HOW TO PAINT A GARAGE DOOR

As with any project surprises seem to appear! And this year’s outdoor project has been no different. The big one by far was our garage door. It just completely stopped working! This was not part of our plan, budget or schedule for the year but one we absolutely had to address. We of course started with trying to fix the garage door through a professional service company. We came to find out we had a ridiculously old door with a side spring setup, which made the door extremely dangerous. Because this problem wasn’t part of our project, plan or budget we needed to think quickly on how we were going to solve the problem.

So for us the most budget friendly solution was to buy our own door, paint it the color we wanted and install the door ourselves. Of these 3 things we’ve done one before this project. My guess is if you’re still reading you’ve already figured it out. The one project we’ve done now 3 times is paint our garage door. So naturally we want to share with all of you just how we did it!

We’ve actually done with two different ways. The first two times we painted the door when it was already standing and this last time we painted prior to install. Let’s break it down with what you need to paint your own garage door and steps you need to take to paint the garage door.

But first, let’s talk about paint. Due to material type and climate it is essential that the proper paint is used on this type of project. For us, that meant a paint type that was good for all climates. We chose Sherwin Williams Duration Exterior paint to allow buckling and warping of the metal garage door. When you choose a dark color, such as black, with a non-insulated door you risk having a garage that gets REALLY hot when it is warm outside. Given that our garage is detached and serves as half workshop, half storage for outdoor toys, we were comfortable with that color choice. We recommend you visit your local Sherwin Williams and speak with a specialist to help make the right choice for your home.

Supplies you will need:

Garage door panels
Saw horses
Paint Sprayer
Long Sprayer Hose
Blue Painter’s Tape
Drop Cloths
Paint Gloves
Paint

Step by step guide to paint your garage door:

First, decide where you’re going to paint and prepare your area. Being OCD, I like to clean the area well and lay drop cloths. For this particular project, and due to the length of the doors, I had to paint them in our yard (so no cloths needed).
Setup your saw horses and place single door panels on top allowing a solid 2ft for the panels to extend off at each end. This spacing will avoid bends in the door while giving you ample space to move and work around the panels.
Open and stir your paint. I like to do 50 stirs clockwise and another 50 stirs counter clockwise.
Time to setup that paint sprayer. Be sure to follow the directions on your specific sprayer – they’re all different. With our airless, we plug in, place the internal hose into the paint bucket and turn on to spray. For the first minute or so I’m spraying out water that is stored in the gun and hose from the prior cleaning – I typically spray in a cardboard box that can be recycled later. Once solid color paint comes out you’re ready to go to work!
From one side to the next, pull the paint gun trigger and make even passes from side to side, finishing one section at a time. I try to keep the gun 6 – 12 inches away from the surface to ensure an even surface.
Once the face of the panel is painted, go low and get the top and bottom of the door. You wont see these while the door is closed but when it is opening you will – be sure to pay attention in these spaces.
Allow 2 hours to dry before moving and starting with the next panel. I suggest allowing at least 24 – 48 hours to fully dry and cure prior to install…weather permitting, of course!

Additionally, we felt it was important to share the steps on how to paint an existing (installed) garage door, because we’ve done that too. So here it goes:

Prepare your surroundings. Whether you choose to brush and roll, use a paint sprayer, or a combination of all it is essential that you lay drop cloths and tape areas susceptible to overspray or smears.
If brushing, we recommend that you begin brushing the first coat on any areas that are below surface (the cubes, so to speak). If spraying, skip this step.
Next, raise the garage door up leaving only the bottom panel and bottom of the second panel exposed. If brushing and rolling, brush the inner parts of the panels (the sections that show only when door is open/opening) and begin rolling the outside of the bottom panel. If spraying, just spray in lieu of brushing or rolling.
Allow a solid hour or two before moving on to the next panel. Repeat for the remaining panels until the entire door has been painted.
If a second coat needs to be applied, simply repeat steps.

We hope you found this how-to useful! Please leave us comments to let us know!

Enjoy –

Danielle and Michael

Thank you Sherwin Williams for sponsoring this post.