Best Tips for How to Paint Your Front Door Like a Pro

Your front door is the first thing guests see, so why not make it stand out with the best tips for how to paint your front door like a pro? A fresh coat of paint on your front door can transform the entire look of your home’s exterior. But to get that professional-quality finish, it’s important to know a few little tips and tricks that make a big difference. 

In this post, we’ll show you the best tips for painting your front door like a pro, so you can tackle this DIY project with confidence and create a beautiful entrance that makes a lasting impression.

A step-by-step guide to painting your front door

Choosing the right type of paint, finish, and painting tools for your exterior door

Choosing the right paint and using the right tools will not only make your door look better, it will also make the job easier. When selecting the right pain there are a few things to think about. Are you painting a bare wood door, just putting a fresh coat of the same color on it, or are you covering it with a dark or light color? 

One common question is, do I need to paint the door with primer first? If you are using latex-based paint and painting over latex paint, you don’t need a coat of primer. However, if you’re using latex paint and painting over an oil-based paint, you’ll definitely want to paint the door with primer first. 

Pro tip: if you don’t know if your current door has been painted with oil-based or latex paint, there’s an easy way to find out. Pour some rubbing alcohol on a rag and rub it on the door. If paint comes off on the rag, it’s likely latex paint. If not, it’s likely oil-based paint. 

This may seem like a no-brainer, but make sure to buy exterior paint. It will hold up much better over time and won’t fade nearly as quickly as interior paint.

Whether you are rolling or brushing, spend a little more money on high-quality rollers and brushes. A good quality brush with proper washing and care will last for years. We currently have a good set of Purdy brushes that are at least five years old and have painted countless doors and other projects. With a good brush, the finish will be smoother, cutting in tight places will be easier, and you won’t find nearly as many brush hairs in the paint.

Pro tip: for those times when you do find a paint brush hair in your paint, always have a small pair of tweezers around to remove it before the paint dries.

Over the years, we’ve used all the major brands of paint for countless different projects. And they all work just fine. But there is one thing we always do when we’re looking for a very smooth finish like an entryway door.

Pro tip: When looking for an ultra-smooth finish, we always add some Floetrol to the latex paint. It helps the paint go on smoother and also helps eliminate or at least diminish brush and roller strokes.

Choosing the right color and finish?

When you go to a paint store and look at all the different colors it can be very overwhelming – 20 shades of gray, white, and every other color known to man. So we like to keep it simple. We start with a general idea of what color we want. For this front door we started with a piece of sage from our garden. Then we consult our color booklet from the paint manufacturer Farrow & Ball. 

Farrow & Ball has full-time color specialists focusing on what’s trending in home design. They spend a lot of time and money on research and development.  Their color specialists have done much of the narrowing down for you and there are only a few shades of each color available. We compared our piece of sage to the color samples in that range and landed on Lichen. We then took our color to sample to Home Depot and had them match and mix a quart of paint for us. The results are exactly what we wanted. 

Before we had a Farrow & Ball paint sample booklet, we would choose three colors from the color charts and buy three sample jars of paint in those colors. We’d apply side-by-side coats of paint and chose the one we liked the best. 

You can order a color card from Farrow & Ball’s Colour Card with only 132 colors. Narrowing down the color choices really helps in selecting the right color. The color card is free and so is the shipping.

Once you’ve settled on your paint color, you also need to choose a finish. Most paints come in flat, matte, satin, semi-gloss, and gloss – each one gets progressively shinier. For doors and trim we almost always choose satin. For our style and taste, it has just the right sheen to it. It’s also much easier to work with and the brush strokes are not nearly as visible compared to semi-gloss and gloss. And if you’re painting when it’s quite warm outside, semi-gloss and gloss get much stickier much more quickly and brush strokes become more exaggerated.

Preparing your front door for painting

Always lay down a tack cloth, sheets of cardboard, our a plastic drop cloth before you stop painting. No matter how careful we are, we always seem to have a drip or twp.

Clean, sand, and patch the door

To get the smoothest finish on your door you’ll want to clean it, patch any holes and imperfections, and sand any previous drip marks. It takes a little time to do but your door will look much better.

For cleaning I like to use any household cleaner or just soap and water. You will be surprised how much dirt build-up there is on the surface of the door that you can’t really see. The paint will adhere much better to a cleaner door surface.

For best results when patching, we like to use Dap Patch’N’Paint. It goes on easily and doesn’t require too much sanding. 

Remove or tape door knobs and door hardware

When painting your front door you have one of two choices to make. You can remove the hardware or tape around it. If you’re painting an old door with lots of layers of paint on it, it’s best to remove the hardware. If your door is newer (as ours is here in the post) you can carefully tape around the hardware. However, you’ll need to be very careful when removing the tape because sometimes it can also pull a layer of paint off when removing. It can also leave rough marks or bare spots around some edges.

If your door has glass in it, use painter’s tape around the inside of the glass. If any paint gets on the glass, use a flat razor blade to scrape it off.

Also, don’t forget to tape the insulation around the door frame. If you don’t, paint, even if semi-dry, will come off on the insulation when you close the door.

Removing hinges from the door is a bit tricky and more than a one-person job. What we do instead is tape over the hinges and then use a box opener or razor blade to perfectly trim the tape around the ediges.

Painting a door the right way

Follow these easy tips for the best way to make your door look like it was done professionally. With today’s advanced formulas, the paint dries much faster. And if you don’t move quickly enough, the paint begins to dry and get sticky. If you happen to brush over it, it will leave rough brush strokes in those places. To avoid that, paint the door in sections. And the most important step is always painting in the same direction as the grain of the wood. 

Here is the order in which we paint the door and it does make a difference:

1. We paint the two outside sections of the door first. The wood grain in these two sections runs vertically so our brush strokes also go vertically.
2. Next, we paint the top, center, and bottom sections. The wood grain runs horizontally in these three sections so our brush strokes here are horizontal.
3. For the next step, we paint the paneled sections of the door one at a time. We trim the edges first and the center of each panel last.
4. Next, we paint the edges of the door that will be painted.

Pro tip: If the exterior of your door is a different color than the interior of the door there is a proper way to paint them. If your door opens inward (most doors do), the edge of the door that faces out (the side with the hinges) you should paint the color of the exterior of the door. The edge that faces inward when the door is open, should be the same color of the interior of the door.

Allowing proper drying and reassembly for a professional finish

The most common mistake people make when painting is not allowing time for the paint to properly dry. For most of us, it’s hard to be that patient. But it is a best practice to apply a coat of paint and then it dry overnight. If the weather is warm and dry you could apply the first coat in the morning and the second in the afternoon. 

Once the first coat has dried, we like to inspect the door for any uneven paint or paint drips that we might not have seen while painting. There are usually a few places like that. Mark those places to fix before applying the final coat of paint. 

Pro tip: If you’re putting the first coat of paint on in the morning and the second coat late that same afternoon, you can wrap your brush and/or roller in aluminum foil and it will stay fresh until the second use.

Troubleshooting common painting issues

Dealing with drips and streaks

No matter how careful we are, there always seems to be a drip or two of paint after the first coat – especially in and around the panels. If you just take a few minutes you can easily fix this. Using a fine grit sandpaper, sand over and around the drip until it’s smooth and the drip is again. Then repaint over it as you apply the second coat of paint.

Avoiding brush marks

As we mentioned earlier, adding Floetrol to your paint, according to its directions, really does minimize streaks and helps ensure a smooth finish without visible brush marks or strokes.

Color psychology and curb appeal

Scientific studies have shown that colors do have an impact on how we feel about our homes. It also affects how other people see and view your home. And while we don’t obsess about this, we do look for colors that evoke warmth and calmness. So before choosing your color next time, put a little thought into what colors match up with how you want to feel about your home. 

Maintaining your newly painted door

Maintaining a newly painted door doesn’t require much work, but over time it can have a big visual impact on how your door looks.

We usually clean our front and back doors once a month. We use just a little dish soap, mixed with warm water, and a fine cloth or rag. We submerge the rag in the soapy water, wring it out, and with the damp cloth we wipe down the entire surface. Rinse the rag several times to make sure you’re not rubbing in any of the grime you’ve just cleaned off your door.

For other fun paint and hardware posts:

We Paint Our Door Yellow

Five Simple Tips for Painting Your Front Door Pink

Are Smart Door Home Locks Worth Installing?