Painting a front door General decorating topics, questions and answers. find help, tips and advice on completing your decorating projects

[rnatherton]

Hi - first-time poster - we've moved into a new house and I want to paint our front door. At the moment it looks like it's just had a varnish put on it but no paint. There's no glass. Can you tell me what process I need to go through, do I need to put a sealant on, then undercoat then paint the door? Do I need a special kind of paint? All help gratefully received.

[thedoctor]

Sand the door down with fine sandpaper and then wipe over with a rag dipped in white spirit to degrease the door. Then apply 2 coats of wood primer, a coat of wood undercoat, sanding lightly in between coats. Then you will be ready to paint with whichever top coat you require.

[seamus13]

If the door has already been painted, does anything need to go on before the new paint?