An aluminum garage door can become awfully shabby looking with the passage of time as its factory finish may corrode. Luckily, often all that’s needed to freshen it up and make it look brand new is a coat of paint. In this article, we provide good advice on how to paint an aluminum garage door in six easy steps. Read on to learn more.
What You'll Learn Today
Painting An Aluminium Garage Door
Here’s how to paint an aluminum garage door in 6 steps.
- Choose the right weather:
You’ll have the best luck painting your garage door in good weather. If it’s too hot, too cold, too wet, too windy, etc., you are likely to get poor results. Keep an eye on your weather forecast and choose a string of days when the weather will be mild and dry. This will be a more comfortable time for you to work, and your paint job will simply turn out better.
- Clean it up:
As with any paint job, the first step in the actual process of painting your aluminum garage door is cleaning. Use warm soapy water and a sturdy brush to give your garage door a good scrubbing. As you work, be sure to dislodge any chips and loose bits. Sand as needed. Your goal is to create a smooth, clean surface that is ultimately receptive to new paint.
- Protect surrounding surfaces:
Lay down drop cloths to protect the driveway and garage floor beneath the door. Mask off the woodwork and hardware with masking tape and paper as needed. Move your vehicles (and anything else you don’t wish to paint) out of the way.
- Prime the surface:
Apply a light, oil-based primer to the surface of the garage door using a brush, roller or sprayer. Allow the primer to dry and set for a full 24 hours before applying the first coat of paint.
- Apply the first coat:
Once your primer is completely dry, you can use a brush, roller or sprayer to apply the first coat of a good quality exterior paint. Oil based or acrylic are both fine. A high quality acrylic has the advantage of both yielding good results and being easy to clean up with just soap and water. Allow the first coat to dry for a full 24 hours before applying the second coat. Don’t worry if the first coat looks a bit uneven. Just allow it to dry thoroughly and then correct the blotchiness with the second coat.
- Finish up with the second coat:
Apply the second coat of paint just as you did the primer and the first coat. Again, while it’s still wet it may look a bit blotchy, but when it’s dry you should find that you have a nice, even, uniform coverage. If not, you can always touch up after a full 24 hour drying period.
TIPS
- Prime and paint the door in sections beginning with the bottom section. Begin with the door raised and only the bottom section exposed. When you are done painting this section, lower it to expose the next section. This prevents your having to stoop as you paint. It also ensures that you won’t accidentally paint the door shut as you might if you paint the whole thing at once as a block.
- Be sure to keep your paint equipment clean throughout the process. Dirty, badly cleaned, stiff brushes or clogged spraying equipment can ruin your paint job. If you are using oil based paint, have plenty of paint thinner, white spirit or turpentine on hand to clean up immediately after each coat. If you are using acrylic paint, have your warm water and dish soap ready for quick cleaning.
- If you decide to use a roller, just throw away the roller brush after each use. Using a disposable paint tray liner in your paint tray is also a good idea. It’s not worth the time or effort to try to clean the brushes or the tray.
Do-It-Yourself Garage Door Painting Adds Value & Saves Money
It’s easy to see that painting your worn aluminum garage door is a simple task. This easy DIY paint job will save you the expense of buying a new door or hiring a professional.
It shouldn’t take you more than three or four days of fairly light work to finish the job, and when you’re done you’ll have increased your home’s curb appeal and value.
Any special tips to keep the paint layer lasting as long as possible? Normally I notice it only lasts a few years