Breakdown of how to paint garage door?

[skinnyman9000]

Howdy chaps,

Right then, if the weather stays decent I'm hoping to paint the garage door over the easter break. It's currently a white colour, and the paint rubs off to touch, almost as if its an emulsion, or an untreated primer, neither of which would surprise me given some of the bodges we've discovered since moving in last year.

Anyway, there is some light surface rust (more discolouration really) that will need treating before I crack on.

Here's my list of things I think I'll need:

Sugar water
Sponge
Wet & dry paper
Primer
Top coat

I've read various ways of how to not do this, but what's the best way? I'm thinking wash down, wet & dry, wash again, primer, wet & dry/wash again, then 2 thin top coats? Is that correct?

Also, what's the best paint to use? I'm staying away from Hammerite, which unfortunately seems to be all the larger chain stores sell. So, any easily available specific primers/top coats recommended? It's going to be red btw, incase that makes any difference.

Cheers in advance for the help.

 

[dcdec]

Depends what the door is made of but i'd wait a while as your paint drying is going to be seriously retarded in the current temperatures and you could end up with other problems, i know its not what you want to hear but save yourself some potential ball ache and wait

 

[Pigeon85]

Depends what the door is made of but i'd wait a while as your paint drying is going to be seriously retarded in the current temperatures and you could end up with other problems, i know its not what you want to hear but save yourself some potential ball ache and wait

will second that, really just isn't warm enough

 

[opps]

by virtue of the fact that the OP mentions Hammerite, I assume that it is a metal door. If so, oil based paints should be ok to use, even at this time of the year.

Personally I would sand and omit the sugar soap, unless there is loadsa grime, so much so that it clogs the paper.

If the door is wood then I too would recommend leaving it for now.

Getting back to the OPs request for products- difficult to comment without more info...

 

[dcdec]

It wont dry opps, you know what the post 2010 exterior stuff is like. Also a very good chance of the gloss going flat from frost, it may seem warm enough whilst applying during the day but come evening and the drop in temperature will be bad news.

I was wondering if the door is galvanised steel or not, you can prime with 123 if thats the case and the good thing is you can get it tinted the same as next coat, if i remember right mid grey for red? Water based would speed things up a bit.

I wouldn't bother wet abrading a garage door, hit it with an electric sander, can't say much more without the info.

 

[opps]

It wont dry opps, you know what the post 2010 exterior stuff is like. Also a very good chance of the gloss going flat from frost, it may seem warm enough whilst applying during the day but come evening and the drop in temperature will be bad news.

HI DCDEC, thinking back, although I have use OB sub 0º C it was pre 2010. Isn't the loss of sheen down to moisture in the air rather than temperature? This year, under duress, I have used DT Weathershield gloss when the night time temperature has been as low as 2º without issue, but I did add lots of terebene.

 

[dcdec]

Humidity goes up as the temperature goes down and you'll also get moisture forming on the surface which could freeze and then melt causing a long period of contact between paint film and damp/moisture. Terebine driers are ok in the right hands but add too much and the paint film will become brittle. With the extended drying times on the new formulation paints i think our options are more limited than they used to be, painting time has been reduced to the point where a higher ambient temperature is needed over the whole period of application and then when applied over timber moisture content of the timber has to be considered as well. Basically exterior work has become a pain with our poor summers added to the equation it persuades me that fast drying products between may and september are the best option, but that's more opinion to work productively than factual i guess

I use sikkens XD a lot, it film forms fairly quickly but i have to give 30-36 hours between coats (even in good weather) to avoid shrivelling and balling up when rubbed down, i believe weathershield is the same. I can remember u/c ing first thing in the morning and glossing mid afternoon in high summer, can't do that anymore unless you use WB coatings like bedec etc. Its time to work smarter with the products available to keep earnings up.

 

[BIG1]

OK, so I'm all the way down unda, but we like to do things pretty quick down here so we can get back to our barbies and beers. Give it a really good sand down - making sure to remove ALL flaking paint. A quick wash with sugar soap, prime any bare spots with a good metal primer and slap two coats of exterior acrylic (allowing appropriate drying time between coats) Start in the morning to get good drying thus avoiding the film of moisture that happens with enamel. Rip the top off a beer and relax!!

 

[skinnyman9000]

Thanks for the replies guys.

When I originally posted I had heard the weather and temperature was supposed to be improving this week, evidently that has not been the case and I've decided to leave the door until later in the year and spend my time off building myself a new garage workbench instead.

Anyway, the garage door was originally made by Catnic, which I believe are now Garador. It's steel, but I can't find anywhere that tells me if it's galvanised or not, I'm guessing not though as there are signs of surface rust along the bottom of it.

Anymore information needed for someone to recommend me some products?

 

[skinnyman9000]

Going to dig this up again now the weather is better, as it was never really resolved.

So, got a steel ungalvanised garage door that needs painting, is there a breakdown anywhere of the best way to do this, and what products are best to use?