How to paint metal door frames

[homediynoob]

  

Hi there, 

I am wanting to repaint the metal door frames in my house. Not sure where to start as the instructions on the web seem to all be around wooden door frames. The metal door frames do have chips here and there so not sure if I need to prepare them in another way? 

Thanks so much. 

[mattwhite]

How did you get on? I tried the aquanamel as suggested and had terrible results. It came up with the texture of a painted plaster wall and is very flakey despite sanding and priming. 
I’m sanding back the same frames now and will try my luck with oil based enamel. 

[EricL]

Hello @mattwhite

I'm sorry to hear that the paint finish was not satisfactory. Were you after more of a high gloss finish? The only method I'm aware of to achieve such a high level of finish on the metal is by using a spray gun. I also recommend trying out another metal painting system such as the White Knight Rust Guard System. These are interlinked products and are designed to work together to go on steel.

Please keep us updated with your progress,  we look forward to seeing your metal door frames painted.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[mattwhite]

I’ll reply to this for anyone searching for replies in the future. 
I’ve since purchased a Wagner spray gun and the results are infinitely better. Anyone that can roll or brush aquanamel is better than me. Spraying is the way forward. 

thanks to all for their input and suggestions. 

 

[Jason]

Well done @mattwhite and many thanks for sharing. I'm sure other community members will appreciate your advice.

Jason

[SensibleHill]

Hi @mattwhite the final job with the spray gun looks fantastic. How has it held up?

You mentioned having the same issue as @homediynoob with chips on the frames, did you just sand with the 240 grit as Eric suggested?  I’m about to do a full house and have major chips on the frames, and toying between stripping it or just sanding the chipped edges. 

How did you go @homediynoob - did you end up painting your frames as well? 

[homediynoob]

@SensibleHill 

No I have not yet…I too am also now considering whether I should just attempt to strip the old paint off and do a completely new coat of paint. The result from @mattwhite’s spray looks fantastic though 🤔

[mattwhite]

@SensibleHill 

The ones I have done have held up really well. The doors however I’m struggling with as the primer doesn’t adhere to the old enamel on them. 
Not all of my doors were really chipped though. The ones that were though I scraped completely. The ones that were still smooth I roughened up and it worked great. 

[Jason]

Thanks for the update @mattwhite. Do you need any assistance with the doors? Feel free to provide more detail and some photos as I'm sure our resident Bunnings experts would be happy to assist. 

Jason

[mattwhite]

Thanks for the reply Jason. 
With my doors I’m priming and painting over the original enamel paint after sanding but the primer isn’t sticking to what’s left of the enamel paint. I feel I need a different primer. They’re wooden internal doors. 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @mattwhite,

Are you using the Dulux Precision primer? With a slight sanding of the existing paint to dull the gloss level (to be honest I don't even do that), the Precison primer should adhere adequately to the existing enamel paint as it's designed for difficult-to-paint surfaces. I've used it extensively on gloss surfaces, and it's worked well. I'm keen to investigate what's going on to cause issues.

Mitchell