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rob_newton7803841

Painting front door

4 months ago

Hi, does anybody have any advice for painting my composite front door please? It's currently black but I have bought a Farrow & Ball French Gray colour match, and wondered how many coats people think it will need?
Thanks 🙂

Featured Answer
  • 4 months ago

    Found the blog, but not sure how to share it, but very interesting as she used two different paints a few years apart, one was Zinsser All Coat and the other was Frenchic Al Fresco. The Frenchic won hands down. I’ve screenshot the Pinterest page and I just found the blog by searching “painting a composite door”. Great step by step photos too. I hope it helps a little.

    Comments (21)

    • 4 months ago

      Prime with Zinsser 123 followed by 2 coats of paint suitable for exterior use. Make sure the coats are thin. Good luck.

    • 4 months ago

      You will need exterior quality eggshell, normal indoor eggshell or satinwood will start to peel pretty quickly.

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    • 4 months ago

      Also I have just had a new composite door fitted and the installers gave me a little pot of matching paint to touch up any knocks and scrapes. It’s quite smelly so I think it is oil based so there is paint specifically for composite doors, but unfortunately I don’t know the brand.

    • 4 months ago

      Great question. I also have a composite front door that is starting to peel. It's new so not very impressed. Thanks for the primer reminder @Ispendl 828. I'm going to try F&B external eggshell. Its under a proper porch so surprised it needs painting already. I would do two coats and if you have enough paint maybe a third.

    • 4 months ago

      Isla, if the door is new and already peeling then contact the installers. There is usually a warranty of some sort?

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    • 4 months ago

      Sonia, great suggestion but we bought the house from the couple who bought it from a developer and I have no idea how to find out who is the manufacturer? It's definitely peeling around the glass panel insert. Is there anyway to look for a brand or serial number within the frame? I may also be able to find out through our window installer as he has done some other work for me since. I will investigate, thank you. It's a couple of years old now.

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    • 4 months ago

      Isla, composite doors usually come with a 10 year warranty but unless the developer passed it in to the previous owners and they’ve kept it - have you searched through all the paperwork? - there’s no come back. Might have expected peeling to occur in full sun but as you say, your door is under a porch.

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    • 4 months ago

      That is really good to know about the 10 year warranty. I can ask but I am also missing Quooker information, some appliance information, shower and tap details etc, etc. It's very disappointing as the plumber told me himself that every brochure was left with the property on completion. Apart from the heating system and ASHP I have very little. I had a right job tracking down the bifold door handle specification when one of them failed about a year ago. I did get it sorted but it was so much more painful. Why can't people look after the information they are given? All you have to do is file it.

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    • 4 months ago

      Isla, most composite doors seem to be supplied by just a small amount of manufacturers such as Solidor or Hurst, but without the proof of purchase, not much you can do I suppose. I did see an article on Pinterest where someone painted a composite door so I’ll see if I can find it.

    • 4 months ago

      Thanks for the responses all. This is the paint I've bought to use - do y'all think it needs a primer first?

    • 4 months ago

      Yes. You’ll get a better, more robust finish.

    • 4 months ago

      Thanks so much Sonia, really sorry to jump on your post Rob N! Hope yours turns out great then I can copy your steps if I have no success with finding my manufacturer.Yes I would use a primers first, the Zinsser one is excellent.

    • 4 months ago

      I'd also like to add some greenery around my doorway. I don't have much room as you can see as there is a ramp to the next door flat right next to my door, however I was thinking of maybe hanging some wisteria above the door to add a bit more colour. Only problem is, I have no idea how best to attach any greenery; above and around the door is concrete that has a bumpy surface and above that is the soffits under the gutter. Any ideas on how to hang stuff to the brick/soffits?


      Thanks for advice so far, I will be making another trip to B&Q for the zinsser 123! Is there a specific number I need to buy, as on the B&Q web site it lists over 100 results for zinsser 123, each with different product names eg zinsser 123 mixed colour ral 6001, zinsser 123 mixed colour ral 3031 etc etc

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    • 4 months ago

      The basic product is white but it can be mixed with a RAL colour (such as your French Grey) if you want. White would be fine though.

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    • 4 months ago

      Wisteria gets very big and very heavy so I think not a good choice for that spot, but there are other plants you could add. Clematis is very pretty and not too vigorous (don’t get Clematis Montana as it is vigorous and will swamp the area). You could also try a climbing rose, but check eventual height. They come in various heights. You could add a piece of wooden trellis to the wall and tie the climber to it. Star Jasmine is evergreen and the flowers smell lovely (first pic). It is a little tender so needs a sheltered spot.

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    • 2 months ago

      Hi all, quick update on this. I've painted my front door and am happy with the result! I ended up doing two coats of Zinsser and then three coats of the top paint.


      I'm looking for a bit more advice now 😊 I've also began painting my arch and bin store, and have opted for a cream colour that matches the brickwork around my front door. However I'm looking for ideas on what colour to use on my fence and gate, seen on the pictures below. I'm uncertain whether to just stain them or paint them a specific colour that ties everything together. Does anybody have any suggestions that they think would look good with the rest of the colours on show?


      Thanks all!


    • 2 months ago

      Your front door update looks excellent! What an improvement. I would paint everything else to match your front door. I am not sure that you would be able to match a stain colour close enough. I have used the zinsser primer on wood like your fence and then used F&B outdoor eggshell paint for wood. If it lasts 7 years on window frames thats good enough for me. As that's likely to be very expensive you could always colour match. Johnstone's Trade are reputedly very good at this. You could skip the primer stage too. It just won't last as long.

    • 2 months ago

      Thanks Isla! I still have a fair bit of the exterior wood and metal satin paint left that I used to paint the front door. Do you think I could use this on the fence (and shed)? Maybe use the Zinsser to prime it first? Bearing in mind the front door is composite?

    • 2 months ago

      Yes great idea. No reason why not. It depends how long you want it to last as to whether you wish to prime it first or not. I have used outdoor eggshell on wooden furniture without primer and it still lasts many years. Are the fence and shed in reasonable condition? If so a quick hose off or wash with sugar soap and then paint when dry. If the condition isn't great then use the primer first. Good luck.

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    • 2 months ago

      Rob, your front door is looking really smart, thank you for posting an update. I agree with Isla, painting all your woodwork to match your front door will tie everything together. Your arch looks great painted to match. In my opinion you don’t need the floral wall art to the left of your door and perhaps choosing just one of your three black door number signs would be enough. May I also suggest repainting the area around the bottom of your door and replacing your doormat with something a bit more substantial?

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