Aluminum door painting is never rocket science. It is where you gift yourself the opportunity to make a change. Out with the old and in with the new, by upgrading your aluminum door to a new color, or even give it a shiny look to put in place of a rusty one. And all this comes with just one little effort: You doing the job yourself!
Though, by all means, you can paint aluminum with any common paint, an exterior-grade spray paints leave a consistent and even finish, with virtually no brushstrokes, and it dries 4-6 times faster, with 40% greater coverage than commercial-grade latex paints.
Painting such material is an easy old-school task that doesn’t require much effort apart from planning. The tricky part is that pre-planning is what gives results to a task, or any task for that matter.
As you start your quest of repainting your outdated, vandalized, colorless aluminum door with a new paint job or whatever, here are some simple pieces of advice to keep in mind.
How to Paint Your Aluminium Door and Front?
Aluminum is used in a multitude of products, including homes and many common types of doors. Aluminum screen doors and storm doors are commonly used on houses nowadays and are often equipped with different features and accessories. Some of these include folding, swinging screens, and extra insulation to block out frigid or intense weather conditions. There are also courtesy floor heat and winter covers for these doors.
Though often overlooked, homeowners and property owners often find plenty of excuses not to paint aluminum doors. But, the ease of applying the right paint for these doors and the benefits of doing so greatly outweigh any excuse for putting some brushing up on the over-used excuse.
Prepare
When it comes to painting aluminum windows and door frames, firstly, they must be properly cleaned. Thorough cleaning of the frames and doors you’re looking to paint is nonnegotiable before taking the next steps. Why? Paint and your efforts can adhere to the metals much easier and longer when you put some efforts to first clean them.
To make the painting process go a little smoother, it’s best to prime the metal first. For effective results, a Preval spray primer is recommended, but this material can easily be done the traditional way with a roller, a paintbrush, or even with your hands.
You should always use the primer in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidebook. It doesn’t matter which of the two “techniques” you choose, the decisive aspect is to apply a layer of primer that is even and consistent throughout the area without leaving any pores, chaotically spread over the door. If you are doing this on a bigger area, make sure to put on a plastic sheet to avoid paint tints onto other parts apart from the door.
Sanding Aluminum
Sanding off aluminum door surfaces if they are lumpy or uneven can ensure the smoothness needed for painting. What you aim at achieving with the material you work with is something with a smooth surface. Smoothing the aluminum door metal surface can be achieved with sandpaper.
Without sandpaper, it’s detrimental to your paint job to touch the metal you are looking to paint before its application. Once a workable component is in place, you can raise the paint-ability up and get well-done finish out of it. Sandpaper isn’t the only way to work out the lumpy portions and other rough spots; you can also use a grinding disc and a bonding with a grinder.
As you sand your aluminum door, experiment with the composition of both tools until you achieve a result with its surface.
Painting
First of all, make sure that the color you’re going for is suitable for painting an aluminum or a metal door. High-quality acrylic paints should run smoothly on primed areas, and to improve performance, we recommend using die-cut masking sheets to cover areas below the handle and the panels.
Second of all: the right selection of materials. You’d probably use a 4-inch brush on a door with panels. On the contrary, you should use an average size roller for a door with a flat surface. The same is true for certain windows’ fiddliest areas – they deserve a paintbrush rather than a roller.
Keep in mind that you must apply each coat of paint with steady strokes, along the length of the unit, while applying slow, constant pressure on your brush or/and roller. Make sure you leave sufficient gaps between your strokes while moving along as these will prevent drips and unsightly patches on your finish. Your aim remains constant, even strokes covering the entirety of the unit.