I live in an area that gets down to 5 below zero in the winter, and near 100 degrees in the summer. The shop/apartment I’m building has three exterior doors, one facing East, one West, and one South. The East-facing door will be fire engine red, the others will be forest green. What is the best paint to use? I’m concerned about how long it will take to really harden (don’t want it sticking to the weatherstripping), longevity, potential to fade, ease of recoating, etc. Biggest concern is hardening time since it’s cold here already and I don’t have a good place to set it to dry. Oh, all the doors are fiberglass clad wood.
Thanks, Mark
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Well then I would suggest a red paint for the east door and green for the others.
;)
OK, Seriously then -
Lately I have been very impressed with SW Duration paints. High quality and dries fairly fast
When we paint exterior doors in winter, we paint the face with it standing open on hinges, and a plywood or plastic over the opening outside if there is no storm door. That way the surface can be exposed to the heat overnight to cure up.
Red is a hard colour to get finished right and get coverage. There is little pigment in a bright red paint. Some painters will use a black or dark grey primer first, then they can get a good finish red in 2-3 coats where otherwise, it can take up to seven coats of red to get it looking right
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Some more serious thoughts -
FG door suggests maybe a Thermatru door?
I think that what ever manufacturer this is from probably has some printed recommendations for which paints adhere best to their FG skin. I would start with that as a short list to pick from.
your screen name and the temperature variation makes me think you are in the southwest where solar gains are likely to be high. That means that without shade or other protection from the sun, there are two more concerns. One is that the dark colours will warm the exterior surfaces and possibly contribute to door warping from thermal expansion. The other is that the high temp changes will challenge the bond to the FG surface, so you will want to lightly sand the skin before painting to increase the mechanical bonding.
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Mark,
I would use Duration from Sherwin Williams or Accolade from Pratt and Lambert. We have had excellent experience with both especially during the latter part of the painting season.
The key is to use the best quality 100 % acrylic paint.
As far as preventing the wet doors from sticking there are two different techniques to try. The first is one we use on commercial jobs, take a hair dryer and dry down the edge before closing the door. It works well on metal doors with few contact points but not super for perimeter weather stripping.
The best method is to use painters tape over the weather striping on the door frame. It properties on the adhesive side are the same on the opposite side. It will take a week before those edges dry if they are against the jam but it will allow the doors to stay in service.
Good luck,
Jon
Russian saying
"Temperature" is an iffy concept. I've used ordinary paints, and had them cure quite well, in freezing temperatures. In those cases, however, the painted surface was also in the sunshine; direct sun exposure can raise that surface temperature, and the UV rays seem to accelerate the curing process.
Taking the doors off, and letting them dry with the paint facing up, really helps smooth out the finish. Wear gloves when you handle the 'dry' doors .... only the surface is dry, and it will be easy for your hands to leave marks. It can take two weeks for the paint to completely cure.
As usual, preparation is key. I'd talk to the door maker as to sanding, primer, and paint type. Don't be surprised if an expensive automotive-type paint is the first choice. (Lucky for you that both red and green are standard Corvette colors :D)
Fading? Off the top, your colors are not ones that tend to fade very much. The greatest troubles seem to be with the blue and purple shades. Heck- look at ant Chinese or Mexican restaurant. They cover their places with the cheapest red and green paint they can find ... and it seems to hold up fine.
Wow, good replies from you all, as usual. I'll call the door manufacturer tomorrow and see what they recommend as far as surface prep and types of paint goes, and I'll check out the paints recommended. Thanks a ton. I'm not a contractor or tradesman, although I was a cement finisher in a past life and have done electrical, plumbing, etc. like most guys, on my own stuff. I've lived around family members all my life who have built their own houses, and I'm finally doing it myself. And I mean all by myself, except for the help of two retired friends. Been an experience so far, no problems except for all the little details that you all learned long ago. The plumbers know their little tricks, same with electricians, framers, roofers, finish carps, door and window installers. You all know the tricks of your trades. I'm having to learn them all at once. It's a HUGE task, since I don't just "make it work". I want it right, the first time. I've got nearly all the Taunton Press "By Pros for Pros" books, and lots of others, but some things I just can't find without consulting the pros. Thanks for being there. FYI, progress to date can be found at panasci.blogspot.com. Thanks again, Mark
Just painted a couple of metal doors, and to keep fingerprints and blocking issues away, I ripped two pieces of scrap 1/4" ply 6" X 34" and screwed them to the bottom and top of the door through their centerline. Lay two 8' 2X4's across some horses and put the door on them. The ply keeps a tacky door from lying on the painted face. You can use the lockset holes to pick the piece up and turn it.
For painting a door laying flat where it is easier, I use 3" screws and run them halfway into top and bottom of door, two each. Then I can arrange the horses so that just the screws are resting on them, I can flip the door to get both sides, and with a helper, can even stand them back against a wall or rack them horizonatlly with 2x4 shimsat the screws. That also lets me paint top and bottom, which way too many people miss.
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As a variation of Piffin's 3" screw method, use 2 screws on one end of the door and one screw on the other. That way, you can turn the door over yourself without a helper. Also, you should drill pilot holes for those screws to avoid possible splitting the rail."She wrote a long letter, on a short piece of paper." Traveling Wilburys
Good point. I think the primer usually is enough on the top and bottom. On exterior doors the sweep is there also. I did the screw thing for awhile until I had to paint some really heavy institutional doors and the screws bent. The ply allows you to lean them against walls too. The 8' 2 bys give you some room for mistakes when you flip it.
I can see that with heavy ones
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I just had 3 exterior doors done.
Took them down and sent them to an autobody place. Painted and cured between the morning and the afternoon. I didn't even have to board up the opening.
Mine are metal, but they do fiberglass too.
Just make sure to take a SINGLE paint sample to them to match. Two of my doors got the wrong shade of brown.
If you opt to paint these doors in place you can take the weather striping off, leave it off until the door is good and dry that way your door wont be up against anything while it dries. You might have to shim to keep it from bumping around but thats about it.
Doug