How to paint a french door.
What kind of paint to use on french doors.
The great news is that french doors have very little actual surface area that needs to be painted so this is really a quick instant gratification kind of project.
Paint a section at a time.
Painting the french door.
One challenge that i noticed is that because french doors have so many difference angles and you re moving your brush in so many different directions.
Some interior doors are heavy and challenging to remove but you can use this method to paint a panel door that remains on its hinges.
To determine what kind of paint was previously used on the door pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a clean white rag or cotton ball.
Then rub the damp rag back and forth on a small less exposed section of the door.
Once dry repeat the process on the other sides of the doors.
One of the best ways to sustain a coherent decorative scheme in a room with a large feature like french doors is to use a single trim paint color for all woodwork including for windows and doors.
If you see paint on the rag the last paint used was water based.
For a door made of pine white fir or another wood species that doesn t bleed i e gives off tinted compounds in wood called tannins go with a water based exterior paint such as behr.
That said i didn t use primer on this particular door.
If you don t see any paint on the rag it was oil based.
If your door is paneled start with the panels.
If your french doors need a fresh coat of paint you don t need to break out a detail brush for the job.
Wait for the paint to dry and then apply a second coat.
It sticks to pretty much everything and any paint will stick to it.
Step 7 apply sealant.
You ll never go wrong starting with a primer.
An advantage of painting attached doors is that you don t have to wait for one side to dry before painting the other.
With the careful use of painter s tape and newspaper you can quickly give your door a.
The best way to paint french doors especially if they have old glossy paint on them is to start with a coat of zinsser bin shellac based primer.