How can I paint / restore my wood , metal , vinyl garage door and entrance door

Garage door is a big part of your exterior and mostly the first seen from outside. That's why a good looking garage door is important for first impression. Canadian weather is a big this advantage for exterior surfaces becasue of the humidity and temperature difference between the seasons. A high quality paint will last 5-10 years for an exterior surface on a garage door as long as the preparation done right.  We will eleborate the paint types and preparation tips in the other articles. Please check the other articles in our website under Blog section. Garage doors mostly have wood , vinyl or metal exterior surface. The trim around the garage door might be made with same or any one of these 3 materials. Recently composite materials becoming commonly used for exterior surfaces too. It is more beneficial to keep the original paint / finish as long as possible with minor fixes and touch ups. If you know which company manufactured the garage door and the model number, they might provide or suggest you touch up paint. When you made up your mind about changing the color or you believe it is time to get it fixed properly , hiring a professional painting company is mostly a better option. If you are a handy person and trust your skills , painting an exterior garage door can be a good hobby work for you. Exterior painting is all about doing the right preparation , using the right material & paint , doing it in the good weather conditions. You can find detailed step by step preparation tips, materials and tools list , DIY tips in this article.

Exterior painting season mostly starts May and ends mid of October , sometimes we can catch a sunny / warm day to paint even November. The ideal weather condition is for exterior painting is not too hot , not too cold or not humid. Between +15C and +25C is the best temperature for exterior painting. 

Step1 (Surface Preparation) : If your garage door has peeling paint only or surface problems you don't need to get involve replacing wood , welding , patching with auto body filler etc. You should have a wire brush , floor scraper , palm sander to rid off unwanted dirt and peeling paint from the surface. You can start with wire brush and scraper then operate a power palm sander to smoothen the surface as much as possible. After ridding of unwanted dirt and peeling paint (possibly older caulking , filling materials) , you need to decide if the surface condition is smooth enough to paint over. If the surface is rough and you need to fill the gaps in the joints to seal or leveling the rough surface with exterior compound. Years of experience gave a chance to observe which material will last longer and easier to work with. Mostly the gaps in the joints needs to be caulked with exterior caulking and vinyl spackling is used for leveling the rough surfaces. If you need a wood replacement , patching or welding metal ; we wouldn't recommend you to do it yourself. After performing a serious caulking , applying the exterior compound with putty knives , you need to give it enough time to dry completely. Drying / curing time will vary the weather conditions. Some instant vinyl spackling brands has pinl color indicators to change to white during drying process. Sanding the patched areas and the whole surface , dusting , cleaning with a damp cloth will give you a better and stronger finish. 

Step2 (Applying Primer / Priming) : Priming is a very important part of a painting project. Each surface / each case requires a different kind of primer. There are many different kind of primers and brand names in the market. Our experience gives us a chance to estimate which primer will be the best option for each case. Sometimes manufacturers don't want to give a commitment and they try to avoid using straight forward instructions. For example there are very limited primers for tough surfaces (such as vinyl , glass , composite , alimunium , galvanize ,  etc..). We know which primer will be the best option to bond on that surface under certain conditions. Primer will give a strong base to finish to stick on. In many cases converting light colors to darker color or dark colors to light color requires tinted primer.

Step3 (Applying Finish Coats) : When you decide which color(s) will be the best option for your exterior garage door you should get the strongest possible exterior paint from a local paint dealer ( because they carry the best products different than home improvement stores). Flat / mat sheen is commonly used for exterior , Low luster sheen can be used if you like slightly sheen on the surface. We wouldn't recommend ant shinier paint for exterior surfaces. We use 100% acrylic exterior paint in certain brandnames. We give 2 years warranty on labor and paint manufacturer gives 15 years warranty on its products. Some cases requires a speciality paint and it is a different world. Application method(s) might be decided for each case if spraying or using roller / brush or combinations will be the best option. Masking the surroundings, type of the finish, efficiency , wastage of the paint , smoothness and many factors observed to decide which method is the best. 10 mm semi-rough microfiber rollers and professional paint brushes should be used for a reasonably smooth exterior finish. 2 or 3 coats can be applied in the right thickness for a strong and solid coverage. Applying too thick paint will not give you a strong finish oppositely it will be weaker.

Step4 (Inspecting and Delivering the project) : Inspecting a completed painting project is very important. Even if the preparation done right , used the right primer and paint sometimes surface reactions can be unexpected. An extra step of scraping , patching, sanding ,priming , finishing process might be done if there is any bubbling or surface issuies observed. 

C&S Painting gives 2 years warranty on labor and we provide (references with adresses) many exterior projects done within the city and you can observe how they have been lasting for many years. The realistic expectation for an exterior painting to last is 5 to 10 years. It means start having wear and tear in 5 years and getting bad in 10 years. Many factors will affect this process and time range. Please get in touch with us to receive a no obligation free quotation for your painting project.