Author Topic: Which paint for steel doors?  (Read 15455 times)

Offline D. Berry

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Which paint for steel doors?
« on: April 18, 2011, 12:28:43 PM »
What brand of latex paint do you prefer for exterior six panel steel doors? I'd rather take a beating than paint steel doors. I'm not interested in spraying even though I know they look great when finished. If you want to comment on procedure that is okay, too. I usually roll and backbrush. Even with a conditioner, I'm never completely satisfied with my results. I've never had anyone complain, but I always feel the door should look better.

Offline TallyPainter

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Re: Which paint for steel doors?
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2011, 02:41:14 PM »
I used to paint apartments with metal closet doors that were shot, since I didn't want to set up a sprayer for only a few doors, I  used Pittburgh Pitt Tech, with a real good brush for the inside ridge, and a thin nap wooster mini roller for the body.  I also use it for front doors on repaints.   I apply very light coats, the number varries depending on color change and the desired quality.  Since the stuff dries rather quickly this is not a problem, unless there's a lot of humidity.   

When done it's close to a spray finish.  Frankly, I would practice on some junk metal first, it took me a while to get the technque down. 

Offline Gracobucks

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Re: Which paint for steel doors?
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2011, 06:58:09 AM »
I too like the thin nap wooster mini rollers for painting 6 panel doors with latex. I found that latex dries out too fast to be able to brush it even if you roll it on first.
 I like Genrel paints EnviroGuard paint or ICI's Diamond Exterior they stick to everything and holds up very well.
* I'm from Canada and don't know if these products are on the us market

Offline Hissing Cobra

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Re: Which paint for steel doors?
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2011, 07:22:36 PM »
I don't really have a preferrence for types of latex and have used many types including Benjamin Moore, Glidden, Sherwin Williams, etc... When I paint those types of doors, I keep a rag and a bucket of water next to me. The reason is that the paint dries too quickly (like other's have said above), so I need to wipe the excess off as I go. Usually, I'll paint a square panel and then wipe the wet paint off the styles that separate the panels. I'll then repeat this procedure until all six panels are painted. From there, I'll paint the style separating the two top panels and the upper style as well, then wipe off the excess paint on the side styles and middle style between the two middle panels. I repeat this procedure on every style until the door is done. I don't know if it makes sense the way I'm describing it, but basically I paint each piece of the door separately and wipe the excess off the other panels. It's the only way that I can do it and have the paint lines going in the way that a wood door would have and not have thick, globby paint areas.

Spraying is the way to go if your looking for perfection but it's not always available or worth the aggrevation to rig up a sprayer for a couple of doors.

Offline D. Berry

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Re: Which paint for steel doors?
« Reply #4 on: April 24, 2011, 05:52:43 PM »
Cobra, I basically do the same along with  some conditioner for my paint, but they never do suit me when I'm finished.  It's hard to make a flat steel surface look as good as a door with wood grain.  I usually use B. Moore, but I was wondering what others use.

Offline CarlThePainter

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Re: Which paint for steel doors?
« Reply #5 on: April 29, 2011, 10:41:18 AM »
The problem with spraying the doors though is that they can be difficult to touch up then.   I remember when I learned to paint, we were brushing these steel doors or we were rolling them and backbrushing.  But, paint was different then.   It just dries too fast now, even with the additives.  So, several years ago I switched to rolling them and leaving it be.   I try to use some paint that flattens out pretty good as it dries so that the roller stipple fades down into the paint and almost disappears.    Sometimes you can almost end up with a sprayed look if you apply the paint correctly.  I use a 4" ProDooz roller and can fit that thing inside all the panels so that a brush is barely necessary except for along the bottom and around the hinges.  Not all paints work for this.  I tried SuperPaint once and will never use that again on a steel door....the stipple just doesn't leave.  I like Grahams, C2 and even BM's Waterborne Satin Impervo is good.   But, if you don't put enough paint on, if you are the type that likes to dry roll, then you could end up with some crappy looking doors.

Offline vini

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Re: Which paint for steel doors?
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2011, 09:32:37 AM »
DTM ( Direct to metal ) sprayed Frazee or sherwin williams have good stuff I  use it on iron gating any steel doors or metal buildings i run into.
"We dont thin no paint in my world"

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Offline Nicggdepo

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Re: Which paint for steel doors?
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2015, 06:47:32 AM »
This posts is very informative. Thank you!

Offline pvtgloss

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Re: Which paint for steel doors?
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2015, 08:48:07 PM »
I like SW industrial enamel for oil.  And procryl or Dtm for latex. Sorry, shercryl is the finish.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2015, 08:49:39 PM by pvtgloss »

Offline Precision Painting

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Re: Which paint for steel doors?
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2015, 12:51:13 AM »
I would use oil based paint for the doors.

Go to General Paint and use the "weather-it" oil paint.

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Offline soperfectpaint

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Re: Which paint for steel doors?
« Reply #10 on: September 25, 2015, 02:22:33 AM »
As metal is typically smooth making it difficult to apply both paint and premier.After sanding the surface and cleaning off the sanding dust apply the top coat using the latex paint.

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