How to paint your front door

Growing up I moved around the world with my parents, I went to boarding school, then I got a job that involved travelling. So with our first house, it was so important to me that I declared my ownership. In my case (and the then-boyfriend, of course) it was with a smart new front door, painted black and decorated with frosted numbers on the glass panel above, just like I’d seen in the Grand Designs magazine. Once that was done, it really felt like the house was mine!

It was the same when we moved with our teeny new baby: within weeks of moving in, I ceremoniously took down the old number and got DH to hang a new one in it’s place. Within a year or so I had hired our next door neighbour- handily, he was a painter and decorator- to bring new life to the front door. It went from green to red, and made it much easier for people to find our home!

Now here we are, a year on from our move to the country and I knew it was time. So with the weather on my side I stocked up on equipment at the DIY store and set to work. Here’s how to paint your front door:

You will need:

• cleaning products and cloths
• masking tape, brown paper
• sandpaper- I used P120 for between-coats
• woodfiller suitable for exterior wood
• primer or undercoat
• exterior woodwork paint- Farrow and Ball Railings in this case.
• 4 inch radiator roller with foam roller and tray- line your tray with foil for easy cleaning, especially if using the same tray for more than one colour.
• 2 inch paint brushbrush

1.First I conscripted the smalls to wash the door well with sugar soap, and rinse off. I filled some of the holes and dents. I was selective about this as we have a very old worn door and I wanted to keep some of the charm.

2. Once dry, I sanded the whole door then used a slightly damp cloth to wipe off the residue. I then covered the door knocker, and other door furniture I could not remove, with masking tape, brown paper and- in the case of the knocker- foil.

3. I then added a thin coat of primer- parts of the door have worn down to bare wood over time so I went with primer to help protect and prepare the wood. I worked top to bottom, using the roller for most of the door- serendipitously it just fitted between the struts on the door, making my job significantly easier. The other parts were painted with a brush.

4. Once dry I sanded this gently where needed- a couple of paint blobs, and wiped, then added my first coat of paint, after mixing the paint well. I used Farrow and Ball Railings in Exterior Eggshell. I applied quite a thin coat, taking time on the pass with the brush to scoop up drips and smooth out thick areas.

5. I repeated step 4- two more times- so I had three good coats.

6. Strip the masking tape, foil and paper off carefully. Touch up if needed. I actually used an artist brush for this- it was fine enough to get into the small spaces around the edges of the door furniture.

That’s it, really. I also gave the door jamb- which was similarly worn, the same treatment only this time I did 6-8 coats (I lost count). And I had enough left over to paint the post box too. That post coming your way soon.

Hope this helps.

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