Door painting: interior, wooden and front doors

What the price depends on

Doors are priced per piece. The size and type of leaf (flat or panelled, glazed or not), the state of the old finish, the number of coats and how many sides need painting all count. Check in the offer whether the frame is painted along with the leaf. Rates are in the table.

Paint, primer, wood filler, sandpaper, masking tape and dust sheets are paid separately. A new handle or hinges are a separate item too.

Rather hand the job over? More here: painter and decorator in Warsaw.

How different doors are painted

Solid wood doors are the most rewarding. The old varnish or paint is sanded, chips are filled, then comes primer and two coats of enamel or wood paint.

Veneered and MDF doors need care: thin veneer is easy to sand right through, so it’s sanded gently and more often by hand.

Foil-wrapped or laminate doors are the hardest. Ordinary paint won’t stick to smooth foil; you need a special bonding primer, and even that doesn’t work on every surface. Sometimes it’s more honest to admit that such a door is easier to replace.

Metal front doors are a different job: rust is taken back to bare metal, then anti-corrosion primer and metal paint go on. The seal, spyhole and lock are masked off.

Doors are painted with a roller and brush or with a spray gun. Spraying gives a smoother coat, but the door has to come off its hinges and there has to be somewhere to paint without dust. A flat door with no panels can be rollered in place.

Safety

Solvents, primers and alkyd enamels smell and give off fumes. Paint with the window open and away from naked flames, and keep children and pets out of the room. In older buildings there’s sometimes old lead paint under the top layers. It must not be dry-sanded without a respirator, and the dust shouldn’t spread through the flat.

How the job goes

1. The door comes off its hinges if possible. The handle and plates are removed or masked.
2. Washing and degreasing, especially around the handle.
3. The old finish is sanded, loose flakes scraped off, chips and cracks filled with wood filler.
4. Dust is cleaned off and primer applied.
5. First coat, a light sand between coats, second coat.
6. Once dry, going by the time on the tin, the leaf is rehung and the handle refitted.

Common mistakes

• Painting over gloss enamel without sanding, so the paint peels off in strips.
• Knots left unprimed, and a month later yellow stains show through the white.
• One thick coat instead of two thin ones: runs on the panels and a surface that stays tacky for ages.
• The door rehung while still wet and stuck to the seal.
• Painting in place with nothing covered, leaving drips on the floor and hinges.
• Ordinary paint on a foil-wrapped door that came off at the first wipe.

What to prepare

• Photos of the door from both sides and close-ups of the corners, the area by the handle and any chips.
• What the door is made of, if you know, and whether it’s been painted before.
• The colour and sheen: matt, satin or gloss.
• A spot where the door can dry undisturbed once it comes off.
• If a door can’t be off for long, a front door for instance, say so straight away.

Frequently asked questions

How to order

Describe the doors in the app: how many, what they’re made of and what state they’re in, and add photos. Tradespeople near you will send offers with their own price and timing. Pick one by reviews; only that person sees your address.

You pay the handyman directly and they issue the invoice. They stand behind their own painting and will fix runs, thin patches and marks left by their work. An old swollen leaf, peeling foil and hidden defects in the wood are not on them.

Paint doors and never skip the sanding? Set up a profile and orders from your area will arrive in the app. You work for yourself and decide your own business setup. Create a tradesperson profile