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How to paint metal door frames

Hi there,

I am wanting to repaint the metal door frames in my house. Not sure where to start as the instructions on the web seem to all be around wooden door frames. The metal door frames do have chips here and there so not sure if I need to prepare them in another way?

Thanks so much.

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Repairing

Painting

Doors and Windows

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MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @homediynoob. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about painting a metal door frame.

Start by taking some 240-grit sandpaper, rubbing the chipped areas back and blending in their edges with the surrounding paint. When paint chips, it creates a hard edge perimeter where the thickness of paint has been removed. You need to soften these edges, or you'll be able to see the chipped area through your new topcoat.

Next, thoroughly clean the painting surface down with Sugar Soap. Once clean, wipe down with fresh water to remove the residual Sugar Soap and let dry. Apply Dulux Precision primer, and then once that has cured according to instructions, a water-based enamel topcoat in your choice of colour. The Precision primer is a specialty product designed for hard to paint surfaces. The alternative would be sanding back any gloss sheen on your current paint.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

mattwhite

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/19098#Comment_19098

Hi Mitchell. Sorry to hijack the topic but is it necessary to brush paint the frame or is there a roller we can use to avoid the brush strokes?

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/72261#Comment_72261

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @mattwhite. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about paint rollers.

You're not hijacking at all. This is an open discussion post for everyone to join in on, and your question is perfectly relevant.

You'll be using hard-wearing enamel paint, and they typically call for a finer nap roller. Something like the UNi-PRO 100mm 4mm Nap Little Ripper Microfibre Mini Roller Set would be suitable for the job and perfect for the Aquanamel. If you were going to paint a larger surface like the door, something a little broader like the UNi-PRO 180mm Enamel Paint Roller Kit 5mm Nap would be helpful.

Please let me know if you have questions, and don't ever hesitate to reach out if you need assistance.

Mitchell

mattwhite

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/99479#Comment_99479

Thanks Mitchell. I’ve bought the products suggested and will start that project shortly. Do you think the little microfibre roller will be ok with the internal doors too? They’re the hollow wood ones with the fake wood grain embossed into them. I don’t want to paint them that thick that it drowns out the pattern.

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/116542#Comment_116542

Hi @mattwhite,

Mitch is taking a break for a few days. Let me tag @EricL to share his thoughts with you.

Jason

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/116542#Comment_116542

Hello @mattwhite

My apologies for the late reply. You'll notice that the UNi-PRO 100mm 4mm Nap Little Ripper Microfibre Mini Roller Set is specifically made for trims and architraves. Although it is possible to use this roller to paint your door, it will take longer and there is the possibility of uneven overlapping due to its small size. I recommend going with @MitchellMc's suggestion of using UNi-PRO 180mm Enamel Paint Roller Kit 5mm Nap. It's made to paint larger surfaces and you'll get a uniform finish on the door.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your door and door frames freshly painted.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

lannah79

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/126339#Comment_126339

Hello.
Quick side question. If I was to paint the blank screen door frame below, do I need to sand it? Or can I just prime and paint over it? I want to paint it Berkshire white. Thanks

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/132900#Comment_132900

Hello @lannah79

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's fabulous to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about painting a metal door frame.

I suggest giving the new metal door a good wash with soap and water in combination with a soft bristle brush. This is to remove any grease or oil contaminants that may be on the surface of the metal door. Expose the metal door to the sun so that it dries off completely.

The next step is to find a spot where you can paint your metal door where it will be safe from the elements. I suggest using Dulux 1L PRECISION Maximum Strength Adhesion Primer White to prime the metal door. This primer is specifically made to go on to hard to paint surfaces. I suggest a minimum of two coats so that it will totally block off the black paint on it. If it looks like you are getting a shade of black still coming through a third coat will be necessary.

Once the primer has cured you can then paint it with your preferred colour of Berkshire White. Please make sure that the paint you choose for the metal door is for external use.

Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How to paint metal

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

deluxe

Sanding then oil painting

mattwhite

How did you get on? I tried the aquanamel as suggested and had terrible results. It came up with the texture of a painted plaster wall and is very flakey despite sanding and priming.
I’m sanding back the same frames now and will try my luck with oil based enamel.

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/19933#Comment_19933

Hello @mattwhite

I'm sorry to hear that the paint finish was not satisfactory. Were you after more of a high gloss finish? The only method I'm aware of to achieve such a high level of finish on the metal is by using a spray gun. I also recommend trying out another metal painting system such as the White Knight Rust Guard System. These are interlinked products and are designed to work together to go on steel.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your metal door frames painted.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

mattwhite

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/72649#Comment_72649

I’ll reply to this for anyone searching for replies in the future.
I’ve since purchased a Wagner spray gun and the results are infinitely better. Anyone that can roll or brush aquanamel is better than me. Spraying is the way forward.

thanks to all for their input and suggestions.

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/100435#Comment_100435

Well done @mattwhite and many thanks for sharing. I'm sure other community members will appreciate your advice.

Jason

SensibleHill

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/100435#Comment_100435

Hi @mattwhite the final job with the spray gun looks fantastic. How has it held up?

You mentioned having the same issue as @homediynoob with chips on the frames, did you just sand with the 240 grit as Eric suggested? I’m about to do a full house and have major chips on the frames, and toying between stripping it or just sanding the chipped edges.

How did you go @homediynoob - did you end up painting your frames as well?

homediynoob

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/117492#Comment_117492

@SensibleHill

No I have not yet…I too am also now considering whether I should just attempt to strip the old paint off and do a completely new coat of paint. The result from @mattwhite’s spray looks fantastic though 🤔

mattwhite

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/126967#Comment_126967

@SensibleHill

The ones I have done have held up really well. The doors however I’m struggling with as the primer doesn’t adhere to the old enamel on them.
Not all of my doors were really chipped though. The ones that were though I scraped completely. The ones that were still smooth I roughened up and it worked great.

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/133262#Comment_133262

Thanks for the update @mattwhite. Do you need any assistance with the doors? Feel free to provide more detail and some photos as I'm sure our resident Bunnings experts would be happy to assist.

Jason

mattwhite

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/137140#Comment_137140

Thanks for the reply Jason.
With my doors I’m priming and painting over the original enamel paint after sanding but the primer isn’t sticking to what’s left of the enamel paint. I feel I need a different primer. They’re wooden internal doors.

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/139823#Comment_139823

Hi @mattwhite,

Are you using the Dulux Precision primer? With a slight sanding of the existing paint to dull the gloss level (to be honest I don't even do that), the Precison primer should adhere adequately to the existing enamel paint as it's designed for difficult-to-paint surfaces. I've used it extensively on gloss surfaces, and it's worked well. I'm keen to investigate what's going on to cause issues.

Mitchell

mattwhite

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/141660#Comment_141660

I wasn’t no. I will be now though. I’ll report back once I get back to it.

juliancanhelp

Just posting on here from my DIY experience. Aquanamel is NOT for DIY people, I would not attempt to use a brush or roller with this unless you are a professional painter. In saying that a lot of professional painted would not touch this paint to apply by hand. Spray painting this paint is the only way you will get a reasonable finish.

I think if using Gloss it would be different and more forgiving but I used Low Gloss.

After a lot of trial and error I ended up spray painting Aquanamel on my door frames and doors. All frames that I did with a brush look hideous. All waterbased enamels dry much faster than Oil based enamel. The slow drying time of oil based enamel allows the brush strokes to flow into the surface that is why you get a smoother nice finish.

Added some photos. I used Aquanamel Vivid White Low Gloss. I also used Floetrol to thin paint for spraying.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/flood-floetrol-4l-acrylic-paint-and-stain-conditioner_p1563340

Screenshot 2024-07-13 130848.png

Door Spray Painted Aquanamel Vivid White Flat

JacobZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/39419#Comment_39419

Hi @juliancanhelp,

Thank you for sharing your experiences.

As you've said, Aquanamel is a quick-drying paint, which in some situations is a pro, and in others, it can be a con.

Using a brush or roller with this product can be difficult because it will dry very quickly meaning brush and roller marks can be difficult to avoid and overworking the paint will be fairly obvious.

Ultimately, using Floetrol and a paint sprayer has given you a fantastic finish that you can be very proud of.

Once again, thank you for sharing.

Jacob

JamesMarshdale

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/39419#Comment_39419

Hey there @juliancanhelp, may I ask which paint spraying gun you used to get this job done? The frames in your photo look exactly the same as mine and the paint job is exactly what I'm trying to achieve.

Thank you!

juliancanhelp

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/83322#Comment_83322

Hi @JamesMarshdale the spray gun I used was this one https://sydneytools.com.au/product/star-s77031s-1l-suction-spray-gun-with-2mm-nozzle however I would not recommend buying it for this purpose, I already had the spray gun at home and a compressor. That type of spray gun is not suited to these type of paints. I would recommend looking into getting an airless sprayer, you will get a better result and paint will not require so much thinning out.

Belinda14

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/100435#Comment_100435

hi Matt,

Will the spraygun be the best option if I have already painted my walls?

JacobZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/121277#Comment_121277

Hi @Belinda14,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for your question.

If you've already painted your walls, a paint sprayer is still and option, but you will need to mask things to prevent overspray.

Personally, I find a paintbrush, with a bit more care and precision a better option for a project like this.

Check out the process in How to paint trims for some guidance on painting areas that require more precision.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Jacob

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