How To Paint Exterior Metal Doors To Last
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Did you know you can paint exterior metal doors? Yes, you can and that ugly metal frame will look so much better. And it’s easy. You can also paint the vinyl trim around your doors and windows. This metal door paint makeover will have you running to the hardware store for paint.
I painted our front storm door (see here) a few years ago, and it has held up really well, with no chipping or peeling. So I decided to paint the metal door in our carport and I’m sharing the paint details, plus……. how it looks two years later.
How To Paint Exterior Metal Doors
The aluminum/metal storm door for our carport entryway door was a mess. There are dings and dents in the metal at the bottom. I thought painting it would help camouflage the dents.
Also, painting the wood door and the storm door the same color should make the entryway look better, right? There isn’t anything I can do about the electric meter, cable lines, and other mess on the brick wall—or at least I haven’t thought of a good way to hide those things yet.
Okay, getting back to painting the exterior door. The color I selected is Havana Coffee. The paint is Behr Premium Plus Ultra Exterior paint and primer in one. Even though the paint contains the primer I decided to double up and bought some Kilz primer for the job.
First order of business was to tape off around the glass panes/inserts with painters tape and lay down a drop cloth. I tend to be a messy painter. Since I wanted to paint both the interior door and the exterior metal door I decided to tackle both doors at the same time.
I asked that the primer be tinted, and they told me it couldn’t be tinted the same color as the paint. I’m not sure why. Maybe they would have to add too much color to the mix.
Anyway, this is the color of the tinted Kilz Primer. It’s not a pretty shade or even close to the Havana Coffee color I selected.
The Havana Coffee is a very deep, rich, brown. Really pretty.
The primary issue I had with the paint job was allowing the doors to dry enough that the paint wouldn’t stick when the doors were closed, making the fresh paint peel off. The exterior metal door wasn’t a problem but the wood interior door wanted to stick to the weather stripping.
I never found a good solution for the problem, but I did read about one later. Wiping the paint with Vaseline where the door meets the frame sounds like a good idea. I’ll try that tip next time I paint a door.
The paint looks great, and the ding in the door is still noticeable, but it isn’t glaring. With both doors painted the same color, your eye doesn’t immediately go to the dented door. This photo was taken two years ago when I finished the project. You can see this project on the Behr Paint website. It is part of the Behr Designer Series.
I took this photo a few weeks ago. As you can see the paint has held up really well. The only area where the paint chipped just a bit is the door handle.
I guess that makes sense since we use the handle everyday, numerous times a day. We use the carport entrance as our main entryway as do all of our friends and family. We hardly ever use our front door.
See how nice the paint looks?? I painted the vinyl wrap around the wood casing along with the weather stripping too. No chipping or peeling.
You can see my front door and metal storm door project here…Painting a Metal Storm Door. Amp up your curb appeal with a can of paint and primer and a few hours of time on the weekend.
Have you tried painting a metal storm door or exterior metal door? If you have I would love to hear about it. If not have I gave you the information you need to give it a try? Leave a comment please and I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a great day and thanks for being here. Kathy
Author: Kathy Owen
Kathy Owen is the founder of the home decor blog Petticoat Junktion where she shares tutorials on painting furniture and upcycling thrifty finds into unique home décor. Her DIY projects have been featured on the Home Depot Blog, Plaid Crafts, Behr Designer Series, and in numerous magazines.
Your door looks great! I’m going to try and do some projects soon, myself. Thanks for encouraging me! I appreciate your article and advice!
Wow! That door looks really smart now and a thousand times better than the original which was very utility in appearance, whereas the new version is decor in itself.
Hi Jane, Our house was built in 1966 and we purchased it in 1988. The bricks have always been that way.
Why are just some of your bricks painted white? Are you going to do a German schmear on the bricks? I would love to do that to mine but I’m chicken!! lol
no!
Did you sand the metal door before painting or did you just clean it?
You could always build a hinged box to cover the electric meter and then paint the outside of the box to look like an old fashioned telephone, or something else you might think of. By having it hinged on one side it can still be opened when necessary.
As far as the painting I was wondering if I should remove the hardware on my door before I paint, or perhaps cover it. I have a new door since mine got killed during a shootout with the rocks and weed trimmer. I think there’s a gold kick plate along with the gold coated hinges and door handle. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it since I got it last year.
Wow that’s great. Chalk paint is amazing! Thank you for commenting on the color. I like deep rich colors.
Your doors look fantastic and beautiful color! I used home made chalk paint to paint my wooden, front doors and then used the same chalk paint to paint the metal storm doors, finishing both with Annie Sloan wax. Except for some wear at the handle (of the storm door), they have held up well. I think it’s been two years, if not three. I was surprised on the storm doors, as I didn’t know what to expect with chalk paint on metal.
The doors look great, Kathy! And the brown is perfect with the brick.
I have been contemplating painting my exterior doors, too. They are a country blue which I feel is pretty out of date. The house is a light grey and white and I can’t decide what color to use. I always favor blues and greens but according to feng shui tradition which I have studied the most “auspicious” color for a front door is red. Uck! I am not a fan of red. Dare I go against the ancient protocol? Or could I find a shade of red that I wouldn’t mind?? I’ve been dithering over this question for a while now and my doors really need help. Do you ever arrange things or use colors according to the feng shui methods?
Thank for this post; I think it will be helpful to me once I make up my mind about color.
The door looks great but more importantly, I LOVE your Elephant! 🙂
I PAINTED MY FRONT DOOR, IT WAS A WHITE METAL DOOR, NOW IT IS A BRIGHT YELLOW! mY HOUSE IS RED BRICK WITH A RED METAL ROOF. LOVE IT. I ALSO PAINTED MY CLOSET FOLDING DOORS TO RESEMBLE A BARN DOOR. LOOKS PRETTY GOOD EVEN IF I SAY SO MYSELF.
I think the reason that they couldn’t tint your primer the same color as the paint is that the base is different. When you choose a color to paint with, the paint person gets the paint base required to make that particular color. I would guess that there are different bases, but I don’t know how many. So, the primer would not be of the same base and, therefore, could not create the same color as the paint. I think this is how oops! paint happens. The clerk chooses the wrong base for the paint to be created. Once the paint has been mixed and the paint can has been opened, everyone sees the mistake, and the clerk has to find the correct base and mix the paint anew.
You picked a great color. I see it matches your light too
Looking good! Thank you.
Pretty! Good job. You picked the right color!
Looks really great! I like the color you chose.