedure for a front door is very similar to that for an interior door. There are just a few little things to bear in mind. Take a look at our article on painting the front door!