With the right skills and preparation, painting your garage door can be a fun and rewarding DIY activity. Aside from feeling accomplished, you’ll also get the added benefit of increased curb appeal for your home. However, if you are attempting to paint your garage door for the first time, it’s helpful to know what not to do. By avoiding these five garage door painting mistakes, you’ll be in good shape to successfully spruce up your garage door.
5 Garage Door Painting Mistakes To Avoid
Mistakes are a great teacher, so knowing about some of the biggest garage door painting mistakes will help you make wise decisions when you begin painting your own garage door.
1. Picking The Wrong Paint For The Garage Door Material
The biggest faux pas you can make when painting your own garage door is picking a paint that isn’t compatible with the material of your garage door. Using paint for a steel or aluminum door on a wood garage door can potentially damage your garage door, requiring additional assistance to address it.
2. Neglecting To Thoroughly Clean First
Another one of the biggest garage door painting mistakes that can lead to a difficult job is not thoroughly cleaning the door first. Trying to paint over a dirty garage door can lead to all sorts of dirt and debris getting trapped, interfering with the aesthetics of your garage door. Start by getting rid of dust, then use water, a large sponge, and a standard soap solution to make it squeaky clean. After this preparation, you can begin painting your garage door.
3. Failing To Account For Weather
Weather conditions have an impact on the effectiveness of a garage door paint job. That’s why you shouldn’t just start painting your garage door on a whim. Instead, pay attention to the projected weather forecasts and choose a date with the most ideal weather conditions. Painting your garage door is extremely hot, and humid weather can make this process difficult to execute. For this reason, experts recommend choosing a cool day with low humidity levels to get this job done.
4. Skipping Sanding And Priming
When it comes to the preparatory stages, two major garage door painting mistakes made by some people include not sanding and painting the garage door. Sanding your garage door allows the paint to stick easily, and priming allows the color to be more vibrant and helps the paint last longer. Before adding any paint, you want to ensure your garage door has been properly sanded and primed.
5. Forgetting Essential Supplies
Forgetting essential supplies is one of the most frustrating garage door painting mistakes anyone can make. This error in judgment can involve forgetting the tarp and protective coverings, not having the right paint brush, or even failing to order the right amount of paint. To avoid this situation, put together a checklist of everything you will need to paint your garage door. As soon as you can access all these items, you can start the painting process.
Keep Your Garage Door Looking Great With Garage Door Repair Missouri City!
We hope that knowing these five garage door painting mistakes will help you feel prepared to take on your own DIY garage door painting project. Stay on top of the weather, ensure you have everything you need, and follow all the essential steps for the best results. That said, it’s understandable if you’d rather leave the job of keeping your garage door looking great in professional hands. Luckily, you can count on our Garage Door Repair Missouri City team to see to all your garage door needs. Contact us today for the best garage door service in the state!