Sealer/Primer for Exterior Doors?

Prime and paint in a neutral color. As long as you pick your 'real' color in the first year or so, a light sanding and a tack rag should be all the prep you need to paint over that. By color scheme, I assume you mean the inside? On the outside, just paint the same color as the doors on the main house- it'll look funny otherwise.

aem sends...

Oil primer seals and is better than latex.

Assuming you have wood doors? If you have no clue as to color, put on a sealer and a coat of satin varnish. Leaving a wood door exposed to elements may warp it, loosen joins, raise grain, etc. If it gets hot sun, especially behind a storm door, varnish may not last long. Good idea in that situation to open the window of the storm door a tad to let air circulate.

Norminn in news:iJrKf.1032$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:

also assuming wood-based door, i'd prime with oil, or at least one layer should be oil. also similar to above caution: don't paint exterior woods with dark colors; too much expansion & contraction where sunshine strikes. (reds are "darker" than they appear, but i'm not sure about light absorption differences within the spectrum).

Thank you all for your input..

I'm also assuming it's a wood door. Oil primers aren't always better than latex, but in this case a good oil-based primer/sealer is the way to go. Make sure it dries flat -- most do, but some dry with a sheen. Using a flat oil primer will allow you to use a latex finish, if you choose. Consult your local paint store.

Contractor doesn't want to hang the door because it needs to be 6-sided

-- primed/sealed everywhere, including top and bottom. Always a good idea [besides the fact that warranties are void unless doors are

A delay between primer coat and finish coat isn't a big problem -- you want to be sure it's clean [perhaps some light sanding is in order] before putting up finish coat.