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The other front door thread made me think of this. My house was a foreclosure we bought in 2011 really cheap. I've painted the front, and back, and done touchup on anything needed for a house that is only 10 years old. My front door looks bad, and I've got the Kelly Moore touchup color left from when the home was new, and had recently resigned myself to just brushing this door rather than dirty an airless. The other thread brought up using automotive paint and I had an epiphany.
I've got a pint of PPG CLV Delta White and DU5 hardener? My question is simple. Fiberglass door, should I prime with left over K38, or just shoot the CLV directly over a cleaned door? Not using the K38 will save 6+ hours, but will promote better adhesion?
Any opinions are appreciated, and kudo's to the guy who suggested automotive paint in the other thread!
I suggested the automotive paint, but would only recommend that someone experienced in using it do the job. When we sell a door and the customer wants it prefinished, we have 2 options - prefinished from the supplier or send it to the local finisher to have it done. My preference is the local guy. He just seems to take more care in doing a good job. He has a shop with all the necessary vents and filters and has a lot of experience. Add to that the benefits that he will do color matches AND is generally less expensive than the suppliers finishing option and it's a no-brainer.
If you are going to do it yourself, I recommend not skipping any steps, or you might as well just get out the can and brush and plan on doing it every couple of years.
I haven't had any trouble with some of the PPG 9-500 series latex paints with both fiberglass and steel outer doors. If the door is already primed, what I would to is to "block it" (sand it with a sanding rubber pad). I would put two drops of a liquid dish soap that has no oil, lotion and stuff like that in a bucket with three gallons of clean warm water. Then I would wet-sand the door with 1200 to 2200-grit automobile bodywork sand paper (wet/dry sandpaper sleeve).
The soap aids with the removal of grime oils from people's hands left on the doors. After that I wipe the doors clean with some clean and lint-free rags. Then I paint. Some people brush it on, but I prefer to roll the paint with a finger roller and a sleeve that's not thicker than 1/4". Before rolling, I cut the areas of the door I can't get the roller to, but I always roll so that the edge of the roller is right next to the edge I can't roll (right next to it without touching it). Otherwise the cut areas will have a "brush texture" that's different from the roller's.
The only time I had had problems is with oil paints that peel off with time in rough weather. While it gets quite warm (80s and higher) )in the interior of Alaska during the summer, it's quite cold during the winter (anywhere from -20 to -60).
I took the dive this morning and pulled my front door off, and plugged the opening with osb. I washed it with trisodium phosphate and will let it dry until the am. In the morning I'll mix up the PPG CLV single stage urethane with DU 5 catalyst. I figure if it fisheyes I'll just go get another door, but the automotive topcoat ought to be an awesome finish.
I went ahead and painted it yesterday, and it turned out great. I hadn't sprayed automotive material in a few years, but it was like riding a bike. I butted it, swung it, and installed the hardware this morning. I no longer look like a hillbilly with osb for a front door. Should give me years of service and an easy to clean surface. Not to mention being free!
You have done a great job and you have used the nice color for your door. Have you used any shinning chemical over it?
It is shiny enough without a clear coat over the top. I still have about a half gallon of clear, but I'm saving that for other things.
Here's a pic of it installed and is very close to the original color, but without the marks from the lockbox when it was a foreclosure. I'm sure my wife will be happy when she gets home from California today. The door hardware was new when I bought the house, and was the first thing I did was change the locks. I must admit I was somewhat surprised the urethane laid down so nicely over the latex. Now I'm unstoppable.
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