How To Paint Louvered Doors And Shutters The Fast Easy Way

Have you tried to paint louvered closet doors or shutters and wanted to scream halfway through? All those slats are a chore with a brush. In this post, I’ll show you how to paint louvered doors the fast, easy way using a paint sprayer so you get a smooth finish without all the frustration.

We are gradually painting the interior of our home, and we need to paint the closet doors. But they all have those louvers. We have 7 louvered closet doors.

Our house was built in the 60’s and the doors are original to the house. I guess louvered doors were the thing. Maybe so your clothes could breathe? The last time the closet doors were painted was about 20 years ago. 

The photo above shows the room in the prep stages. We used semi-gloss paint for trim and doors in the old days. For this makeover, we decided on a satin sheen for a much softer look. The walls will be an eggshell sheen.

Why Louvered Doors Are So Hard To Paint

Louvered doors look nice, but they are a headache to paint with a brush. All those narrow slats and tight corners are hard to reach, and paint loves to drip and pool between the louvers. If you use a regular paintbrush, you have to work the bristles into every angle, which takes forever and often leaves brush marks. That’s why so many people put off painting louvered doors—they remember how long it took the last time.

The Best Way To Paint Louvered Doors

After painting these doors both the hard way and the easy way, I can tell you the best way to paint louvered doors is with a paint sprayer. A sprayer gets paint into all the little spaces between the louvers without you having to dab each slat by hand. You get a smooth, even finish on both sides of the door in a fraction of the time. Once you try spraying louvered doors instead of brushing them, you will never want to go back to brush painting.

Supplies You’ll Need To Paint Louvered Closet Doors

Here are the basic supplies we used to paint our louvered closet doors:

• Louvered closet doors, removed from the hinges
• Paint sprayer (I use my HomeRight Finish Max)
• Interior paint (I used a satin sheen on the doors)
• Extension cord (if you’re working outside)
• Painter’s tape for hardware and any areas you don’t want painted
• Drop cloths or plastic to protect the floor or yard
• Screwdriver and hammer to remove hinge pins
• Old ladder or stands to lean the doors against
• Clean rag or brush for dusting
• Household cleaner if your doors are greasy or really dirty

Step-By-Step: How To Paint Louvered Doors With A Sprayer

Below are the steps we followed to paint our louvered doors with a sprayer. Take your time with the prep, and the actual painting part will go fast.

1. Remove The Louvered Closet Doors

Start by taking the doors off the hinges. Use a hammer and a flat-tip screwdriver to tap the hinge pins up and out. Easy Peasy.

Once the pins are removed, pull the door away from the hinges and carry it to your work area. It’s always easier and safer if two people handle the doors together. Lay them flat or stand them upright against a sturdy support so you can reach both sides.

2. Clean The Doors

It was a nice Summer day, so we took the doors outside and stood them upright against an old swimming pool ladder. No, we don’t have a pool, just a junk addict who picked the ladder up cheap.

 

There are a number of ways to clean the doors. The JTS prefers to blow all the dust off with a hose hooked to an air compressor. You can also wipe them down with a damp brush or rag. If they are really dirty or stained then you should use a good household cleaner. Wait until the doors are dry before painting.

3. Tape Off The Hardware

Cover any areas you don’t want to paint with painter’s tape. We taped off the door knobs instead of removing them. The hinges had been painted over before so no need to tape them. The hinges can also be removed before painting the doors.

4. Choose Your Paint And Sheen

Do you want to use a paint brush on the doors, spray paint, or a paint sprayer? It takes several cans of spray paint to paint louvered doors and the paint never goes on evenly. It usually looks splotchy. Using a paint brush is time consuming and takes a lot of patience to paint all of those louvers. Often you can see brush strokes once the paint is dry.

The fastest and easiest way to paint louvered doors, or shutters is with a paint sprayer. The first time I painted these doors I didn’t know what a paint sprayer was. I do now and my paint sprayer is a time saver/life saver. I don’t have to worry about brush marks either. A definite plus.

5. Thin The Paint For Your Sprayer

You can tell I’ve used my HomeRight Finish Max paint sprayer a lot just by looking at it. The Finish Max has its own motor so you don’t need to use an air compressor. You just plug it into the electrical outlet or in this case a long extension cord.

Pour paint into the Finish Max container and thin it with water (if using latex paint). The paint needs to be relatively thin. You may need to add a little water at a time and try the sprayer out before you find the perfect water/paint ratio.

Brands of paint vary in thickness so there is no formula for the amount of water to add to the paint to get the perfect consistency. Add water until you think the paint is too thin and it will be perfect!

Step 6. Spray The Louvered Doors

The nozzle on the front of the sprayer is to adjust the paint flow. You may need to make an adjustment or two while using the sprayer.

All ready to paint. You can see the video and the hubby in action painting the door. It shows the process so much better than a still photo. It’s cool to watch the paint as it goes on the door. (if you have an ad blocker on your browser you will need to turn it off temporarily in order to view the video) Video below…..

Paint Louvered Doors With A Paint Sprayer

Step 7. Let The Doors Dry And Rehang

I haven’t posted the reveal on this room yet. You guys are going to be amazed. I’m very, very happy with the way the room turned out. No it doesn’t have blue walls anymore and not as much color….but just enough.

More Door And Shutter Painting Projects

How to Paint your Front Door and Metal Framed Storm Door

How to Paint Window Shutters The Easy Way

How To Paint Exterior Metal Doors To Last

Paint Louvered Doors And Shutters Using A Paint Sprayer

You can see where we painted our vinyl shutters here.

Painting louvered doors doesn’t have to be a dreaded project. With a good paint sprayer and the right prep, you can knock out a whole hallway of closet doors in an afternoon. If you try this project, leave me a note and tell me how it went—and what color you chose! Thanks for being here, Kathy