Painting front doors

A front door is two square metres that change a whole house. It needs a paint that can face rain, sun and keys: our Multi-Surface Gloss (85% sheen) gives the deep lacquer of a London door, Satin (40%) a quieter shine that forgives small flaws in the wood, Eggshell (15%) a soft glow, and Dead Matt (5%) a deep matt that is very current. All four go onto painted wood, or onto bare wood and steel after our Multi-Surface Primer.

The most elegant doors are often the darkest: Market Green, Blueprint, Downing Street; but a Dulwich Red on a stone façade, or a Freegrove Mustard on grey render, is a signature. Match the garage door or the shutters, and leave brass or black to the hardware.

Recommended finishes

Front door

Multi-Surface Dead Matt Multi-Surface Eggshell Multi-Surface Satin Multi-Surface Gloss

Primer

Multi-Surface Primer

Our advice

A front door, done well

Early on a dry morning, hardware off and panels first: a front door is painted in a day and stays open until evening.

Dark-grey undercoat under a deep colour: two topcoats will be enough.

Prepare

Take off the hardware, sand, undercoat

Unscrew the knocker, letter plate, handle and number rather than masking them: the result is in another league. Wash the door with degreaser, rinse. Sand flaking areas back to sound wood with 120 grit, then the whole door with 180 to dull it; fill splits and holes with exterior wood filler and sand again.

On bare wood, filled patches and a new door, apply our Multi-Surface Primer in the tint matched to your colour: under Market Green or Blueprint, the dark-grey version saves two topcoats. A steel door is sanded very lightly and takes the same primer.

Market Green in Multi-Surface Gloss, Charterhouse on the façade.

Paint

Panels, rails, stiles, and the door stays open

Start early on a dry day, between 10 and 25 °C, the door wedged open and out of direct sun. Paint the mouldings and panel fields first, then the horizontal rails, then the vertical stiles, and the edges last; each stroke wipes out the join from the one before. A 50 mm synthetic brush, moderately loaded, laid off along the grain.

Two thin coats of Multi-Surface Gloss or Satin, 3–4 hours apart; Gloss needs a little more care, but the depth is incomparable. Leave the door open until evening and refit the hardware only the next day. Market Green in gloss, a brass knocker, on a Charterhouse façade: the London door par excellence.