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Why didn`t I think of this before…

BryanSayer | Posted in General Discussion on June 1, 2007 06:25am

Three new metal doors, custom sized, in the back yard. Two on the house and one on the carriage house. Could not find anyone who would install AND paint the doors. Got them installed (Lowes actually). Started planning how I could board up the openings, take the doors down, sand, prime, sand, paint, etc. I figured at least a week.

Then I thought – metal door, like a car. So I emailed a couple of local body shops, and viola! $160 per door, painted with auto paint and baked. Drop off in the morning and pick up at the end of the day. One day door painting and the door goes back up the same day. And a much better paint job than I could do.

Gee, I only lived with the plain doors for a year and a half or so.

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  1. User avater
    JDRHI | Jun 01, 2007 06:30am | #1

    Waxin' 'em is gonna be a bear! LOL.

    Not a bad idea dude. I'll file that one should I need it down the line.

    J. D. Reynolds
    Home Improvements

     

     


  2. RW | Jun 01, 2007 06:53am | #2

    Ya know, thats a tad higher than you'd pay around here for a door painting, but I bet ya a nickle thats a nice smooth finish and a durable one. I think I might tuck that away for a rainy day too. Someday someones gonna want just that.

    And just think. You can use autoair colors and chameleon the thing. How cool would that be?

    Real trucks dont have sparkplugs

  3. FrankDuVal | Jun 01, 2007 07:15am | #3

    Auto paint works great on metal doors. I did my front door in gloss black PPG Deltron acrylic urethane with a brass kick plate. VERY shinny and gets a lot of compliments.

    I did the front porch iron railings I built with Deltron also, over PPG epoxy (DP-90)primer.

    Gloss black looks good on a brick house. Might be a colonial thing.

    I have also used lacquer and urethane auto paint on wood furniture.

    And once I had an interior decorator bring me the new cabinets for a bathroom to be painted pink in automotive urethane.

    And the weirdest object I ever painted was a pair of wooden toilet seats. They were a sway back design from the 30's that the owner could not find new replacements for. The wood was in good shape, so I stripped them and used urethane white auto paint. GM code 10 probably....

    Frank DuVal

    1. alwaysoverbudget | Jun 02, 2007 06:25am | #15

      a guy here in town does custom art work on toliet lids,freehand pinstriping etc. sells the heck out of them.

       americans just have way to much disposable income!!!! larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.

  4. User avater
    zak | Jun 01, 2007 10:15am | #4

    How much for flames?

    zak

    "When we build, let us think that we build forever.  Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin

    "so it goes"

     

    1. User avater
      Heck | Jun 01, 2007 10:53am | #5

      Like these?

      View Image 

       

      1. User avater
        zak | Jun 01, 2007 06:45pm | #10

        Exactly.

        Don't you think that would just give a house that "custom" look?zak

        "When we build, let us think that we build forever.  Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin

        "so it goes"

         

    2. BryanSayer | Jun 01, 2007 06:23pm | #9

      One can of charcoal starter - $2.99
      One match - freeWatching the evil neighbor's house go up in flames - priceless!

  5. DougU | Jun 01, 2007 01:59pm | #6

    There is a trac builder around here that has their doors painted that way - get one nick in one of em though and back to the paint shop you go,  cant touch them up very well.

    Doug

  6. Stuart | Jun 01, 2007 06:08pm | #7

    A guy I went to high school with runs a body shop in our home town, and he's built up a pretty fair side business spraying exterior and interior trim for houses.  It seems like a pretty good idea to me.

    1. BryanSayer | Jun 01, 2007 06:21pm | #8

      I'm even wondering about fiberglass now. We are going to re-do the front porch columns and railings, and I want to go with a structural fiberglass system. Unpainted, it would be raw white (which the house originally was). But maybe pre-painting with an auto paint for fiberglass bodies.Do you know if your buddy has done fiberglass? If so, what type of paint does he recommend?

      1. Stuart | Jun 01, 2007 08:20pm | #11

        "Do you know if your buddy has done fiberglass? If so, what type of paint does he recommend?"

        That I don't know, but I imagine it would be straightforward to paint those columns with regular automotive paint (after all, there are a lot of Corvettes running around out there with fiberglas bodies.)  I don't think there's anything special required to paint fiberglas. 

        On the other hand, I suppose the columns have a gelcoat finish that should be pretty durable as well - most fiberglas boats have just gelcoat and they hold up pretty well with nothing more than occasional cleaning and waxing.

      2. Quickstep | Jun 02, 2007 05:27am | #14

        On fiberglass boats, Awlgrip or Imron are used. They're very durable and retain their color well.

        1. donpapenburg | Jun 02, 2007 06:36am | #16

          Don't know about awlgrip but Imron can't be used below the waterline.

  7. florida | Jun 02, 2007 12:14am | #12

    I had about 25 metal doors powder coated for an industrial building a few years back. Fantastic finish and super durable.

  8. reinvent | Jun 02, 2007 01:37am | #13

    Did you get a metal fleck or sand pearl finish?

    1. BryanSayer | Jun 03, 2007 05:54am | #17

      Nothing special finish wise. We had picked a color we wanted, and took the sample in for them to match. So I think it is your basic finish, just like a black car or white truck.

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