Double Garage Door to Paint.

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brucemillar

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Folks

I have a large double width, up and over, metal garage door that I wish to paint. Well that's partly true. My wife wishes me to paint it.

Any pointers to the best method to get a nice smooth finish. using a proper painter & decorator is not a workable solution as Mrs M is firmly of the belief that I should do this. I also need brownie points. Using a painter while she is away will also not work. My nostrils flare up when I lie so I will be found out. When recently asked if I thought the neighbours wife was attractive? My nostrils looked like Mikey Mouse's ears when I told Mrs M...No I do not.

I don't want it to have the rusty "rat" look I am aiming for the nice shiney no brush strokes look that other people achieve but I never do.

I am good with a brush and can use a spray gun. I have no desire to spray the entire County, so am thinking that a brush is probably the safest method for me. Not a yard broom and a tub of Dulux.

Good paints to use?
 
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Regardless of advice Bruce, you should post more threads such as this. Makes for a great read whilst eating my lunch. :thumb:

You're not gonna like this but it's all about the prep. You'll not get the desired finish without prepping the door first. Is it rusty now? Flakey paint? Or is it good condition but just bleached a little?

Hammerite undercoat/primer/paints are great.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hammerite...hash=item3381e6204d:m:mpl-wcOBqL4lEzluuVfIhlw

Whatever product you opt for always best to apply with a glossing roller than a brush. (On large areas such as a door)

Ant.
 
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Same paint as ant advised although if you want that pristine finish I'd go with a wider paintbrush to cover more area, glossy type paint on rollers always drip in my experience

Load up your brush and then wipe 80% of it back into the tin using the rim, keep the hairs slightly loaded and then paint up and down in a small area at a time, apply it evenly and then when you run out of paint scrape the bush again against the inside rim and get every bit of left over paint off the hairs (tiny bit is okay) and then stroke back over the painted area upwards only and evenly, then just repeat throughout the door

If it has recessed panels and grooves do these first in the same fashion, wipe away any paint that has gone in a different direction to when you smooth it over (Google glossing an internal door you'll see what I mean)

Master those smoothing off strokes and I guarantee it'll look like it's been sprayed :)
 
Stuff the others. Get a new door fitted whilst Mrs Millar is away. Stuff two earplugs up your nose so the nostrils cannot dilate any further and porkies are undetectable. Tell her what a nightmare it was to paint and show her the fruit of your labours stressing that it *almost* looks like new. Brownie points earned. Conjugal rights restored with cream on top. Not literally of course.
 
glossy type paint on rollers always drip in my experience

Don't be silly Ash, Bruce will OBVIOUSLY be painting the door in its 'open' position therefor drips will not be a concern! :D
 
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I had contemplated asking the next door neighbours wife round to help me paint it. My thinking was that if she were wearing that baggy, loose fitting top and tiny hot pants that double as a "G-Rope" Mrs M - Safe in the knowledge that I do NOT find her attractive..... Then I woke up.

I have a compressor and an air sander. So prep should not be to big an issue (if I can keep my mind on the job and not on the neighbours wife).

Hammerite sounds great. I do like the finish having used it on brake calipers etc with good effect.

Big brush I agree with. My neighbours wife would like a big brush and some long slow strokes. Christ what is the matter with me? I am now considering painting the lawn one bade at a time, when she is out sun bathing. Oh God...
 
Post some pics Bruce, (it's up to you to decide what the pics are of.)

Then we'll be able to advise you further. :D

As you're painting just need to think of the technique that 'Danial Son' used in The Karate Kid whilst painting the fence. Uppppppppppp, dooooooooooown. :thumb:
 
Once your done yours Bruce and mastered the technique, you are welcome to come and do mine.

Preparation is the key, and sanding off between coats too.

It will never be spray perfect but hey ho.

S
 
Once your done yours Bruce and mastered the technique, you are welcome to come and do mine.

Preparation is the key, and sanding off between coats too.

It will never be spray perfect but hey ho.

S


What a kind offer. One that sadly I will have to decline on this occasion. Thank you as always for thinking of me ;ˆ)
 
I think your wife has rumbled you and is using the garage door as a diversionary tactic (otherwise known as punishment).

As the professionals have stated above, prep is the key to a good finish.

As an amateur painter, I find Hammerite top coats rather thick to apply and get quite frustrated with them. A couple of years ago, I repainted our 2m high metal driveway gates using Hammerite Special Metals primer (gates were galvanised) and Blackfriars QD90 Metal Paint as topcoat. Both of these were easy to brush on and have given a good smooth shiny finish which is lasting well.

Taking the old paint off was a pain though, paint removers and wire brushing didn't work at all so use of a smallish scraper kept the neighbours indoors for a few days with the 'nails down blackboard' screeching.
 
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Fwiw. My own experience of Hammer rite garage door paint. Easy to get a good finish but it has not lasted, my South facing door is now a Matt finish, the colour (dark red) has stayed true but the gloss which was initially very high lasted two years max.
 
Well it's "galvanised" I think? door. It is operated by a motor that pulls it up and lowers it down. For fun automatic door people install a "safety " release cord. This is designed to be pulled in the event that the motor fails. Or in my case it is designed to drop unnoticed into the back of my open estate car tailgate, so that when you close tailgate and reverse!! It releases the door allowing to swing freely downwards onto the roof of your (now reversing) car - Ouch.

I have implemented an engineering solution after encountering this issue. I cut the cord with a pair of wire cutters, called it a few choice names and had a jolly good laugh at the garage door shaped dent in my car roof. Ho Ho Ho.

I now recall that Hammerite can go sticky and thick (technical term) fairly quickly with the lid off. Is this still the same? Do I need thinners or is that just being really silly?

The ideal for me would be get it powder coated. That is the finish we are aiming for here. I fear that I will end up with something that resembles the finish on the M25 at Chertsey. Or looking like I force fed it boiled sweets from a catapult.

Does Hammerite have a stray cat pheromone added to it? This is important for many reasons. In the summer It has been noted that cats will sleep on my open garage door only to be ejected like a giant coin drop when I press the remote. I have not desire for Mrs M to find stray pussy hair all over my newly painted door. Likewise with insects. Why can't paint manufacturers add insect repellent into the mix?
 
The garage door paint is not as thick as regular Hammer rite. I did thin the first coat slightly.
 
Now resolved never to venture north of the M20, just in case the spirits that Bruce has obviously disturbed could venture inside my car.



My garage doors are self coloured fibreglass. I would recommend swapping to these as there's simply no maintenance needed.

I also have the overhead release cords, but I have always just wrapped them around the joint and out of the way.
 
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Well it's "galvanised" I think? door. It is operated by a motor that pulls it up and lowers it down. For fun automatic door people install a "safety " release cord. This is designed to be pulled in the event that the motor fails. Or in my case it is designed to drop unnoticed into the back of my open estate car tailgate, so that when you close tailgate and reverse!! It releases the door allowing to swing freely downwards onto the roof of your (now reversing) car - Ouch.

I have implemented an engineering solution after encountering this issue. I cut the cord with a pair of wire cutters, called it a few choice names and had a jolly good laugh at the garage door shaped dent in my car roof. Ho Ho Ho.


Another one to add to the "Bruce" classic list !!!


I had a whacking great dent appear in my garage door once and was roasted by her indoors despite my protests of innocence. Oh how we laughed when we found out 3 weeks later that it was a local kid who had decided to ride down my drive and crash into my garage breaking their leg and being carted off by ambulance !
 
Not much to add Bruce really, other than you'll need approximately twice as much paint as you would for a single garage door. :D

On a more serious note, if its galvanised then you may have to use a special primer as paint doesn't stick well to zinc.
 
Easiest answer - buy another door! Why put yourself through all that effort of sanding, painting etc... Buy a new one, and pop next door whilst the workmen fit it! :D
 
Dulux primer/undercoat

Dulux exterior gloss

Cut in with a good quality inch brush

Foam roller the rest
 
Just wrap it, seems to be the way things are done these days
 

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