Projects Door Trim PAINT A HOUSE Your Guide To Do-It-Yourself Home Painting

DOOR TRIM

We will assume that we are painting a previously painted wooden Door Casing.

NOTE: It is not necessary to remove the Door in order to Paint most DOOR CASINGS... even kitchen cabinet Doors can safely be left hanging while painting the cabinet stylings
First be sure that the WALLS are already finished and dry... NOTE: if the Door trim color will be the SAME as the WALLS (but perhaps a Semi-Gloss Finish) then it's best to have painted the extreme outer most edge of the DOOR CASING with the WALL PAINT... Be sure to place a drop cloth along the floor below the Door area...
Door Trim like other Woodwork Trim should be Painted with a SEMI-GLOSS Finish...
Clean off any Grease with a rag and Lacquer Thinner
First TAPE the Carpet or Floor at the bottom of the DOOR CASING...
Next SCRAPE off loose paint and other areas that need it... use your stiff Putty Knife...
Next SPACKLE any Dents or areas that need it and CAULK all visible cracks...
Next drive-in any nails with a nail-setter and PUTTY the holes flush to the surface...
Now Position your FOUR-FOOT Step Ladder at a place to allow you to set your paint bucket on it so that you don't have to bend over each time you need paint...
Now STAIN-SEAL (using Pigmented Shellac) all SPACKLED areas... and areas where the Paint is thin or worn-down or stained with marks...
After it's dry (about 5-10 min) you can lightly sand all surfaces using a fine grade paper...
Do NOT use TAPE to help keep Paint off of surfaces (like Door Hinges), it is not needed if you learn proper Brushing Techniques, and will cause more work when you remove it, since Paint easily seeps underneath...
Now using a 2 inch flat-edge long handle Brush (referred to as a "Sash Tool") start Painting (BRUSHING) with the upper CASING from the inside edges (along the door jam) and WORK OUTWARDS AND DOWNWARDS... until you reach the floor edge... Refer to the Diagram Above Hint: Do not "overwork" your Brush... Let the paint "FLOW" onto the surface!
Check over all your work for drips and misses...
Clean-up
Remove tape
Remove dropcloths... Be CAREFUL to fold-in droppings, chips etc. and shake out drops somewhere else
Replace furniture. NOTE: Acrylic paint needs 1-3hrs to dry to the touch and 14 days to "cure" hard

tip Exterior painting can be especially dangerous... be careful of climbing ladders, stepping into ditches or holes and look out for other hazards that don't occur when doing interior painting! [read all the tips]

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