Step 7 apply sealant.
What kind of paint to use on french doors.
To determine what kind of paint was previously used on the door pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a clean white rag or cotton ball.
You ll never go wrong starting with a primer.
If your door is paneled start with the panels.
If your french doors need a fresh coat of paint you don t need to break out a detail brush for the job.
That said i didn t use primer on this particular door.
Using semigloss exterior paint and a 2 inch angled sash brush with synthetic bristles paint around the edges of the.
How to paint a french door.
The great news is that french doors have very little actual surface area that needs to be painted so this is really a quick instant gratification kind of project.
With the careful use of painter s tape and newspaper you can quickly give your door a.
Once the primer is dry you can paint the french doors with your chosen color of paint.
It sticks to pretty much everything and any paint will stick to it.
If you don t see any paint on the rag it was oil based.
An advantage of painting attached doors is that you don t have to wait for one side to dry before painting the other.
If you see paint on the rag the last paint used was water based.
Painting the french door.
Use the same technique you used for priming the doors to paint them.
Wait for the paint to dry and then apply a second coat.
For a door made of pine white fir or another wood species that doesn t bleed i e gives off tinted compounds in wood called tannins go with a water based exterior paint such as behr.
Paint a section at a time.
The best way to paint french doors especially if they have old glossy paint on them is to start with a coat of zinsser bin shellac based primer.
One challenge that i noticed is that because french doors have so many difference angles and you re moving your brush in so many different directions.
Some interior doors are heavy and challenging to remove but you can use this method to paint a panel door that remains on its hinges.