I love our house, but I’ve never loved the bright yellow door our builder picked before we bought it. No offense to my yellow door friends, it’s just not my color. I found that fall is the perfect time to paint an exterior door (at least where I live - Illinois). The spring is too damp, the summer is too hot, and the winter is too cold. Because we don’t have a storm door, painting the front door means having a sheet of plastic as our front door for 2 days, so weather is a very important factor. We opted not to remove the door from the hinges for the same reason.

Before you begin, note the drying times for your paint. You will need 2 coats of color and may need a coat of primer as well. I did as much prep work as I could the night before, and got up early the morning of to make sure the door was dry by night time so we could close and lock the door overnight. If you have a storm door, you have it easy! I still had to do the second coat the following day due to the long drying time of my paint.

Check out my “Front Door” highlight on Instagram to watch step-by-step.

PREP WORK

Sand everything you can with a medium-grit power sander.
Use a medium-grit sanding block to sand the trim.
Don’t forget to open the door and sand areas covered by the door trim.
Wash the door with a rag and soapy, warm water.
Rinse with a hose.
Let dry overnight.

PAINTING

Unless you have a storm door or screen door, tape off the door opening with plastic (I used a plastic drop cloth).
Put down another drop cloth under the door to cover your floors.
Clean the door with a tack cloth to remove any leftover sanding dust or debris.
Tape off windows, hinges, peepholes, and any other hardware if you can’t remove them.
If you have a bright colored door (like red or yellow) use a primer to help mask the existing color. Otherwise, the bright color can show through and affect the look of the color you’re trying to achieve.
Use a paintbrush to paint the trim, and a small, low-nap roller to paint the flat panels.
The edge of the door that is on hinges should be painted the same color as the outside of the door.
Note the drying times for your paint. I used Valspar High-Hiding Primer/Sealer that took 2 hours to dry before I could apply another coat. The Valspar Door & Trim Oil Enriched Enamel (tinted to Sherwin Williams Willow Tree) took 8 hours between coats. We don’t have a storm door so I had to do the second coat the next day.
TIP: Wrap the roller and paintbrush in a wet paper towel, and cover with plastic wrap to use the next day without having to wash your brushes.
After applying the second coat of color, remove the tape while the paint is still wet.
Once it’s fully dry, use a razor blade to remove any paint from the windows.