Painting panelled doors

To paint a panelled door you will need;

Medium and fine grade sandpaper
Paint remover – coarse sandpaper, heat gun or chemical stripper
Screwdriver
Cellulose filler, woodfiller or putty
Knotting fluid
2”paintbrush and 1” paintbrush
Drop Cloth
Primer
Topcoat Paint
Water to clean and dilute if using water-based paint, such as emulsion
White Spirit to clean and dilute if using oil-based paint, such as gloss
Clean cloth

Paint the edges of the door first using the 1” paintbrush.
Then paint the faces of the door using the 2” paintbrush.
Paint the moulding and centre field of each panel in sequence, moving left to right and top to bottom over the door.
Paint the vertical stiles in between each pair of panels.
Then paint the horizontal rails, moving top to bottom.
Finish by painting the vertical stiles on the latch and hinge side.
You should aim to coat the door in the sections it was made, so try to apply paint only up to the junction of each stile and rail.
As you complete each section, lay off the paint with a light stroke along the longest dimension using the tip of the brush.
Don’t overload your brush with too much paint as this will encourage runs. These are especially likely to form in the corners of the panels. To minimise this, ensure you paint out of, not into, the corners to discourage paint from collecting there.
Check back over the door and remove any developing runs by brushing them out and laying off with a stroke that follows the woodgrain.
When finished the door should be evenly covered all over, with the paint running in the direction of the woodgrain on all of the individual components of the door.

How much paint will I need?

It is recommended that gloss or vinyl silk paint is used for the top coat on doors as they are the most hard wearing.

A single coat of primer, covering both sides of a door will require 0.5 litres of paint.
A single coat of undercoat, covering both sides of a door will require 0.5 litres of paint.
A single top coat of gloss, covering both sides of a door will require 0.5 litres of paint.

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