Client wants me to re-paint the front door. It a pair of 3-0 x 8-0 mahogany doors, painted black, facing southwest in south Texas. The finish only lasts about 3 yrs, but they are building a new house and will be out of this one in less than a year, so this effort is to get the entrance is salable condition.
My question is…how do you paint to the edge of the door and not have it stick to the weatherstripping? Do you have to leave the door open for an hour or so?
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell’em “Certainly, I can!” Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Replies
Most weatherstripping is "kerf fixed," that is, the weatherstrip has a semi-rigid leg with barbs that presses into a continuous sawkerf around the inside corner of the frame's rebate.
If it is that type, you can carefully pull it out to be able to paint the door, close it for security and weather, then come back a couple days later and press it all back in.
I knew that! I was just testing the rest of youse guyz.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Sorry Ed, but painting that much mohogany has to be some kind of crime somewhere.
Especially painting it black with a southwest facing - in Texas.
They were custom doors 10 yrs ago, with the sidelites and transom they were about $8k...and were left natural inside & out for about 3 yrs until the original finish failed on the outside...the inside is still original. The lady always wanted black but was talked out of it for this location. When the finish failed the second time, she said ok now I get what I want, paint 'em black.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
She might as well throw them on the fire, because she could hardly cause them to fail any faster. Too bad you don't get snow down there. They will make good tobaggans.
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Bob's right.... if the weatherstripping will come out or off easily, then remove it and paint, but be aware that when you close it carefully and walk away, the next thing that happens is that someone opens a door or window elsewhere in the house, causing suction that pulls the front door against the stops, ruining the paint. I've had at least one occasion where we painted the front door just as the owner came home, and told them to leave it open until late at night so it could dry. If they're cooperative and living in a decent neighborhood, that works well. Of course, if you're doing a decent job you've taken off the lockset... so whaddya do then?
I've known this lady for a while and we talk freely. She told me that the last two times the door was refinished, they didn't remove the handle set or the brass kick plates, just masked it well with blue tape.
So far the score in ten years is: original finish, re-varnish, re-varnish, paint, repaint...and now I'm going to paint again.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Life is just very difficult for exterior wood doors.
If they get any sun, it's worse. If the humidity changes much, still worse.
But to paint a door BLACK when it faces southwest in Texas???
That's a criminal act. There just is no "correct" way to do it.
Ed,
We've always had good success rubbing the contact surfaces of the weatherstrip down well with a bar of parafin. If that's latex paint and it has a few hours to dry first, that *should* do the trick.
Sometimes the weather stripping is stapled in, since we're usually out of parrafin, wax paper has become the tool of choice...works on sticky thresholds, too, but always, when useing wax on anything, use it judiciously, it can play some hellacious tricks on anybody working after you<G>
Don't worry, we can fix that later!
Edited 5/23/2004 9:53 pm ET by bucksnort billy
Yeah, I know.
I'm one of those guys who's usually lookin' out for the next guy, but sometimes a feller's gotta do what he's gotta do. And then just hope the next guy knows enough to use a solvent to clean things well.
In instances like Ed's got here, that paint is likely gonna want to stick to the weather-strip in the future whenever it gets good 'n hot anyway. The occasional appplication of parafin should offer relief for that as well......but yeah, if there's a next guy....he has to be on his toes and aware enough to clean the surface well.
Point well made though.
I fear this door is gonna warp but good in the direct sunlight with, I suspect, central AC on the inside. UGH.
HO call. If they're warned and want to proceed anyway........it's their call, I guess.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Thanks for the wax tip. The door has been black for several years now, and is still as flat as the day it was born.
.Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Here's a pic of the door after I sanded it, before priming. Took 3 hrs to sand (not incl the transom) and 3 hrs to prime. Paint tomorrow...I'm guessing 4 hrs for that.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Strips of common kitchen wax paper. Works like a charm.