Posted Monday, June 29th, 2020

Prepare and paint your garage door? 

The weather is becoming warmer, which means it’s the perfect time to work on home projects. Your garage door may be the ideal place to start. If it’s looking dirty even after washing it, painting it may be the solution. If you have steel garage doors, you are in luck. Repainting steel is easy! Here are a few tips to make sure you prep correctly and come up with the best results.

Preparing the surface:

In preparation for repainting, it is necessary to remove all of the dirt from your garage doors. Here are five tips for cleaning painted steel garage doors.

Inspect Garage Door:

Before painting your steel garage doors, be sure to inspect the entire door for surface imperfections. If metal is exposed, rust can be imminent. Minor scratches can be buffed or sanded. You want to paint a smooth surface.

Protect the Galvanized Surface:

If your garage door has exposed metal, do your best to remove all of the loose residue and rust. A dull putty knife works well. Then use a primer specifically designed to protect galvanized steel from corrosion. Allow sufficient time for the primer to dry before you apply paint.

Working with Newly Installed Doors:

If your door was installed sometime in the last two years, the surface would likely have a layer of factory-applied wax. You must remove this layer for the paint to adhere well. To remove this wax, lightly scuff the surface with a gray (not green) 3M synthetic steel wool pad saturated with soapy water. Wipe and rinse clean with water only. Then perform an adhesion test. If the adhesion test results are unsatisfactory, do not proceed. Contact Cressy Door and Fireplace to discuss options or alternative coatings.

Time to Paint:

After properly preparing your garage doors and confirming adhesion tests, paint the doors within 24 hours. Use high-quality exterior latex house paint. Do not use oil-based alkyd house paint on top of factory-applied finishes. Make sure to mix the paint thoroughly!