I have been wanting to paint my front door black for awhile now. It seemed like an easy enough DIY project. I've seen beautiful porches with black doors all over the place, and I love them. But before I took the leap and did the front door, I thought I'd practice on the garage door first. Chris from Just a Girl posted about painting an exterior door almost three years ago. Yes, I've had it bookmarked that long. She recommended Benjamin Moore IronClad paint. Unfortunately, they don't make it anymore. That's what I get for waiting so long. 
I decided to try it anyway. The paint guy at Home Depot recommended Behr paint and primer in one Exterior paint. I've used their interior paint before, and I love it! So I gave it a try. Used the sponge brush and sponge roller to prevent brush marks. Unfortunately, my door turned out pretty crappy.
Here is a picture of it before I painted it. Yes, the trim has remained unpainted for 13 years. Don't judge.
Here is a close up of the door after 5 coats of paint:
Aaaak! See how all those dings showed up that you couldn't see in the white door? I didn't even know they were there. And you can see brush strokes, even though I used a foam roller. And the lovely white showing around the handle where the paint peeled off is just super classy, no? Yikes!
Here's what I think I did wrong:
-Used the wrong sheen of paint. I used semi-gloss paint. I was thinking about how nice and shiny the door would be, but I forgot that the higher the gloss, the more it shows off imperfections. I should have gone with a satin or flat. Duh.
-Didn't fill in the little ding marks. They make putty especially for metal. I should have used it.
-I didn't use a razor to cut around the knob when I removed the paint. I knew better. I just got lazy. And the paint ripped off with the tape. So not cool.
Thankfully this was just my garage door! I am so glad I experimented before tackling my front entry door. Now I know what to do differently. Since we will be replacing the hardware, I think I will just take the door off the hinges and spray paint it. That wasn't an option with the garage door, but our front door has a storm door/screen on it, so I can safely remove the door and not worry about a one year old getting out and a slew of flying insects coming in.
Am I bummed that my garage door looks crappy? Heck yes. It is always frustrating when a project doesn't turn out like we planned. But I am oh so glad that I didn't try this on my front door. Because basically the only people who come through my garage door are me and my family. They could care less. And I can deal with it until I have time to fix it. Which hopefully won't take another 13 years. LOL!
I don't think it's a fail at all! Everyone is painting their doors these days and everyone says the same thing: "Oh I think it brought out the dings." I think we all have dings, seriously! I think it's part of having a metal door. I think the black looks great.
Honestly, you should see my garage door I just painted– wowza. Not so hot. But it's better than the dirty/nasty it was before.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one with a dinged up door. I guess most of the door photos I see aren't quite so close, so you can't see the dings. Either that, or they've been photoshopped. LOL!
Hi Kara!
).
Confession – I tend to be a wee bit overwhelmed by all things house. A loose doorknob, a dripping sink, peeling paint, AAAAAH! I just love your blog, and it is part of my face-the-fear, get-your-domestic-on program right now
So here's what I find fascinating about your door fail…you planned ahead (oh yeah!), you experimented first and not in a place that would really matter (no rushing?), and you are not done in by that fail and moving on (ah hah!). You are going to learn from mistake, fix mistake, and keep at it. This is foreign to me, but I am learning!
)…Thanks for the help!
Libby
I know just what you mean about being overwhelmed. I swear that every time I cross one project off my list, two more pop up. Sometimes I think it would just be easier to move! Haha.
I recently painted my front door. I did my research on almost everything to keep me from a fail, but I am gifted and found something to make a big mistake. I did not look at the allergy report and there was pollen everywhere. So now I have a beautiful dark blue door with white specks.
Oh dear, that stinks! I remember painting a frame in my garage before and coming back to find a dead bug stuck to it. Dang nature!
OH! So sorry about your 'fail' but wow — so glad I learned from you
We're going to be replacing our hideous screen door with a nice new one and I want to paint the front door (which is the same as yours). I'll be going over it to look for dents/dings FIRST — didn't even know they make a putty for that! So even though it was a 'fail' for you — take comfort in the fact that you've helped lots of others avoid the same mistakes!
YES! So glad I've helped someone else to not make the same mistakes I did.
I love that you shared this even though you consider it a fail. You keep it real, which is so refreshing in blog land where we tend to only the the "perfect" pictures and projects that people want us to see. I don't think it is a fail, I think metal doors just show every little ding, but I can see why you might want to change things up for the front door.
Thanks so much for sharing and for being honest!
Thanks Maureen! I really was surprised at how much the dings showed up with the new paint job. Of course it could have just been that the old white door had so many scuff marks that I didn't notice the dings. LOL!
Oh, I'm so sorry, Kara! In all fairness, I don't think it looks as bad as you think it does. It is a garage door after all, right?
I haven't painted anything black without this paint yet, and I'm SO nervous. This paint was so spectacular! Good luck with the next one. Hope it goes better for you!
Thanks Chris! I wonder why the heck they stopped making it. Hopefully one of us bloggers can find a similar paint. Although, if this door holds up, I'd be willing to use the Behr brand again, just not in a semi-gloss. If you find another awesome paint, let me know!
omg it looks totally fine! i like it a lot actually!
Thanks Brianna! It's actually growing on me. Just need to paint over that white around the handle and I think it will look just fine.
I have had so many craft fails! I should post them sometime soon…anyways, it always makes me wish there was an undo button
Good to learn what to do next though!
Oh man, wouldn't an undo button be amazing! I would need to use it on just about a daily basis. LOL!