How to Paint Interior Doors

Painting doors may seem like a tedious task, but it's not difficult to do and get professional results. With a few helpful tips, you can learn how to paint doors faster and easier.

Painting Smooth Doors

Smooth (or flush) doors are easy to paint with a roller and brush. Small six-inch rollers make it a snap. Always brush around the hardware, hinges and bottom edge before rolling. This avoids unsightly brushmarks. Sand the door between coats for a smoother finish.

Painting Panel Doors

When painting panel doors with a brush, stick to this order to ensure you follow the grain of the wood and minimize brushmarks:

• Paint each panel, followed by the door edges
• Paint the middle stiles, which are the vertical pieces
• Paint each horizontal piece, called rails, from top to bottom
• Finally, paint the outer stiles

You can also use a little roller and brush on panel doors. It will be faster, but it won't look as finished. Even the shortest nap roller leaves a slightly stippled finish, which won't be uniform since you have to use the brush for the corners. Do the brush work first and finish with the roller.

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Painting Mullioned Doors

There isn't really a fast way to paint a mullioned door with lots of little panes of glass. Paint from the inside edges out. Inexperienced painters spend tedious hours taping every edge to protect the glass. It is almost impossible to tape the windows well enough to avoid paint oozing under the edges, which looks messy and is difficult to fix.

Your best option is to buy an excellent quality sash brush and concentrate hard on doing a neat job. Use a razor to remove mistakes on the glass after it has dried. Try thinning the paint a little. It's often easier to get straight lines this way.

Painting Colored Doors

If the door you are painting is a different color on each side, the rule for the door edges is the edge that faces you when the door is opened towards you is the same color as the side you just opened. In other words, if the outside of your front door is red, the edge that faces you when you are standing outside (usually the edge with the hinges) should also be red.

More Tips for Painting Doors

• It is not necessary to remove doors from the hinges. It's faster to paint it up and tends to come out just as nice. You can speed up the painting process by removing the doorknob.
   
• Always use quality tools. You can borrow from family and friends. It is impossible to paint neat, straight lines with cheap brushes. Cheap roller covers can shed bits of fuzz into your fresh paint job.
   
• Buy good paint. Economy paint does not adhere or wash as well and may require more coats.
   
• Sand between coats using a flexible sanding pad. Used dryer sheets are also good for wiping off sanding dust.
   
• Old towels are usually the perfect size for drop cloths.
   
• Tune the radio to your favorite station. If you have several doors to paint, time yourself and see how fast you can go, without sacrificing quality, of course.