Can You Paint a Garage Door?

02/06/2024

Your home’s exterior speaks volumes about your personality, style, and attention to detail. It’s a canvas waiting to be transformed; a simple change can often make a significant impact. One such often-overlooked aspect of a home’s exterior is the garage door. While a functional element, it can also be an aesthetic focal point contributing to your home’s curb appeal. Many homeowners wonder: Can you paint a garage door? The answer is a resounding yes!

At Whitaker Garage Doors, we understand the importance of a well-maintained and visually appealing garage door. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the intricacies of painting a garage door, exploring the benefits, steps involved, suitable paints, and essential tips to achieve a stunning finish that enhances your home’s overall look.

Sometimes, you want to update the exterior of your garage, but you don’t have the time or money to replace the entire garage door. Simple enhancements can make a big impact and improve the exterior appearance of your home. This may leave you questioning, “Can you paint a garage door?” With proper preparation, you can paint most garage doors; some even come pre-primed so that you can choose your own custom color.

Whitaker Garage Doors offers a wide variety of choices when it comes to garage doors, including pre-primed options. We can also paint your garage doors for you, as well. As your garage door experts, we have proudly served Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, and Fairfield counties for decades.

Cleaning

Before painting your garage door, you should take some important steps to prepare the surface. A clean surface is a requirement for primer and paint to adhere. You can clean your custom garage door in a few different ways. The fastest is to use a power washer. You can usually rent one for about 20-25 dollars at your local tool rental store or kiosk.

Another way is the old-school scrub brush and elbow grease method. Also known as cleaning by hand. You can use a sponge for loose dirt, but you may require a bristle brush for more stubborn dirt and debris. Alternatively, if you have age-appropriate children they can help for some spending money to make the task go by faster.

Primer

Once your garage door is clean and dry, the next step is to apply primer. Primer provides some benefits in preparing your surface for paint. Not only does it help to prevent discoloration from bleeding through, but it also helps to seal the surface of your garage door. This keeps the paint from being absorbed into the door, reducing the number of paint coats required for full coverage.

However, the primary purpose of primer is to provide better adhesion for the paint. This helps to prevent weather and other inclement conditions from causing your newly painted garage door to peel or bubble. You can apply primer using a brush, roller, and/or paint sprayer.

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Choosing Your Paint

Beyond color choice, the other main concern to remember is to ensure the paint you choose is appropriate for the surface of your garage door and is rated for exterior use. Most paint stores allow you to choose a custom color they can mix for you, but there are often pre-mixed options. Choosing the color can depend on whether you want it to complement your home’s exterior or match the existing trim.