- Preparing and painting your metal exterior doors

Are you thinking about painting your metal exterior doors? You'll need to know how to prepare the doors and what type of paint to use? By the way, most metal doors (even if they look like they're painted) are really only primered and should be painted. Here's your chance to dress up the exterior of your home by painting your entrance door one of today's fashionable colours.

Exterior metal doors are exposed to all kinds of weather conditions hot, cold, and wet. Because of weather extremes, the metal will expand and contract considerably over the course of the year making it important to choose a flexible type of finish. Before any finish is applied however, it is important to prepare the metal surface by first removing all hardware including hinges. You may wish to install a temporary panel in place of the door while you do the finishing.

Sand the door lightly with 300/400 grit wet/dry paper to break any sheen the door may have. After sanding, wash both sides of the door with Shell Busey's Cleaning Formula and rinse well with clear water. Allow to dry.

Apply two coats of a best quality exterior urethane with a pure bristle brush but do the edges first, then one face at a time. Each face will require approximately 10-12 hours drying time before you turn it over to finish the opposite side. You'll probably want to rehang the door between coats because you'll need 12-24 hours for full curing to take effect.

Article courtesy of: Shell Busey