Exterior Trim, Windows and Doors

Exterior Trim, Windows and Doors

Questions and answers about the preparation and painting of exterior trim, windows and doors.

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Questions that Need Answers

• Exterior Door - I primed my door and was about to paint when it started raining, how long do I need to wait after the rain stops before I can paint door?

Questions with Answers

• Metal door paint? - Want to paint external metal door. What type of paint should I use?
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• Aluminum Trim - House has window trim wrapped in aluminum. What type of paint (water or oil) is used in the factory?
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• Caulk in trim that overlaps, lap siding - On the front of our house, we have masonite lap siding. Overlapping the lap siding on the edges, there is 1 x 6 inch wood trim. There are, thus, triangle gaps along the edges all the way down. My question is, should I caulk those in when I repa...
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• Stop staining coming through paint work. - Please can you help. I had my door stripped back to the wood I primed them before painting and yellow streaks keep coming through. I then used Polycel stain block painted this on and two weeks later the yellow streaks have appeared again, what can...
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• Troubles with ambering while refinishing exterior posts. - I've been refinishing fir posts: no stain, clear coat only, southern exposure, beachfront. The side of the post that is facing out was very damaged and so required full clear coat removal (sanded down to bare wood using 80, 120 grit). The other 3...
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• Front Door Prep - Does a front door have to be sanded all the way down to the wood?
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• Painting a previously painted door. - I don't know if the old paint was oil based or latex, so I sanded it and used Zinnser 123 latex based, I let it dry for almost 24 hrs before putting finish paint on it. Problem seems to be is the door seems tacky still and sticks to the weatherstr...
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• Painting perforated aluminum soffit. - My 30 year old house has brown perforated aluminum soffit. I would like to repaint the soffit a color that goes better with the current body and trim colors. My problem is that normal latex house paint would fill the perforations (small round ho...
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• Painting an exterior steel door. - I want to paint my front exterior steel door (with sidelight) a dark brown. Do I paint the door frame and the trim or do I leave it white?
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• Wood look painting technique. - What techniques or applications should you use when trying to achieve the look of wood on a white (painted) metal/steel exterior front entrance door?
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• Painting an Exterior Metal Door - How can I keep a freshly painted door from sticking to the magnetic weather stripping (gasket)?
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• Adding a gloss to a low luster paint. - I have painted an exterior door with exterior low luster latex paint. It is showing scuff marks. Can I add anything to make the paint more glossy or durable before I continue painting other doors?
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• Removing Sap - How do I remove sap from a painted steel entry door?
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• Vinyl Spray Paint - We have a wooden door over our crawl access. The paint keeps washing away from rain dripping off the awning overhead. Can it be sprayed with a Vinyl Spray Paint? Where can one buy this product? Any other suggestions?
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• Prepping vinyl skinned metal exterior door. - Have vinyl clad metal entry door with a very large bubble/blister, how does one remove the rest of the vinyl, prep & paint the door?
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• Paint is Chipping Off Exterior Wood Railing within 1 Year - We installed salt-treated wooden railing at the entrance to our our home, several years ago, and it was primed within one year, but never painted. Then two years ago, the railing was finally painted, but the paint started popping and splitting all...
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• Painting Exterior Doors - How do you paint an exterior door without sticking?
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• How to stop the blisters forming over the knots? - Cedar releases natural oils, sap, and tannin. This release occurs at the knots. Blisters are forming over each knot. Scraping, sanding and priming may fix a few but then more blisters come up in different spots, and sure enough, the new spots have...
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• Painting and Staining Steel Doors - I'm looking into starting my own business and I was wondering if you could give me some tips on painting & staining steel doors? (Steel Doors, Garage Doors, Vinyl Doors, etc) Your help is greatly appreciated ! A lot of people are thinking it's ...
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• High gloss acrylic paint on a door. - Result is not high gloss, but dull and pimply. Very hot day.
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• Exterior paint sagged. - Hello, Recently painted my front door but unfortunately it rained and the paint now has sagged and has rain marks. What exactly should i do to fix?
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• Wood window painting. - How often should wood window be painted in Northeast?
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• Painting exterior doors and windows - Please can you tell me where do I paint in the reveals and shuts if I'm painting the outside of the property.
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• Metal primer on my metal doors then I used a solid stain. - I put a metal primer on my metal doors then I used a solid stain. It turned out to look good but it is very dull. Is there a finish I can put on top?
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• Chalky white powder on entryway doors. - There is a chalky white powdery surface on my new entryway doors. How do I get it off or prep for it (exterior)?
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