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How to paint 80s aluminium doors?

KingStreetReno
Making a Splash

How to paint 80s aluminium doors?

We recently completed phase 1 of our renovation and had most of our house professionally painted.

 

The rooms look completely new apart from the ugly aluminium doors that will not be replaced until phase 2 of the renovation in 18mths - 2yrs.

 

Does anyone have experience painting these?

 

aluminium doors 2.jpg

aluminium doors 1.jpg

mrsrobbo2610
Growing in Experience

Re: Painting 80's aluminium doors

I have just finished painting 2 out of our 8 brown windows to white. I used etch primer and Dulux Metalshield Vivid White in gloss. They have come up a treat. I opted to paint these before our new cladding goes on the house (we didn't care about the overspray on the old cladding as they are being thrown out).20210714_110111.jpg20210714_110629.jpgWhat colour they were before.

Re: Painting 80's aluminium doors

Looks fantastic @mrsrobbo2610. What a difference!

 

Thanks for sharing, and we look forward to seeing more updates when the cladding is up.

 

Stevie

 

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Batbub
Just Starting Out

Re: Painting 80's aluminium doors

A good method is to run a scraper or filling blade along the edge of the tape to ensure a good tight stick. This does a lot to prevent seepage under tape that seems stuck but has loose edges.

 

Seepage is easy to remove from glass using a flat painters razor. Ensure that the paint is totally dry before doing this. Any wet paint will ruin the surface of your paint so give it 48hrs to dry the final coat before you start scraping overspray. 

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Painting 80's aluminium doors

Hello @Batbub

 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. Thank you for joining the discussion and sharing your tip on paint masking.

 

Would you rather recommend using the Pro Renovator 38mm Plastic Scraper or Trojan 25mm Paint Scraper? I prefer the plastic scraper myself as it gives me a feeling of safety that it will not add more damage to my wall. Do you have any projects currently on the go? Please don't hesitate to share your project. Our ever-helpful members would be more than happy to provide advice and information should you need it.

 

Eric

 

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approachmhn
Cultivating a Following

Re: Painting 80's aluminium doors

Hi,

I am planning to paint aluminium windows and I would like to paint vivid white inside to match with trims and satin black outside. 
I have few clarifications:

1) as I see most paints as outdoor paints, can I use epoxy enamel spray paint to paint inside? If yes, how do I go with painting window sliding area? I mean will the paint peel/wear off overtime due to sliding. Photos attached.

2) I see etch primer in grey only on bunnings website. Can I paint any other colour on top of grey etch primer? Will that work?
3) do I need to sand before applying etch primer/epoxy enamel paint or just cleaning with sugar soap is fine. It’s a powder coated aluminium window and havent seen any scratches.

 

appreciate your help.

 

Mohan

97FD33DA-AF79-42EA-946D-1B3F2C6ADB2C.jpeg

10B38C0F-7D86-4BE6-8C75-E1FB38169E57.jpeg

 

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Painting 80's aluminium doors

Hello @approachmhn

 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. Thank you for joining the discussion and sharing your questions about painting your aluminium windows.

 

You can paint your aluminium windows with Dulux 300g Metalshield Epoxy Enamel Spray Paint Satin Black both inside and outside. If the painted surfaces are sliding against each other the paint will eventually get scratched off. However, if there is enough gap between the sliding window and the fixed one the paint will stay on. You can paint any colour you like on the Dulux 300g Metalshield Etch Primer Spraypak Light Grey once it has cured. 

 

If the window frame has a high glossy finish, I suggest sanding it down. However, if it's just anodized and is a dull flat finish, you can use an etch primer on it. It sounds like a fantastic project, we look forward to seeing your aluminium windows painted.

 

Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How to update window mullions

 

If you need more advice or information, please let us know.

 

Eric

 

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approachmhn
Cultivating a Following

Re: Painting 80's aluminium doors

Thanks Eric. 
will paint this week and see how it goes.


-Mohan

approachmhn
Cultivating a Following

Re: Painting 80's aluminium doors

Hi @EricL,

 

  when you say “If the painted surfaces are sliding against each other the paint will eventually get scratched off”, you mean paint will show metal underneath or paint starts to peel?

 

i am asking this question because I can see metal underneath the sliding surfaces on my brown powder coated windows but paint is not peeling.

if it is same after applying epoxy enamel, I am fine.

please let me know

 

thanks,

Mohan

 

Re: Painting 80's aluminium doors

Hi Mohan (@approachmhn

 

Our apologies, but Eric has taken some time off to be with family. Our other resident Bunnings D.I.Y. expert @MitchellMc will be happy to assist when he's back on the site tomorrow. 

 

Thanks for your patience in the meantime. 

 

Jason

 

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Re: Painting 80's aluminium doors

Hi Mohan (@approachmhn),

 

@EricL is describing what you likely see at the moment. Where the door runs in the track, the paint gets worn away at the contact points, which exposes the bare metal. The paint shouldn't start peeling.

 

Please let me know if you have further questions.

 

Mitchell

 

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