We have a very large "to do" list for our house, as you may have gathered from previous posts. Some of the things on there have been making us crazy for a year. The door is one of those things. 
You can't really tell in this picture, but...
Well, in September (you know, before the cold weather), we started sanding down the door to put on a fresh coat of bubble-free paint. Sanding wasn't very effective. We tried paint stripper (unfortunately, I bought eco-friendly stuff that even a pregnant woman could use, since I didn't want Tyler to have to do my dirty work). Not very effective, either, although it did get the rest of the nasty tan texture off. We ended up using a heat gun, which allowed us to scrape off the other layers of white primer and green paint (but Jack really really wanted us to keep the green paint--it's his favorite). Lest you think this was a one day project, the various sanding, stripping, and scraping activities lasted until 2 weekends ago! Part of the problem was lousy weather over several weekends, the other part was a frustration with the project in general. I was really annoyed at the beginning of the month when our door was bare metal in some places and peeling green and white in others. One lady from church got so confused when she was coming to my house but saw the horrible door that she wandered around the neighborhood, looking for my house. She knew that the horrible door wasn't mine!
Nearly finished stripping...it looked way worse than this for a few weeks!
Hooray, Halellujah, Rejoice!
The paint sprayer was the perfect tool, although it did take MANY coats to get complete coverage. In the end, while the door is not perfect, the texture is relatively smooth and even. It's my favorite color, too, which doesn't hurt!
And now, behold, our door in all its glory!
You can't really tell in this picture, but...When it was last painted, the painters used a roller and probably slapped on a thick coat of paint in the HOT sun. Paint bubbles dried onto the door immediately, leaving behind a texture not unlike a fine popcorn ceiling. Over the years, dirt has collected in and around each tiny pustule-like bubble. Nasty, nasty, nasty!
Well, in September (you know, before the cold weather), we started sanding down the door to put on a fresh coat of bubble-free paint. Sanding wasn't very effective. We tried paint stripper (unfortunately, I bought eco-friendly stuff that even a pregnant woman could use, since I didn't want Tyler to have to do my dirty work). Not very effective, either, although it did get the rest of the nasty tan texture off. We ended up using a heat gun, which allowed us to scrape off the other layers of white primer and green paint (but Jack really really wanted us to keep the green paint--it's his favorite). Lest you think this was a one day project, the various sanding, stripping, and scraping activities lasted until 2 weekends ago! Part of the problem was lousy weather over several weekends, the other part was a frustration with the project in general. I was really annoyed at the beginning of the month when our door was bare metal in some places and peeling green and white in others. One lady from church got so confused when she was coming to my house but saw the horrible door that she wandered around the neighborhood, looking for my house. She knew that the horrible door wasn't mine!
Nearly finished stripping...it looked way worse than this for a few weeks!So, 2 weekends ago, we finished sanding and primed that sucker. Ah, the sweet odor of spray primer lingered in our garage, but it was the right choice for even, SMOOTH coverage. We tried to paint the door with our choice of "Cranberry Zing" but decided that we weren't really going for major brush marks or bubbles. Project went on hold for ANOTHER week until I could borrow a paint sprayer from my friend.
Hooray, Halellujah, Rejoice!
The paint sprayer was the perfect tool, although it did take MANY coats to get complete coverage. In the end, while the door is not perfect, the texture is relatively smooth and even. It's my favorite color, too, which doesn't hurt!
And now, behold, our door in all its glory!
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