Advice on primer/paint for front door

[Forrest Bonner]

I would like to have advice on the best primer and paint that can stand up to my sun situation.
The pic door is being stripped to bare wood for re-painting. The door is exposed to direct morning sunlight which has caused paint bubbles. I have a conversion spray outfit and have done some bookcase spraying.
I am trying to come up with a shade for the door, but the budget may not allow that soon.
Forrestdoor.jpg

[Paul Symchych]

We get murderous sun in AZ but are lucky to live in the SW where we can get Dunn Edwards paints. There are undoubtably several other good ones but Dunn Edwards is the one the pros around here buy unless there is a budget squeeze. It is well worth the extra couple of bucks a gallon. My one attempt at spraying it didn't work well. Admittedly an underpowered sprayer. D.E. has so much pigment solids in it that it doesn't spray all that well without pro equipment. The water based brushes on with no problems, covers well and lasts.
For primer, I'm partial to BIN shellac based primer or to a shellac based sanding sealer. The shellac should seal in whatever is causing your paint to blister.

[Larry Edgerton]

I have a white oak door in a busy bar that I filled with several coats of water based clear and sanded till perfectly level, mostly because it is cheap, to get it ready. Then I sprayed it with clear automotive adhesion promoter, just like they use on urathane bumpers. Then I shot it with a heavy coat of SHerwin Williams 7000 automotive clearcoat. The outer door stayed nice for about ten years until the general public and the fact that it is under the eave with no gutter finally got to it. But in the meantime untold numbers of drunks crashed through it. The inside still looks good as does the inner door.

One thing I always do with doors that are going to see extreme conditions is give them a bath with West System. I make all my doors using their product and when done I give each side a soaker coat with a brush, let it soak in for a few minutes, and wipe the exess off with a rag and alcohol, then procede with the finish. I don't have door failures, so it must not be too bad a way to go. No animals were harmed in this experiment.

Larry

I looked at your location. You probably don't have the temp swings and moisture we have here so what I do may not be necessary. Still, I like those automotive finishes, its what my house is wearing.

[Kevin Stricker]

Many door manufacturers will have disclaimers on their doors that state that finishing a door with a dark color will void the warranty if the door sees direct sunlight. As for product, an oil based primer is going to be the best choice for longevity.

[Jason Roehl]

Well, a researcher here in town (at Purdue University) would tell you that the best exterior finishing regimen would be:

1. a coat of penetrating and drying clear wood sealer (a clear deck finish)
2. a coat of high-quality ACRYLIC exterior primer (oil primer doesn't allow for movement of the wood and will fail)
3. two coats of a high-quality acrylic exterior paint

Note that with all those panels and edges that spraying is actually not a good idea unless you also back-brush. Exterior finishes on anything other than smooth metal or plastic need to be "worked in".

[Forrest Bonner]

For primer, I'm partial to BIN shellac based primer or to a shellac based sanding sealer.

I checked with Zinsser and they absolutely do NOT recommend shellac based primer for any exterior wood since it dries hard and would not expand and contract with the wood as the sun comes and goes. Spot prime only though is allowed.
Forrest

[Paul Symchych]

Thanks. I never knew that. Probably been lucky to not have run into trouble with it. Sometimes lucky beats smart.
Once [if?] it cools off I have to do my front door so this is timely info.

[Gary Kman]

A good place to read and follow label directions of a reputable paint manufacture. Their formulations, applications, and corresponding directions change. What one guy had good luck with back in ought '87 may be a different product with different properties under the same name today. My Sherwin Williams and Benjamin More stores have had some of the same people for 30 years. At the box stores, the staff seem WAY too knowledgeable for the short time they have been there.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

In California, they've taken away all the good oil products.
Behr (Home Depot) oil primer in the blue can will NOT dry for months. Add a quart of Zinsser Cover Stain (Oil) to a gallon of that stuff and it will dry in two days for sanding. Use it straight if you need it the next day.

[glenn bradley]

I checked with Zinsser and they absolutely do NOT recommend shellac based primer for any exterior wood since it dries hard and would not expand and contract with the wood as the sun comes and goes. Spot prime only though is allowed.
Forrest

Glad you brought that up Forrest. I am a fan Of B.I.N. but it is primarily an interior product. As mentioned, "spot" use outdoors is OK as you do not totally seal an article or large area. Exterior use recommended is knot sealing, stain coverage, and so forth. great product but, use accordingly.

[raul segura]

In my opinion the worst abuse of a door is not having it covered from the rain / sun. In Ga. with hot wet summers. It is likely to see your door suck up the moisture and rot. I'm just now replacing my wood door 2nd time with a used metal and stained glass. Id use the best primer and paint available and as said brush it in. I also (very lightly) calked the edges of the joints with calking probably not the best idea but regardless of what you due its going to creep. Big box stores often sell a lesser quality paint under a different / there brand, name than the actual maker. But its really the same higher grad paint. Also I think the two in one paints are a wast ....primer + finish coat. Why would you due that.
My only real advice is to make sure you paint all edges as well as you paint the part you see as I feel the door will wick moisture from the bottom and burn in the sun most there.This could help reduce the bubbling effect. Not a pro. just been there twice.

[Don Morris]

Regardless of the primer or paint. The longest lasting paint job will depend largely on the finish coat you place on it. There was an article in Woodsmith (I think, could have been Fine Wood Working) several years ago on the longest lasting finishes (GOOGLE it). They tested them in the hot suns of the southwest as I remember. They tried several combinations of finishing techniques. The best results came from a product called Epifanes which is used to coat the hulls of boats. Not too surprising. Expensive as the devil, but it gets direct west facing sun here and after several years still looks great on a solid mahogany door. Tried to post a photo of Epiphanes, but new computer is fighting me. Sorry.

[Lee Schierer]

I painted our exterior door with an acrylic door paint I picked up at the Borg. I applied two coats following the directions on the can. It is called Door Paint. It still looks like it was just painted aftertwo years despite getting sun for half of each day.

[Callan Campbell]

IMG_0402[1].jpgDon, this is great news for me, as I'm applying Epifanes for the first time to our Mahogany door and trim on our exterior/front door over the past, and next, few weeks. Yep, it's pricey, but levels well even on vertical sufaces and is totally dry to the touch after 24 hours. I'm sanding between coats with Mirka Abranet 320 grit and a vacuum hand sanding block to keep the dust out of the way. This is the trim, with 5 coats on it so far. I was unable to rotate the picture before uploading it, so excuse the confusion...

[Eddie Watkins]

Several years ago I refinished my east facing mahogany door. I stripped it to bare wood put a Sherwin Williams stain on it and finished it with a marine grade clear polyurethane. Then I hung a full glass storm door with 99% UV protection. I have had no problems with the door fading. It still looks like new and that has probably been 8-10 years ago. The paint had lasted only about 4-5 years the first time.