One addition. If you use an alkyd paint, buy some Japan
drier (mine is ?Gillepies?) and add a teaspoon or so per
pint to increase the drying rate.

"George E. Cawthon" wrote:

Blake Patterson wrote:

I have a new wood-core external door that was just put in (new
doorframe as well) - it has metal sheeting over the wood and a window
in the middle. I am told that the white color on the door is primer,
not paint, and that I must paint the door to protect it from the
elements.

What type of paint do I use? I would like to paint it in-place.
Latex? I have no docs left that came w/ the door - the instsallers
left nothing - can I assume it has latex primer on it?

Thanks.

bp

I think the best paint is a quick dry alkyd enamel since you
will be painting mostly metal. This is often sold as 4 hour
enamel. You really need to remove the door from the frame
to paint it. But if you can't, so be it; it will be just a
bit more difficut to paint the edges but you will be able to
paint all of it at one sitting. Tape heavy plastic (4 mil)
to the outside part of the frame so that it is reasonably
tight. If you have to go in and out the door, leave a flap
that you can tape and untape. Next in the center of the
frame opening put an an expanding bar (like they use in bath
tub/shower combination or just cut a 2x4 to wedge in and
hold a blanket for insulation. Now set up a small heater to
blow on the door and warm it up 60-70 degrees. When it
reaches that temperature, but no more than room temp, you
can start painting. Since everything is essentially at room
temperature the drying time should be about what the can
states but I would turn the small heater on within 1/2 hour
after you finish painting. If you can enclose the area
around the door and heat it to 80-85 degrees that would be
great. In any case, you should be able to close the door
with no sticking in less than 8 hours. BTW, don't do the
painting when it is raining or snowing; wait for a dry day.

If you decide to use a latex paint, which probably won't
give you as smooth a finish, make sure that it has a high
blocking (no stick to other painted parts) rating.