I purchased metal spray paint for my front door. Besides cleaning, does it need to be primed? I have a interior waterbased primer sitting around, would that work? Or can I basically just clean the door, sand it and apply the spray without priming it? The current color is beige and Im spraying a hammered black. Thanks in advance.
I would not recommend using spray paint on an exterior door. The quality of most spray paint is not up to the job. and when it wears around the handles, it will be difficult to repair. I use automotive sealers tinted to the color I need when, I paint an exterior door. It is not cheap but, its practically bullet proof. That being said, if you cannot be convinced not to do this, I would remove the door, remove the handle, and put it on something solid. If it is not real hot do it out in the sun. Clean the door throughly with an all purpose cleaner. Scuff sand the areas you want to paint with 500 grit sand paper, or a grey Scotch Brite pad. Aggressive sanding with coarse paper is not necessary, and not recommended. You need only to dull the surface. Use care to avoid sanding through. Clean the surface with wax and grease remover, (bug and tar remover will work in a pinch). Use 2 rags, 1 to apply the cleaner and 1 to remove it. repeat until all the dust is gone and the door is clean. The door is ready to be wiped with a tack rag and painted. No primer is necessary, steel doors are shipped in primer. leave it in the sun to bake as long as possible, move to shade and allow to cool before reinstalling.
for a more profesional look use an air compressor and spry gun. for get about rustolim its very difficult to work with. use tack cloth to clean the door then pait carefull of runs. and do this in a dust free area. a room with an outward faceing fan will do. it will not need to be primed but scuffed then use the tack cloth
Surface prep is critical to prevent peeling later. 1st, use a wax/grease remover to clean the entire door, then sand it with 180grit or finer paper. I use a plastic scouring pad for grooves or difficult areas, you can get them in the paint department. Apply even, thin coats, overlapping each time. Allow the coat to become just tacky dry before applying another coat, or you will end up with runs. Paint 8-10 inches away from the door, and don't twist your wrist when you get to the edge, keep it at a 90 degree angle from the work and spray past. Hammered paint is generally thick, and will cover up some minor scratches, but not deep ones, so make sure before you start painting.
Your door came primed from the factory. Just clean good, wipe and let dry. Lay flat on horses out of full sun. Make passes from left to right across short width of door. Don't put on very heavy. Let dry 10-15 minutes- check to make sure it's dry. Now make passes the long way of the door, short spray . It's better to put on less paint than to put on too much on a single pass. Now go back to spraying across the door and then the length. For a good job I would say if you make 3 passes each way- you should have covered all the metal and eliminated blotching. Let dry 1 day then flip and paint other side and edges.
