Front door paint advice sought

I would strip it, prime with KILZ, and use latex. Stripping is messy but so is sanding down to the original finish.

Use the solvent-based KILZ or Zinnser's Bullseye and if you're going back with red have it tinted dark gray . You'll get a much nicer red with fewer coats . DAMHIKT but I will say that I only made that mistake once .

Strip and spray with 100% acrylic paint.

Yeah, stripping is a pain, but then with all those chips, it would have to be sanded and doing that with the door detail isn't easy either. If he takes it down, put's in on some saw horses, stripping isn't too bad. And it eliminates the possibility that the chipping of the old paint could continue if left on there.

Buy new. I just did. Mine was s*it red too. No easy way out. I did fiberglass with an oval leaded window. Too a couple weeks to stain it. You need a door while you sand and paint for a week or 2 so just get nice and new.

You all recommend stripping, the local paint stores say nah, just scrape and sand, it'll be fine as long as you buy our expensive paint.

I guess my question is do the modern environmentally safe stripping products actually work? I'm pretty sure the methylene chloride stuff would take it off but they don't have it here.

We have environmentally safe herbicides at work and they don't do squat.

If I do strip with Citristrip or the equivalent from the big box, what can go wrong? What's the worst I might screw up?

From my experience with citrus based products if that's all you can get start scraping. They do smell good though.

From the looks of the chips the top coat isn't adhered well to the previous layer so you would want to sand it all off. That gets tedious. Stripping is no fun either

I don't know if it's all markets but from a quick look at Home depot even Strypeeze isn't what it used to be. I've got to learn to watch that. I've got a can of Red Devil TSP/90 that is absolutely free of trisodium phospate. Might as well you Dial dish detergent.

I think they are probably right. The only issue with leaving the paint there is that it has chipped in many areas and that could continue with the new paint on top. How likely that is, IDK. On the other hand, scraping and sanding isn't that easy either. It appears to be almost all sanding. And then it depends on what kind of job you're looking for. Sanding/scraping trim work at the top of a house is one thing. There you can get away with less than perfect because no one will be close enough or even looking there. Front door is a different story and getting it perfectly smooth so nothing shows through the new paint isn't easy. You'd need filler to make it easier, which is another step. Then sanding with the door detail is harder, etc. That's why I think if it were me, I'd strip. I guess you could try the sanding/filling process in one test area, see how it goes.

IDK, I've only used the conventional. Youtube videos?

I don't see any real risk. How about a heat gun instead? I've never used on, but again Youtube probably has videos. Search for repainting metal door too.

Steel door? Use a cup brush on a grinder. You can get all the paint off, even in the fake raised panel detail. Then shoot on 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of epoxy enamel. Your door will last another 20 years.

It has been a week. Still sanding? Buy new.

How weather tight is that door? Sides, top and threshold?

Someone else mentioned replacing it. If cost is a issue, I understand.

However, consider the cost of the stripper, sandpaper, primer & paint. Then add in the cost of heating and cooling if the door is drafty. I don't know what you feel your time is worth, but you can add in some cost for that too.

And while "feelings" hard to price, how do you feel about the look of the current door?

Now go price a decent pre-hung door. Many come pre-primed, so to be fair, add in the cost of paint. Add back in the cost of your time, but not as much as stripping, sanding and priming would be.

Then "add" in the better feeling you will have coming home to a brand new weather tight door.

Hanging a pre-hung door isn't that difficult if you are a bit handy and have a helper. I had never hung a entry door until I was in your situation and decided to go with a new door. Now I've done at least 5.

Just something to consider.

I did mine with a cup brush in less than an hour and it was bare metal all over.

Do we even know if it's steel? I don't see any reference to the material in either of the OP's posts.

Your description of how long it took you to do your door may be 100% accurate, but it might also be 100% irrelevant.

"Search for repainting metal door too"

I guess I wasn't the first OT guy in this thread.

The picture in the OP post is of a wood, raised panel door.

How do you know it's wood?

I'll agree that based on the paint build up at the rail/stile seams it sure looks like a wood door, but my fiberglass raised panel entry door has "seams" also. Embossed seams, but seams nonetheless. The OP's door probably is wood, but I don't know with 100% certainty.

My steel raised panel entry door does not have seams, so I assume the OP's is not steel, which is why I was commenting on Greg's mention of using a wire cup brush.

Some paint layers seem verrry thin, so scraping won't leave ridges that can be seen after repainting.

But I have the feeling, true or not, that enamel paints or some others go on thicker (maybe so thick you can catch your finger nail on the edge of a chipped area) and even if the edges are sanded to a slope, they will still be noticeable.

And I have the feeling, with nothing specific to support it, that the paint that comes on some doors, especially if the paint is glossy, is thick enough to show those ridges.

How about you sand and repaint the bottom 8 inches of the door (assuming there are chips there), and see how that comes out. Then if it still looks chipped you can strip that along with the rest of the door.

It is solid wood, about 3 x 7 feet, and very thick. And heavy.

I had intentions of laying it on sawhorses, trying to sand, and reserving a dash to the big box for stripper if that wasn't working. That was the weekend plan. But the rest of the family was traveling, and having done a substantially smaller door recently I decided I might need help with the weight. (I have a shoulder injury.) I did get the pins out with some effort, little rust in there, so emery cloth and lube, it'll be easier later.

I think the outer red layer has to come completely off at least the white primer layer. I was able to get a bit loose with a fingernail at the edge of chips. I don't think the chips are into the wood. My friends who do some DIY painting all advise against stripping but really I'm leaning that way.

If it were metal I'd say that steel brush on my drill is the way to go. But I think it would mess up the wood. I do have a couple power sanders but neither will get into the detail around the panels.

Hm. I do have a heat gun. I found it in a dumpster and it's come in handy a couple of times.