Hallway Refresh: A little paint makes a big difference
I’ve thought a lot about replacing our 1970’s interior doors in our home. I had no intention of tackling this project at the current time in my life. Toys, footballs, cars, you name it, are constantly hitting into our walls, trim, and doors. (I spend my free time touching up our beaten baseboards!) And new (solid) doors are expensive!!! So this project was on the back burner.
This all changed when our bifold closet door fell off the hinge and broke. Full disclosure: I tried to fix it, I failed, and then it fell off again (hitting my husband) and completely broke!
Enter – new bifold doors! Since I had no choice but to replace them, I decided to give my original hallway doors a little refresh so the paint color would match. I started just with the hallway. (I’ll work my way upstairs to match all the doors.)
If you are thinking of painting your original closet doors, here’s the steps I took to do that (with a little help from Sherwin-Williams).
What you'll need:
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rubber gloves
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bucket (for TSP cleaner)
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Goof OffGoof Off
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TSPTSP
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sponge
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60 and 180 grit sanding blocks60 and 180 grit sanding blocks
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painter's tapepainter's tape
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microfiber clothmicrofiber cloth
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paint (semi-gloss for high trafficked areas)
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1 inch angled paint brush1 inch angled paint brush
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6 inch roller and paint pan
1. Take off handles/remove doors (if you want to)
I chose to install the bifold door doors first. In a perfect world, you could prepare the doors and paint them before installing. (I wanted to make sure mine fit perfectly before I painted, so I installed first.)
I also did not take my bathroom door down. I can never get the doors to go back on perfectly, so I don’t bother taking them down anymore. If you are a master at putting doors back up, then take it off!
2. Make any necessary repairs
Do I know exactly how I got a hole in the bottom of my door? No. Do I have a pretty good idea as to who did it? Yes. 🙂 But I’ve learned to embrace the holes, marks, dents, etc. They are only little once! That is what spackle is for! When I spackle, I sand the area, wipe it clean (I already have a batch of TSP made for each project so I use this to clean before spackling), spackle using a putty knife, let it dry completely, sand it down to make sure it is flat, then clean the area. Repeat if needed.
I also often need to use Goof Off to remove unwanted stickiness. For this project, I had to remove some extra sticky residue from old child proofing gadgets. If you also need this, make sure to use gloves and use an absorbent cloth (I just use a cut up old cotton shirt).
3. Clean the area - sweep and dust
Run the vacuum, sweep the floor. Wipe up any dust. Do all the things to ensure your painting area is clean. If you have a dog like me, you definitely don’t want hair painted on your doors (or any other debris).
4. Clean doors with TSP
I always clean whatever I’m painting with TSP. (This is a substitute from the Sherwin Williams store.) It is especially important to clean doors to get off all of the grease and dirt from hand prints. (Wear rubber gloves!) I never need as much as the directions say, so I improvise, but I would recommend to follow the directions (or at least use a correct ratio). Adding too much TSP can damage the surface of whatever you are painting.
Using a sponge, I start at the bottom and clean up. I do this twice. You want to make sure you are getting any dirt or grease off so that the paint goes on smoothly and adheres to the door (or whatever you are painting). Remember to clean hinges. Last, ring out your sponge and wipe the door with clean water. Let the door dry completely before continuing.
5. Sand...or don’t
I’m used to working with latex paint/water based paint. If you are painting with oil based paint, there are other steps to take, so you’ll want to ask Google or a paint store associate. 🙂
Using latex paint? Read on!
My bifold doors came primed and ready to paint, so nothing had to be done with them. If you are painting over something that was previously painted (with latex paint), you don’t need to sand. Just clean it thoroughly and you are good to go.
My 1970’s doors had the original finish, so I did need to sand them. Sand with a 60 grit first (60 is course), then go over it with a 180 grit (180 finishes surface). You want to sand just enough to rough up the door. You do not need to go crazy. Sand WITH the grain of wood.
6. Clean doors again
Time for the TSP mixture again. Repeat step #4. Once dry, run a microfiber cloth over the surface one more time to ensure there is no dust or hair.
7. Edge
Finally, my favorite part. Time to paint!! I usually use a 1 inch angled paint brush to edge. I used semi-gloss paint for this project. Semi-gloss is great for high traffic areas because it is easily cleaned. My only con is that semi-gloss shows the imperfections in the surface of whatever you are painting (and the imperfections of a paint job). It is not my favorite sheer to work with, but I understand the benefits for this particular project.
Since I did not take the doors down, I just edged around the handles and hardware, but painter’s tape would also work great. I personally like Frogtape and ScotchBlue.
FrogTape
ScotchBlue
If you choose not to use tape, you can always scrape off any extra paint that gets on the hardware (I just use my fingernail). If you see it early enough, a wet paper towel will also take the paint off.
If you choose not to use tape, you can always scrape off any extra paint that gets on the hardware (I just use my fingernail). If you see it early enough, a wet paper towel will also take the paint off.
The point of edging is to get the parts of your paint job that a roller cannot reach. On the bifold doors, I edged each rectangle, around the hardware, and the sides by the wall. On the bathroom door, I edged around the hardware, and the outside by the hinges.
8. Roll
Since my hallway doors are totally flat, I used a 3/16th inch nap. I could have used a 3/8th for the bifold doors, but I didn’t bother getting something different since I needed the 3/16th for 6 total doors.
Lightly dip and roll your roller in the paint pan. Start at the bottom of the door and work your way up. When rolling, you want to create a “y” or “w” shape. My biggest piece of advice would be that once you are done with a section, do not go back over that section. Once it dries (even a little bit) it will create a roller mark if you go back over it. This is especially noticeable with semi-gloss paint. (I know from experience!) Roll all the way to the edging from step 7 and overlap as much as possible.
9. Wait, edge, roll
Check your paint can for the repaint time. Once ready, edge again then roll! I find that I usually only need 2 coats, but 3 can be used if needed.
10. Finishing touches
If you took your doors down, it’s time to put them back up! I also changed out my door handles, so I installed those at this time. I would also like to add that decorative door knobs can totally change the look of your bifold doors! I got these at Hobby Lobby, and I’m obsessed!
This little change made a huge difference in my entryway!
After I saw how much I loved the entryway, I painted our doors upstairs. I was not disappointed! 🙂
2 thoughts on “How To Paint Outdated Doors”
You are brilliant Natalie!!!! Such helpful hints. Made a big job look easy!!!!
Thank you so much! It was fun to write about this project!🙂