Painting a Garage Door

[stn0091]

I just finished replacing some damaged panels on my garage door; the new ones are a clean white but the old ones are faded. When I repaint the door, do I have to do any prep work besides cleaning the panels off first? Sanding and whatnot? I've actually never done any painting before.

[embolism]

you can clean with tsp and rinse well, then dry the panels with a leaf blower (maybe let air dry for a few hours)

just make sure you use the right paint. An exterior acrylic latex paint is the best for outdoor use i believe (i'm assuming the door is wood). The paint store guy should know.

[chetsteadman]

If the paint is smooth on either the old or the new panels, you'll probably want to sand with a very fine sandpaper (brillo/steel wool may work too), just to give it a good key. Exterior paint jobs are just like detail jobs - the devil lies in the prep. If the paint can't stick to the surface well, it will bubble up in a matter of months - especially if the area sees a lot of direct sun or no sun at all.

[jpegs13]

A good wipe down with "Liquid Sandpaper" works too. Cleans all the grit and grime and leaves the surface semi-tacky for the paint coat.