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Updated: Aug 25, 2022 by Kris Jarrett

How to Paint a Front Door (Step by Step!)

Want to know how to paint a front door so it looks like a pro did it? I’m sharing the step by step in this post!

When we bought our house in NC, I put painting our front doors near the top of my long home project to-do list. They were a bright light blue that was cheery but not my style and the color didn’t look the best with our home’s brick color either. I wanted to stick with a paint color that was still fairly light but a bit more subdued and landed on Benjamin Moore’s Boothbay Gray – it’s a light gray with just a touch of blue. I’m so happy with how it turned out!

Today I’m sharing the “before” and “after” of my door painting project plus an easy step by step of how I got the job done so you can do yours too! (post includes affiliate links; full disclosure statement available {here})

Let’s kick things off with a pic of what our front doors used to look like:

Our front doors before I painted them - click over to see the new color!

After painting our front doors and adding a pair of spring wreaths, this is the “after”:

Gorgeous front door paint color and great tutorial on how she painted it!

I’m loving the new paint color and the spring wreaths c/o Style the Seasons really bring them alive:

Gorgeous spring wreath with peonies and hydrangeas!

My paint color, Boothbay Gray, is definitely a gray when you see it up close:

Gorgeous front door paint color - Benjamin Moore Boothbay Gray

But you can see blue/green tones in it, especially from farther away when the sun is shining on it. It’s one of the prettiest colors I’ve painted with!

The other little upgrade I added to this space is a new doormat since the old one was sized for a single door – it’s a simple design that I can use year-round:

Love this long doormat that's perfect for double front doors!

My exact doormat is currently out of stock but check out {this similar one} if you need an extra long one too!

Even if you don’t have much painting experience, painting your front door is a DIY you can successfully tackle! I’m going to share the step by step of how to get the job done! Let’s start by making sure you get the right paint for the job…

1. Figure Out Whether You’ll Need To Prime Your Doors

Gathering your supplies for the job begins with figuring out what type of paint is already on your doors (latex or oil-based) because that will determine if you need to paint a coat of primer on your door first. To determine the paint type, dampen a rag with some rubbing alcohol and rub it back and forth over your door. If the paint color comes off on your rag, it’s latex and if it doesn’t, it’s oil-based paint. When I rubbed my dampened rag on our blue doors, it looked like this:

Easy way to tell if the paint you're painting over is oil-based or latex!

which means that the current paint on our door is latex. Yay! (it’s the easiest option of the two)

You will need to paint a coat of primer on your doors as the first step if:

  • You are painting a new, unprimed door
  • You are using a standard latex paint on a door that was previously painted with an oil-based paint.
  • You are painting a dark door a much lighter color (for example, painting a black door white)

You don’t need to prime if:

  • You are working with a new, pre-primed door
  • You are using latex paint on a door that was previously painted with latex paint (this was my situation)
  • You are using Benjamin Moore Advance Exterior paint over a previously painted door – this paint can be used over either latex or oil-based paint and is awesome for not leaving roller or brush marks but it has a long dry time so you would have to wait a long time for it to dry before closing your door (usually only ok for people with storm doors) and wait 16 hours before recoating.

2. Gather the Rest of Your Supplies

In addition to your latex paint (be sure you get exterior paint- one quart is plenty; semi gloss is the most commonly used sheen) and your primer (if needed), the other supplies to have on hand are:

Paintbrush – {this 2″ angled brush} is my favorite

A wide putty or taping knife such as {this one}

Sandpaper  – 150 grit and 220 grit

Canvas or plastic drop cloth to protect your floor/porch (I use {these} that you can wash and reuse)

Filler if your door has dents or gashes you want to fix (I use {this wood filler} for wood doors and {this putty} for metal doors)

Roll of painter’s tape such as {this one}

Utility knife such as {this one}

A narrow putty knife such as {this one} if your door has any glass panes

A few rags/cloths

A pre-paint cleaner such as TSP or {this Krud Kutter}

Optional:
Sanding block such as {this one} to make sanding easier & quicker

Mini 4″ woven paint roller with ¼″ nap such as {these rollers} or 4″ foam rollers such as {these rollers}

Roller handle for 4″ rollers such as {this one}

Mini roller tray like {this one}

 

3. Clean & Sand Your Doors

It’s time for the prep work! Start by thoroughly cleaning the dirt and grime off of your door. There are a lot of different cleaners you can use – I use Krud Kutter Pre-paint Cleaner available {here}. After cleaning, wipe your door dry and allow it to thoroughly dry before proceeding.

Now it’s time to sand. If your door has any gashes or scrapes you want to fix, apply filler (I use {this wood filler} for wood doors and {this putty} for metal doors) and sand smooth. Also sand any raised areas with 150 grit sandpaper. Then use 220 grit sandpaper to lightly sand your entire door (wrapping the sand paper around a sanding block can make it go faster on the flat parts!).

Prep your front door for paint by lightly sanding it

Use a clean rag to thoroughly wipe all sanding residue off your door.

Note: If your door was previously painted prior to the ’80s, it could be lead paint which you wouldn’t want to sand without appropriate precautions so be sure to test for lead paint if that’s a possibility

4. Protect Your Door Hardware

You don’t want to get paint on your door hardware so unless you have a really steady hand for painting around it, protect it by either removing it or outlining it with painter’s tape:

Use painter's tape to protect your door hardware before painting your door!

You may also want to cover your hinges with painter’s tap to protect them (I didn’t just because they’re in bad shape and I’ll be replacing them when I replace the door hardware). A trick that I’ve used on interior doors is to cover the hinge with tape and then use a utility knife to cut off excess around the edges:

To prep your door for painting, cover hinges with painter's tape and use a razor cut away extra tape by tracing around them!

 

5. Paint Your First Coat Starting with the Edges

Whether your first coat is a primer or your door paint (determined back in step 1!) it’s time to get at it! Start with the outside edges of the door – you can either use a mini roller or a brush:

How to paint your front door step by step!

If you get any paint on the front of the door while doing this, that’s no biggie since you’ll be painting it anyway – just don’t leave any paint globs (run your brush over any globs on the front to thin/feather them out).

Halfway through painting the door edge and again at the end, I go to the back side of the door and use a damp rag to wipe off any extra paint that might have made it’s way onto the back of the door:

Wipe any excess paint off the back of the door - one of the steps in painting your front door

As you can see from the globs of blue paint that are there, obviously the painter before me skipped this step 🙁

For the inside edge of your door, you might have a seal running down the center of it like mine does – you do not want to get paint on (it will stiffen the seal so it doesn’t work as well). Put a wide putty or tapping knife in between the edge you’re painting and the seal to protect it and keep moving the knife down as you move down the door’s edge with your paint brush:

Such a great tip for painting the inside edge of your front door!

When you’re done, wipe the paint off your putty knife with a damp rag.

6. First Coat the Rest of Your Door in This Order

If you have a typical six panel door without any glass panes, I paint it in the same order that I do an interior door (see my post about how to paint an interior door {here}) – I created this graphic to make it easy:

How to paint doors like a pro! Painting interior doors is a snap with this simple how-to!

You can paint the entire door with your paint brush or use a combination of a paint and mini roller, using the paint brush on any molding or panels and the mini roller on the flat areas. For a standard paneled door I typically use the paint brush/roller combo because it’s quicker and you get a smoother finish.

My door was a little different than a standard six panel door so I did the whole thing with a paint brush. I painted everything in the same order as above except I saved the window panes for last. If you also have window panes, there are two options for keeping paint from getting on the glass. One is to cover your windows with painter’s tape like this:

A smart way to keep paint from getting on the glass panes when painting your front door

The other option if you have a steady painting hand is to paint the panes without using painter’s tape, trying your best not to get paint on the glass…

Painting the panes of our front door

but not worrying too much if you do because it’s fairly easy to scrape off once dry. I simply take a narrow putty knife to get the job done (you could also use a razor blade):

Smart tip for painting your front door when you have glass panes

You can go either route but I recommend taping if you’re a new painter or if you’re doing a primer coat since primer is made to stick to surfaces well and will be harder to scrape off.

7. Repeat For a Total of 2-3 Coats

Here’s what my door looked like after the first coat on the left door – such an improvement!

Great tutorial on how to paint your front door! Love the new color!

Typically two coats of your new front door paint color is the magic number. If you’re using a primer as your first coat, you’ll probably end up doing three (one coat of primer, two coats of paint). Be sure to allow the recommended dry time between coats, keeping your door cracked open for several hours once you’re done.

You also need to remove any painter’s tape protecting hardware and/or hinges. Pull your tape off slowly and gently – if you go too fast it can pull off some of your new paint! If needed you can use your utility knife to gently cut where the tape meets the paint so it comes off cleanly.

After applying two coats of paint to both of my doors, scraping off excess paint on the glass panes, and removing the painter’s tape, our doors are done! I’m so happy with their new look!

Great tutorial on how to paint your front door. Love this new color!

Gorgeous front door paint color and great tutorial on how she painted it!

I hope you all found this to be helpful! Let me know if you have any other questions or decide to give this DIY a go. If you’re looking for other DIY projects to tackle, check out some of my other DIY projects {here}. Also, please share with us if you have a front door paint color that you love – it always helps to hear about colors that are tried and true winners!

XO,

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joanna says

    April 12, 2020 at 1:43 pm

    Wow!! Love the paint color. Great job!!
    I was wondering how you hung your new wreaths?

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:00 am

      Thanks Joanna! I was lucky because the previous owner already had two permanent hooks on the doors and the wreaths came with wire loops on the back. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Traci says

    April 12, 2020 at 2:30 pm

    Oh, it’s Devine! So pretty!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:00 am

      Thank you so much Traci!

      Reply
  3. Donna says

    April 12, 2020 at 2:43 pm

    Looks very “you” which is a fabulous look for your home. ?
    Question: our front door is metal, what would’ve your paint recommendation?

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:07 am

      Thanks Donna! You can paint metal doors in the same way as wood doors. If it came pre-painted, I would do a light overall sanding with fine sandpaper as prep and use a primer followed by a latex exterior paint.

      Reply
  4. Lisa says

    April 12, 2020 at 4:09 pm

    I love the color! have you thought of doing the trim and the fanlight to match? I think it would really tie it together since the gray goes so well with the brick.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:09 am

      Thanks Lisa! And that’s a really great thought – I need to do a photo mock-up to figure out whether I’d like the gray or white better there because I’m honestly not sure!

      Reply
    • Lori S H says

      April 16, 2020 at 8:16 am

      I was thinking the same thing. The trim would be pretty painted gray as well.

      Reply
  5. Jen says

    April 12, 2020 at 4:35 pm

    Beautiful! Love this color. It is spot on!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:09 am

      Thanks Jen!

      Reply
  6. Kelly says

    April 12, 2020 at 6:06 pm

    Your front door looks sooooo good! Beautiful color and wreaths! I have an interior metal white door leading to our garage from our mudroom. I would like to paint it possibly the same pretty gray you used in your CT home on doors- but would i do anything different because it’s a metal door? Thanks! Kelly

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:12 am

      Thanks Kelly! It’s pretty much the same process as with a wood door (other than using a different type of filler for any repairs of scratches etc. like I noted in the steps on door prep). If your door came pre-painted, I would do a light overall sanding with fine sandpaper as prep and use a primer followed by a latex exterior paint. Good luck!

      Reply
  7. Jennie says

    April 12, 2020 at 7:09 pm

    The door color is beautiful! I have the same red brick and have been wondering what color to paint the door. We didn’t want to paint the brick because it’s a pretty brick. We’ve been in our house for 5 years now. The previous owners painted the doors and shutters a dark Charlston green. I’m sure it was nice 15 years ago, but not anymore.
    Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:14 am

      Thanks Jennie – I’m really happy with this color! It’s funny you mention your house has red brick and a green door – that exactly what I painted our front door in our red brick house that was two houses ago. And yep, about 15 years ago – lol.

      Reply
  8. Melissa Dell says

    April 12, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    What a difference! It looks great!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:14 am

      Thanks Melissa!

      Reply
  9. Beverly B says

    April 13, 2020 at 7:52 am

    Great tutorial. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:14 am

      So glad you found it helpful!

      Reply
  10. Mary says

    April 13, 2020 at 8:20 am

    Looks great, love the gray! And I’m so glad to see you purchased your wreaths from Etsy. It’s so important now to support small, made in USA business’s.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:20 am

      Latawnie of Style the Seasons (the Etsy shop they came from) creates the most gorgeous wreaths!! You just can’t compare store bought wreaths to one like this that’s handmade and yes, I agree they need our support now more than ever.

      Reply
  11. Karen B. says

    April 13, 2020 at 9:18 am

    Kris,
    The doors look great and it does go beautifully with your brick. I love the new spring wreaths and doormat.
    Great job and it’s nice to have such a thorough tutorial.
    Stay healthy and safe.
    xo,
    Karen

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:20 am

      Thanks Karen! I hope you and your family are doing well XO

      Reply
  12. Marliese Walter says

    April 13, 2020 at 9:45 am

    Hi–Wondering how you hung your wreaths. I don’t care for the “over the door” type which I dont think you used.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:22 am

      The previous owner actually had permanent hooks in each of the doors (and thankfully he/she installed them at a good height) that I hung them from. It pains people to think of putting a hole in their door but if you have a wood door and keep a wreath up most of the year, it’s really the easiest way to go!

      Reply
  13. Anne says

    April 13, 2020 at 10:57 am

    That’s a GREAT tutorial! And your door looks fantastic.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:23 am

      Thank you so much Anne!

      Reply
  14. Cathy R says

    April 13, 2020 at 1:00 pm

    I love the gray doors! The white trim
    really makes them POP ! Perfect wreaths, also !! ….

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:23 am

      Thank you Cathy!

      Reply
  15. Laurie says

    April 13, 2020 at 6:10 pm

    I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out! But how did you do this under quarantine? Did you order the paint online? I would be so nervous about picking a color that way. Or did you already have the paint on hand? Please explain your COVID-19 process : ) I’m totally stuck!! Thanks so much.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:28 am

      Hi Laurie,
      I actually got my paint before our shelter in place order because I could tell the writing was on the wall that it was coming. Still, I was safe about it and I called the paint store and gave them my order and paid over the phone and asked them to leave it outside of their door with my name on it so all I had to do is pop out of my car and grab it outside (and then purell my hands and use a clorox wipe on the paint can 🙂 ) . I got lucky with the paint color because I didn’t sample it first like I usually do. To figure out a paint color, Samplize would be a great option right now – you can order 12 x 12 samples of a lot of the most popular paint colors!

      Reply
  16. Laura Alvarez says

    April 14, 2020 at 1:21 am

    What happened to your bathroom makeover? Was that make over from the property you sold? i would have loved to have seen the finished renovation.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:31 am

      Hi Laura! You didn’t miss it – it’s still coming! Unfortunately I still had a few small things for my contractor to finish when coronavirus hit and I no longer wanted anyone in my house. I really wanted to wait until it was complete to show the finished renovation so a soon as things have calmed down, it will get finished up and I’ll be sharing!

      Reply
  17. Martha Barreiro says

    July 18, 2020 at 5:15 pm

    Really enjoyed all your great painting tips and the photos on how to were great too! I am in the process of picking colors for our home exterior and I wanted to go all white. However, I can’t decided what color to paint the front door to complement the all white Spanish style exterior. Our front door has a glass and iron insert and the entrance has arched stone columns. I also have shutters that I would have to pick a paint color. Any advice would be greatly appreciate!
    Thanks
    Martha

    Reply
  18. Jody says

    August 28, 2022 at 2:49 pm

    Nicely done and super tutorial. I love your style and can’t wait to see your Wilmy house progress! PS I’m in Wilmington too. Welcome!

    Reply

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