Priming Aluminum Garage Doors

Painting aluminum doors is relatively simple.

Priming aluminum garage doors.

If you plan to paint a door that is well worn a combination topcoat primer makes a good choice. Painting your garage door boosts your curb appeal and protects it from the elements. Metal doors can be prone to rusting but good garage paint will help to protect against that. If your aluminum garage door s factory painted finish has faded or has areas where the paint is completely worn it s time for a new coat of paint.

Prepping the garage door ensures that paint will go on easily and hold up well. Ensure that the primer is oil based. Dilute the oil based metal primer with paint thinner according to the manufacturer s instructions. You will save a lot of money by painting the garage doors yourself rather than hiring someone.

A good metal door especially of steel or aluminum is better able to face up to the elements especially rain and snow. If you decide to paint over this factory produced coating the new paint job will need to be redone every five to ten years. After the 24 hour drying time has elapsed you can paint the top coat on your garage door. Clean the garage door periodically.

When the garage door starts to show dust or dirt simply wet a sponge or washcloth with warm water and wipe it down. Leave the primer to set for at least 24 hours. Paint tends to hold up real good on those doors unless something was done to compromise that when it was first painted. You can also use a spray primer suitable for aluminum but make sure to mask off areas that you do not want to be painted.

You shouldn t need a primer if the paint is in good shape. Put on your protective gear the work gloves dust mask and safety goggles and then remove any rusted or chipped. Let lou manfredini ace s home expert show you how it s done. Make sure to scuff the old paint with 120 grit sandpaper and clean thoroughly before applying the new garage door paint.

Latex primer is not recommended for use on aluminum. These coatings are very durable they typically have a long life span and require little maintenance.