How To Paint A French Door Fast + Easy

Today I’m sharing How To Paint A French Door Fast + Easy, and you don’t need anything expensive or extra for this tried and true method. This vintage French door makeover was really over-due, and that made it extra satisfying to complete. I’m listing the supplies you will need and the steps it takes to do a thorough job. Plus a few tips to make it faster, easier, and even save you money! 

Now, they aren’t fancy… but I’ve been trying to add some simple videos for you. Please let me know if you like them, and I’ll try to add more! The video below is a before, during and after of my French Door makeover. But don’t worry, I also typed up a complete supply list and tutorial below for you as well!  

How To Paint A French Door Fast + Easy | Makeover Tutorial 

SUPPLIES

• Drop Cloth

• Paint Scraper

• Sand Paper and/or Sanding Block — 100, 150 & 220

• Wood Putty/Filler

• Putty Knife

• Cleaning Cloth/Tack Cloth

• Paint Brush(es)

• Exterior Primer

• Exterior Paint

• Razor Blade

You may have noticed that I didn’t add painters tape to my list, and that’s because I don’t use it. I’ll talk more about that below. 

OPTIONAL — refreshing door hardware

• Rub n’ Buff 

• Small Craft Brush

• Paper Towel

HOW TO PREP & PAINT A FRENCH DOOR

• PROTECT. Lay down a drop cloth, because this is going to get messy!

• SCRAPING. Scrape off all the loose paint you can. Take care not to dig into the wood. Use smooth, slow actions to lift off the peeling and chipping paint. 

• QUICK CLEAN. Remove any debris from the door/frame accumulated from the scraping. 

• FILL. Use your wood filler/putty of choice to fill in any nail holes or areas with imperfections from previous hardware, etc… let dry according to directions, and weather conditions. 

• SAND. I started with a 100 grit sand paper on the roughest spots (more coarse), then used 150, and my final sand was with 220 grit.  Sand all exposed wood, sand more aggressively where the raw wood and remaining paint meet, trying to get the smoothest transition you can. Also sand over areas you had to fill/repair. 

• THOROUGH CLEAN. Clean all door and frame surfaces in preparation for paint. I used my vacuums brush attachment to capture any excess dust or debris, going over each grid section and all along the door frame, then lightly went over everything again with a damp clothe to make sure I got any and all dust possible. 

• PRIME. I went over all the bare wood and the filled and sanded portions of the door first with an exterior rated primer, then let dry. For the second coat of primer, I applied the primer to all surfaces, and let dry overnight. Dry time will depend on your product, how heavily you apply, weather and humidity. 

• TRIM PAINT. I re-painted all my newly filled and repaired exterior door trim. 

• DOOR PAINT. Next, I applied a coat of my exterior paint over the entire door surface. Let dry, and applied a second coat.

CLEAN UP

Now, there are a lot of ways you can mask or tape-off glass when painting a French door, but both masking liquids and tape cost money, and take time to apply. Masking liquid needs to be applied over the entire surface of the glass and perfectly along the seams, if you get any on the surface you are trying to paint, your paint won’t stick! And you still have to do clean-up. With tape, you can get bleed through, and in each corner it has to be applied perfectly, or you won’t be able to apply paint well in those areas. 

By using a razor, I only touch the glass once. It’s very fast, and very effective. I’ve done this many, many times. We have 6 French doors on this house, and I always get beautiful clean lines. I use a plastic widget with a razor blade in it, and start in the upper left hand grid, and work my way down to the bottom right. Simply hold the razor flat slide against the glass, add a slight angle, and start pushing the razor towards the wood trim in short, smooth motions. Repeat.

Now cleaning the actual glass, that… I have no trick for. 

Progress — I took the shot above after I had primed all the bare wood, but prior to priming the entire door. While I was working on the door, I also removed all the weather stripping and primed and painted the inside of the door jam. I’m not sure why I hadn’t done that before? But it’s done now! 

OPTIONAL — door hardware

•  Because we will be replacing our door shortly, I didn’t want to buy a new doorknob and deadbolt, or mess with getting something new re-keyed. Instead, I used some Rub n’ Buff for a quick cosmetic update. 

• I myself could have been more thorough, but I simply gave my hardware a quick wipe down, and applied the Rub n’ Buff to the majority of the surfaces with my finger. I used a tiny craft brush to get the product into a few nooks and crannies, like the keyhole. I wiped and buffed off the excess with a paper towel. 

• For optimum results, I’d recommend cleaning hardware well prior to application, and protecting with a clear poly or some sort of sealer. This door is very lightly used, and I wasn’t overly concerned with making my finish last. 

If we planned on keeping this door, I’d definitely add a kick plate to the bottom, for both the pretty factor & protection. But since it’s going to be replaced, I’m refraining from spending any money on it.

I actually did this entire project without spending a single penny. We had everything I needed on-hand… I just needed to put some time and effort into it!

PRODUCTS I USED

For your convinece, I’ve added clickable shopping links for some of the products I used. Some links may be affiliate. Click here for full disclosure.

• DOOR COLOR: Sherwin William Resilience Exterior Paint in Softened Green, Matte Finish 

• TRIM COLOR: Sherwin William Emerald Exterior Paint in Pure White, Semi Gloss Finish

• PRIMER: Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3 Primer, White [click here]

• Rub ‘n Buff in Antique Gold [click here]

• Razor Widget, similar [click here]

• Quality Paint Brushes  [2.5 inch click here] and a [1 inch detail click here]

I’m so glad I was able to tackle this project before the weather changed! I had sunshine, my deck and all my flowers so close by. It was actually a very zen project to work on. I was mostly inside, with the door open in to the sun room working. Which was perfect, because otherwise the paint would have dried too quickly in the Summer sun. Moderate weather both with the heat and humidity are the best times to paint exteriors. And Fall is a perfect time for many to do exterior painting projects. 

Thanks for joining me today. I normally would not have let my door get into such a state, but I didn’t expect it to still be here. Either way, now it’s protected for another few wet and windy PNW seasons. Hope this post helps you feel capable of tackling a door project around your place, or maybe just inspired to try a new color. That’s always fun, and doors make such a beautiful impact! Be well, Shannon 

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