Can of Worms

Since our new roof install and the bush removal, we've been spending our fair share of time outdoors, working on our curb appeal and my tan.  So, I found it only appropriate to "fix" the entry door to our garage that no one sees, no one uses, and is hidden by garbage cans.  In the words of Shane, "Not necessary."  He's right, but when I get a hair up my ass...

I was going back and forth between colors when it came to our garage entry-door and finally settled on Wrought Iron by Benjamin Moore.  I was worried that there was too much blue in the mix when I saw photos online, but I am happy to report that Wrought Iron is a true looking black, at least in natural daylight.

On Saturday I spent all morning scraping, sanding, and painting the door, in between monsoon showers.  By day-end, the door was looking fabulous.  We even got some compliments from our neighbor, who enjoyed the boldness of our color choice.

This wouldn't be a "DIY-How To" post without instructions on how to paint your outdoor steel door. But with every DIY project comes a can of worms; and you know what happens when you open up a can of worms.

Materials:

• Scraper
• Cheap brush
• Environmentally Friendly Paint Remover
• Tarps and Paper Bags for Disposal
• Primer (Gray-tinted for Dark Colors)
• Paint Color-- opt for finishes with less sheen *Flat, Eggshell, or Satin are ideal for outdoor spaces
• 3"foam Roller and Angled Brush
• Shop Vac
• Shop Towels
• Gloves, Protective Eyewear
• Sander and Sanding Disks
• Muscle

Step 1: Telling the Door What's Up

This door has issues, but not as many as me.  As you can see in the photo, the last layer of paint that was applied started cracking.  I can assume this is because an oil based paint was initially used, and painted over with water-based paint, which causes the chipping.

I used a few different kinds of paint remover.  The one listed above was the easiest to apply, but took the longest to cure before being able to take the paint off (4-24 hours)

        

Due to the number of paint layers (four?), I took off what I could, and used the sander to smooth out any rough spots.

        

As I was literally watching the paint peel, I noticed this light and everything wrong with it. Hidden wires and proper placement are for amateurs anyway.  The replacement of this light will certainly be budging in line.

Step 2: Clean your area

In between steps, it's imperative that you clean your space so debris doesn't collect on your paint job. Use a broom for a general clean-up or Shop Vac to get into those small spaces.  It's also not a bad idea to give your door the once over, cleaning off any flecks of dust for a smooth application.

Step 3: Prime Time

I didn't seem to capture any pictures of the door while it was being primed.  Instead, I'll give you a couple of tips:

1. Go light, and keep layering as needed

2. White Primer = Light Paint

3. Gray Primer = Dark Paint

4. Always keep a wet edge.  Start painting from the top corner and work your way down.  Or, from the bottom up.  Whatever floats your boat.

5. If your door has grooves, paint those first before you paint the flat surfaces.  

Step 4: The Real Deal

Once your area has been cleaned, sanded and primed, it's time to add your color in the mix.  Like I stated above, we are going for black exterior doors and went with Wrought Iron by BM in a matte finish.  To start, I painted the grooves first with an angled brush and let dry.  Then I used a 3" foam roller, started in the top, left corner, and began working my way down, maintaining my wet edge to avoid smears and streaks.  Allow your coat of paint to completely dry before adding additional coats.

 

Step 5: The Details

I did a quick update with our door knob and turned it from shiny gold to black-bronze using some spray paint we had laying around the house.  It's essentially a free update before we invest in a more permanent solution.  When doing a hardware update, make sure you put a coat of primer on first.  I didn't when painting the door knob because A. it's a temporary fix, and the storm clouds were rolling in. I ended up with a door knob that felt like someone sprinkled cornmeal on it before it was painted. Plus, I already noticed a nick. Primer is key.

Step 6: Can of Worms

I mean, why stop at painting the door?  The trim that was used on our garage was made out of some sort of composite wood.  With unpredictable, humid, and wet Minnesota seasons, the trim couldn't hold on any longer.  We decided to replace our soggy wood with PVC trim-- brilliant product if you are experiencing the same issues.

Sunday morning, 8:45 AM on the dot, I was out there, taking the trim down.  This is where things got interesting.  The nails that were being pulled out were about as long as my forearm, and were totally unnecessary.  As the removal of the trim progressed, I realized the door started shifting.  Another nail out, and door leaned more.  Turns out the idiots that put this door in prior to us living here DIDN'T NAIL THE DOOR FRAME into the structure of the garage!  The only thing that was holding the door up, was the trim that was haphazardly nailed into I don't even know.  I mean, what?!  Me and Shane were out there until noon, properly securing the door, while our neighbor looked on laughing at us poor schmucks.  I am happy to inform everyone that it will now be much harder to kick down our garage entry door.  This is not a challenge.

Step 7: Trim, Finally!

We were finally able to secure our door trim, and it went smoothly.  Too smoothly in fact.  I am still waiting for the other shoe to fall.  We know it will happen.  We've still got trim to replace on the garage door, and two new windows to install.  I'll call this a small victory.  We need those every once in awhile in order to stay sane.

There is still much to do when it comes to our garage update.  For now, I will leave you with a "during" photo, and will update our awesome readers with the final look in the next couple of weeks (before siding and updated garage door of course).