How to paint MDF doors at home? Painting doors: a review of methods and methods for doing them. Is it possible to paint PVC doors?

03.09.2016 112157

Every theater begins with a hanger, and the interior of any room begins with a door, which sets the mood and makes a significant contribution to the atmosphere of the interior and is an important element of the zoning of the room.

Many people underestimate the need for updating, focusing on the choice of wallpaper, flooring and furniture. As a result, an unpleasant contrast is created between a brand new room and an old door that has lost its appearance. But this can be avoided if you paint it yourself. Provided that the paint is selected correctly and the painting technology is followed, the result will be excellent, which will allow you to create a complete, harmonious interior and at the same time significantly save money.

Which paint to choose?

There is such paint for interior doors:

alkyd enamels;
acrylic enamels;
nitro paint.

Alkyd enamels are inexpensive, but they create a stable, smooth, durable coating on the surface. However, such paints have one significant drawback: when painting, an unpleasant odor appears, which will disappear only after the enamel layer has dried, and this takes a couple of days. Therefore, alkyd enamels are used only for well-ventilated areas or if there are no small children or people with allergies in the apartment.
The ideal choice for painting would be acrylic enamel, which dries quickly and does not emit an unpleasant odor. After painting, it may be necessary to apply an additional layer of varnish to protect the canvas from moisture and to create a pleasant glossy effect.
Nitro paint creates a great, even finish and dries within minutes, but it also releases toxic substances into the air. Therefore, when using it, children, pregnant women and allergy sufferers are removed from the room where the painted interiors are located.
In addition, such paint is not suitable for painting a veneered door, since under its influence the veneer becomes covered with stains that are difficult to remove.
As for the shade of paint, you should choose it depending on the color scheme of the interior and your own taste preferences. You can choose the color of interior doors in accordance with the shade of wallpaper, individual elements of room decor or flooring. A neutral and discreet option would be white. Light beige, brown of various shades, wood-like color are considered classics. Extravagant colors - red, green, blue and other sharp tones create an effect of tension and visually disturb the peace of the home.

Selection of paint depending on the material

When choosing paint, you should consider what material the door is made of.
Painting wood or chipboard can be done with any paint.
If the door is made of, painting it is somewhat more difficult, since it is difficult to maintain the structure of the veneer. Therefore, it is advisable to use a varnish of a suitable shade or paint with paints that contain varnish, although ordinary acrylic water-based paint is also suitable.
It's easy to renew a laminated surface. It creates excellent adhesion to any coloring composition.

Preparing for coloring

Before starting staining, remove. In the event that you only need to slightly update the paint layer, this is not necessary.
Painting doors in an apartment begins with preparing the workplace. The door removed from its hinges is laid horizontally on suitable supports at a height of at least 50 cm from the floor. Ordinary stools are successfully used as supports, on which boards the width of the door leaf are placed. The supports must be covered with a non-slip, lint-free thick fabric. The door is processed first on one side, then turned over to the other.
The first stage of work is removing the layer of old paint. For convenience, all fittings (handles, hinges, etc.) are first removed, and a small amount of cotton wool or rags is placed in the holes.
To remove a layer of old paint, use a solvent, a stiff wire brush or sandpaper.

After removing the paint, level the surface of the interior door, fill the cracks with putty, polish the surface with a grinding machine or fine-grained sandpaper and apply a layer of primer. The primer is prepared from the same paint that will later be used to paint the main background. To prepare it, the finished paint is diluted with a solvent in a ratio of 1:3. The resulting composition is used to prime the canvas in 1 layer. If necessary, after priming, it is putty again, partially or completely.
All of the above applies to interior doors made of wood. When preparing to paint doors made from other materials, there are some important points to keep in mind:

It is enough to remove the top layer of varnish from a veneer door. If you only need to slightly update the gloss, then the paint is applied over the previous coating;
Only the top layer of waxy dirt-repellent impregnation is removed from the laminate canvas;
doors made of MDF and chipboard are prepared for painting in the same way as wooden ones.

Painting

When the remnants of the old paint have been removed from the door and its surface is prepared for applying new paint, begin painting.
To paint a wooden door in an apartment, it is most convenient to use a roller, and to work on small details and protrusions, use a small brush. It is convenient to use a special spray gun to apply paint. This is especially true in the case of painting a door made of MDF.
Before applying the paint, it is recommended to carefully filter it: this will make the coating more dense and uniform.

Important! The door leaf is painted only in one direction! You cannot put layers of paint towards each other. During work, avoid direct sunlight on the door leaf. The room must be protected from dust and midges, which, sticking to fresh paint, will ruin the job.

If you want to varnish the surface, be sure to wait until the paint layer has completely dried. This process takes a day to acrylic paints and two to three days for alkyd enamels.

Coloring ideas

You can limit yourself to a color that matches the interior of the room, but why not show your imagination and turn the interior door into an interesting interior detail?
To give the door a more decorative look, it is recommended to use several techniques:

using a stencil. In this case, the door is covered with a background layer of paint, after which, after drying, an even, neat pattern is applied using a stencil,
use of several colors. In this case, you can create interesting patterns in the form of stripes, squares or rectangles. To create an even drawing, you will need a special masking tape, with the help of which areas of the required shape are highlighted on the dried layer of background paint.
artistic painting. This option is suitable only for those who have certain drawing skills. To create the painting, artistic acrylic paints and thin synthetic brushes are used. At the same time, fairy-tale scenes are suitable for the door to the nursery, and floral ornaments are suitable for the bedroom or living room,
creating a textured surface. To add interest to doors decorative look It is recommended to use a special hard roller or brush, which is used to work through the layer of recently applied paint. In addition, special paints are sold that, after drying, create a textured surface.

With diligence, you will receive a real work of art.

As you can see, painting interior doors with your own hands is not that difficult. To achieve an excellent result, you need to be patient, take your time while working and use high-quality materials.

As a rule, old doors have a high-strength panel and a high-quality frame, but appearance deteriorates over time due to the thick coating. One of the low-cost renovation methods is using regular paint for wooden doors. In this material you will learn how to paint wooden doors and get acquainted with other modern methods of renovating the coating at home.

Rice. 1. Door before and after painting

Selection of paints and varnishes

Paintwork materials are classified according to the following criteria:

By composition (water and organic based);
By protective effect (against organic and chemical substances, mechanical influences, changes in humidity and temperature);
By method of use (internal, external, combined);
By type (impregnations, paints, stains, varnishes).

1. Paints. Can be used to process new and old doors. There are no difficulties in choosing, but due to incompetence people choose the wrong material. Paint and varnish compositions can be transparent or opaque. The first compositions include certain pigments that exhibit a woody structure. But opaque coatings consisting of organic solvents (oil, alkyd and other types) are often used.

The most popular is alkyd enamel, the cost of which is affordable. This coating is highly durable and has a wide range of shades.. But the enamel smells bad, its unpleasant odor remains for 2 days, so they work with it outside, first removing the canvas from the hinges or vacating the room. An alternative solution is acrylic enamel, which also has many colors but does not have a toxic odor. Dried paint does not have much strength, so it is additionally treated with acrylic varnish to protect it from mechanical stress.

Rice. 2. Paint on wood

A more durable coating for wood doors is nitro paint, which has optimal strength. The composition is toxic and sometimes leads to allergic reactions, so you need to wear protective equipment when working with it. If an old surface is treated with nitro paint, the panel is prepared and sanded in advance to a light shade.

2. Varnishes. They are traditional coatings that add shine to wood and protect its surface. Typically, varnish is used to coat doors in rooms with high humidity (baths and saunas).

There are many different varnishes:

Acrylic. The material is resistant to negative influences, humidity and ultraviolet radiation. There are matte and glossy finishes without a toxic odor.
Nitrocellulose. Wooden doors can be treated with varnish. The coating is not suitable for treating bathrooms and baths, as it has insufficient strength and cracks quickly.
Water based varnish. It has no unpleasant odor. Due to different additives, the properties of the material may differ.
Polyurethane. The varnish has high strength and adhesion to wood, and comes in matte, semi-gloss and glossy. In addition to wood, polyurethane varnishes can be applied to parquet, veneer, and countertops.
Oil varnish. There is no pungent odor. The composition contains a lot of fatty resins, so the old coating is removed from the door in advance. It is better to apply with a brush due to the thick consistency.
Polyester. The composition has a pungent odor, is highly durable, but is toxic, so it is suitable for treating street doors.

It is better to paint interior doors with acrylic or polyurethane coating, and resistant materials are suitable for external work or rooms with high humidity.

Rice. 3. Varnish on wood

3. Stains. The purpose of such compositions is to tint the wood and provide temporary protection from negative influences. But it requires constant updating of the layer that emphasizes the wood structure.

There are several options:

With a varnish base (azure). The composition reduces the duration of work, but aesthetics are difficult to achieve, so a single-color surface can be obtained by spraying with a spray gun;
With oils. Before use, it must be diluted with a solvent;
With water. It takes longer to dry, but there is no toxic odor. The composition penetrates deeply, giving a more saturated shade and a clear pattern that looks beautiful;
Alcohol based. It dries quickly, but is more expensive and has a strong odor.

Fig.4. Stain for wooden door

To protect wood from fungus, moisture and dirt, oil wax is used, which penetrates deeply into the surface. The coating adds strength and shine.

If you are choosing what to stain the surface of the door with, then you need to take into account the drying time and the resulting effect.

Preparing the canvas for painting

First, the door is removed from its hinges and placed on a flat surface. Before using alkyd paint, it is better to place the canvas outside or in a well-ventilated area. The door is then locked so that all elements are accessible. The fittings are also removed or wrapped in foil, and the locks are sealed with tape.

Cleaning the door

Preliminary cleaning and removal of old enamel or paint are carried out. For such purposes, it is better to use a grinding machine, and if you don’t have one, you can peel off the layer with medium-grain sandpaper. Any bubbles that appear are eliminated with a hairdryer, which heats up the paint layer to remove it with a spatula. Expensive and in a simple way surface cleaning is done using washing compounds.

Rice. 5. Cleaning and grinding the surface

Layers of old paint can be removed with an abrasive attachment on a drill. Pieces of dust and paint are swept away from the panel, the surface is sanded so that there are no scratches, unevenness or roughness. The surface is inspected from both sides, the density of the joints is analyzed, and the frame can be strengthened with fasteners and metal corners.

Puttying and sanding

Existing cracks and recesses are sealed with new putty.. For alkyd paint, a composition of any color is suitable, and before applying oil impregnation, varnish or wax, the tone of the putty must match the panel. Dried areas of the door are sanded with fine-grained sandpaper. At this stage, any defects are eliminated.

Rice. 6. Door putty

Antiseptic coating

When applying paint, the surface is pre-treated with a fire retardant and antiseptic impregnation (for example, biotex) when the door is installed in a steam room. It is advisable to choose products from the same company, which will improve interaction and quality of coverage.

Rice. 7. Antiseptic for wood

After this, the door needs to be primed, and then a layer of putty must be applied. All areas of the door need to be treated, as well as cracks in decorative parts, between the jamb and the lintel. After the putty has dried, the surface is puttied again.

Dyeing technology

If you are painting a new canvas, you should protect it from swelling. First lay it on a flat surface and sand it with sandpaper or a sander. Then the panel is primed, the recesses and smooth areas are processed. After the surface has dried, secondary treatment is carried out.

Rice. 8. Directions for painting the canvas

An old house door needs to be painted with high quality so that there are no stains or smudges on its surface. It is unlikely that you need to buy a spray bottle to paint one or two canvases, so you can use a paneled brush or roller.

After you have chosen what you can use to paint a wooden door, you should familiarize yourself with some of the nuances of the work:

fluff the brush, removing poorly fixed hairs;
You need to paint a panel door correctly in 3 stages, using a roller, from the upper left corner you need to move to the right, covering the entire canvas. After drying, the door must be processed in the longitudinal direction. Then you need to paint the canvas from the upper right corner;
When processing paneled fabric, you need to use a brush and treat the surface carefully, avoiding excess coating.

Rice. 9. Sequence of web processing

Painting with alkyd enamel

To coat doors with alkyd enamel, the following steps should be followed:

remove the panel from the hinges so that paint drips do not appear on the surface. Then use a spatula and sandpaper to remove abrasions and the old layer, thoroughly rinse the surface and inspect for defects. Chips and cracks are puttied, the surface is dried and sanded. At the last stage, priming is carried out;
the finished canvas lies on a horizontal surface of the floor, table or workbench, covered with polyethylene. The existing glass is sealed with tape. For a paneled door, first paint the panels with a brush, and then the protrusions. Subsequently, the entire panel is painted with a roller. With a two-layer application of alkyd enamel, the result will be a consumption of 40-80 g/m2;
Additionally, you can tint the wenge fabric by impregnating it with a special compound. This paint is based on natural oils. After a coat of paint has been applied, you need to run over it rubber spatula or sponge about 10 times;
you can take liquid soap with paint. First, the panel is covered with paint and liquid soap. You need to apply another layer of coating to the soap.

Rice. 10. Alkyd enamel for treating wood surfaces

Stain treatment

When choosing a stain, no primer is used. The product penetrates into the deep layers of pine or oak wood, coloring its fibers and increasing its protective properties. There are several ways to apply the composition: rubbing, spraying, simple application and staining with a brush. Usually simple application is used.

Rice. 11. Processing the canvas with stain

Since the stain will adhere better to a damp canvas, it needs to be slightly moistened. First, coloring is carried out along the fibers, and then across them. We perform the next layer in the direction of the fibers. We process the panel with jambs from below so as not to disturb the design of the structure.

After the water-based stain has been applied, the surface should be sanded using sandpaper (due to raised fibers), remove dust and apply the next layer of coating. If an alcohol stain is used, the fibers will not lift and no sanding is required. But aqueous formulations do not have an unpleasant odor or toxicity.

Oil or wax impregnations

There are nuances to processing canvas with oil impregnation. First, the Pinotex composition is mixed well. If applied incorrectly, darkened areas and streaks may appear. For work, use a brush, sprayer, roller or foam sponge. Depending on the porosity of the material, the number of layers will be calculated.

Rice. 12. Application of wax impregnation

First, collect a little composition, distributing it evenly across the width of the panel. Then the impregnation is rolled out with a roller or rubbed with a brush without sagging. Drying time is 8-12 hours. No later than a day later, another layer is applied.

Wood imitation

To ensure that you paint interior wood doors with your own hands correctly, follow the instructions:

apply light paint (beige, white, gray or yellow) to the building material;
treat the dried surface with liquid soap;
cover with dark paint, remove liquid soap.

The wood structure can be created on veneered material by treating the fibers with a special brush (an antique effect is obtained). Then you need to apply one or more paint coatings to the surface and sand it.

How to paint laminated doors

Compared to doors made of natural wood, laminated products look aesthetically pleasing, are easy to use and are affordable. To process laminated doors you will need a roller or brush, wood putty with a spatula, sandpaper, rags, solvent and special enamel.

The surface is completely sanded, cleaned of dust with a rag and puttyed with a thin layer. After the putty has dried, it is treated with sandpaper, applied a second time and sanded again after drying. Before painting, the composition is diluted with a solvent. The paint is applied carefully, paying attention to hard-to-reach areas. After 3 layers, the result is secured with varnish.

Rice. 13. Varnishing wood surface

If there are no defects, the laminated coating can be renewed. A tinted varnish or stain is suitable, which is applied after sanding and tinting.

The color of the panel is selected based on your wishes. The main recommendations include:

drying the surface before applying alkyd enamel;
combination of shade of canvas with furniture;
choosing a solid wood door coated with oil impregnation for a wooden home;
combination of an aged door with antique items;
choosing a dark-tinted door for lacquered furniture;
use of water-based paints.

During the process of painting a door, you need to follow proper techniques and safety measures.

After purchasing an apartment or after a certain period of time living in one place, you may want to make cosmetic repairs. If everything is clear with wallpapering, rearranging furniture, replacing flooring, then how to update the door leaves. Not every person knows how to paint interior doors made of MDF.

MDF is a medium density fiberboard. It is made from wood chips, which can be of large, medium, or small fractions. It is pressed using special equipment. To hold the chips together, adhesives (urea resins) are added.

The peculiarities of this material are that due to its heterogeneity, MDF absorbs a large amount of the coloring composition. In addition to this, it is necessary to choose high-quality paint, otherwise, under the influence of environmental factors, the decorative layer will become covered with cracks. Due to the addition of urea resins for gluing boards, the environmental friendliness of the material deteriorates. In order not to harm the human body, you need to choose only environmentally friendly coloring compounds.

Required tools and materials

It is important to know not only how to paint, but also how to paint MDF doors at home. Initially, you need to prepare tools, materials, and additional devices that will be useful in carrying out the planned work.

Tools:

Brushes. They are necessary for painting inaccessible and patterned areas. The roller cannot catch them. The main thing when choosing brushes is to check the condition of the bristles. It should not crumble or climb during operation.
Roller. When purchasing this tool, you need to choose a terry or wool working part. Foam rollers leave empty spaces when painting.
Tray for coloring composition or primer. Its size is suitable for applying coloring composition to work surface roller for further work.
To stir the paint, you can use any metal stick or electric drill with a mixer.

These were the main tools. You will also need a set of screwdrivers, a screwdriver or a pry bar. They are needed to remove door leaf. Plus masking tape, scissors, a sharp blade for sealing decorative elements. Stencils are useful for creating decorations. The question of whether it is possible to paint MDF doors coated with PVC film often arises. In this case, it is necessary to initially make the smooth plastic rough. To do this you need to buy fine sandpaper.

Paint selection

Before you start painting the door leaf, you need to pay special attention to the choice of paint composition. There are a number of requirements that you need to pay attention to when choosing a coloring composition:

Choose paints that smell less. These include water-based compositions.
It is important to choose formulations without adding toxic and harmful components to the body.
When choosing paint, you need to pay attention to wear-resistant compounds. The doors are used constantly. Not every coating can withstand intense loads.
Choose quick-drying ones paints and varnishes. This is typical for water-based and acrylic paints.
MDF has a porous structure, and a matte paint composition will look unsightly on such a surface. The glossy outer layer hides this flaw.
The purchased container should say “high adhesion.”

Important! You need to pay attention to paint consumption. The normal indicator is 1 kg of paint and primer for a door leaf measuring 2000x800 mm.

You can find various paints in markets, construction and hardware stores. They can all be divided into three groups.

Acrylic enamels

You can find a huge amount color shades. The advantages of acrylic compositions are that they do not emit an unpleasant odor and dry quickly.

Alkyd and alkyd-urethane enamels

These formulations are considered the most popular. Consumers appreciate such paints for their low price and wide range of colors. Alkyd compositions have significant disadvantages. They emit an unpleasant odor for 3 days after application and take a long time to dry. Alkyd paints should not be used to cover doors to bedrooms or paint anything in rooms where people with allergies live.

Polyurethane enamels

The advantages of these paints are durability and beautiful appearance after application. But the high price, toxicity, and unpleasant odor are not suitable for all buyers.

Attention! Any kind decorative covering a certain amount of drying time is required before further work is carried out.

Painting process

When tools, materials, and additional devices are prepared, it is necessary to create a working atmosphere. To avoid staining the floor, you need to cover it with polyethylene. Paper is not suitable for this, as it will be saturated with paint and marks will remain on the surface. When the surface is covered, you can begin to carry out the main work.

Preparatory stage

First of all, you need to remove the door leaf from the hinges. If the door is old, a pry bar is used for this. It needs to be placed on one side under the canvas to create a lever. When pressure is applied to the other side, the canvas will go up and come off the hinges. In new doors, the hinges are fixed to the door with self-tapping screws. You can unscrew them with a screwdriver or screwdriver.

You need two people to remove the canvas. This is due to the large weight of the structure.

You need to clean the door with sandpaper. Sweep away the debris with a brush. Decorative inserts made of metal or glass are sealed with masking tape.

Padding

When the canvas is prepared, it is necessary to apply a primer. It will hide various defects. After applying the composition, you must wait the time indicated on the package. When the first layer has dried, it is necessary to inspect the surface for scratches and cracks. A total of 3-4 layers of primer are needed. This amount will reduce the absorbency rate of MDF.

Painting stage

When the primer has dried, you can begin painting. Hard-to-reach places are painted first. A brush is used for this. The surface is painted with a roller. The first layer must dry before continuing work.

After drying, you need to apply another layer, wait until it dries, and cover the canvas with the outer layer. The finishing layer must be applied carefully. After coating, it is necessary to check the finished surface for defects.

Antique

To age the door, it is necessary to use glaze as a finishing layer. This is a special thinner that can be purchased at the same place where you buy paint. It strengthens the structure of MDF and draws out the structure of the material. The last layer of work will be varnishing.

When the varnish has dried, you need to install the door leaf in place, remove the masking tape and throw out the trash. The varnish will strengthen the paint and protect it from mechanical stress.

To paint an MDF door, you do not need to have any additional skills. It is important to know the features of this material and perform a certain sequence of actions. We must not forget about sanding the canvas with sandpaper and coating it with a primer.

Add aesthetics to interior doors made of different materials possible using coloring. This method does not require large financial costs, because it is enough to choose the right paint. At the same time, the rules of its use, composition and compatibility with the door material are taken into account.

How to prepare an interior door for painting

To restore appearance old door or to give aesthetics to a new product without a decorative coating, painting is carried out. This procedure is applicable to canvases made of natural wood, chipboard or MDF.

After painting, the interior door becomes bright and looks beautiful

Processing with coloring components requires door preparation. The technology of this process depends on the initial state of the product.

Features of preparation:

The painted door must be cleaned of its coating. To do this, use a narrow spatula, a hair dryer, and fine-grained sandpaper. The turned on hair dryer is held at a distance of 20 - 30 cm from the surface, the paint is heated for a few seconds until it swells, and then the layer is removed with a spatula. The entire door is treated this way, and the residue is removed with sandpaper or a grinder. If the canvas is varnished, then it is removed with a special remover or removed by sanding;
When heated with a hairdryer, the paint swells and is easy to remove.
if the door is new and does not need to remove paint, then the surface is treated with antiseptic compounds. This is necessary to protect the material from moisture, mildew and mold, as well as better adhesion of paint to wood or chipboard. For application, use a brush, which evenly distributes the primer over the surface. The product must be intended for wood and must be compatible with paint;
The primer can be transparent or colored
Remove the fittings from the canvas, remove dust after sanding, and place it on a flat horizontal surface. It is not recommended to paint the door by hand; in this case, streaks will easily form on the surface. They spoil the appearance of the product. All cracks and cracks are covered with putty to match the color of the canvas. This is true for doors made of wood, chipboard or MDF.
Before painting, fill all gaps and cracks with putty.

Preparation involves not only processing the door, but also the workspace. For painting, you also need tools, namely brushes of different sizes or a spray gun. Pieces of clean foam rubber, fabric, masking tape, and a stationery knife will be useful.

Video: removing old paint from a door

Technology of painting interior doors

The quality of painting a wooden surface depends not only on proper preparation, but also on the choice of paint and compliance with the rules for its use. Therefore, before starting work, you need to know the features of the work stages, which are expressed in the following:

The coloring composition is prepared according to the manufacturer's instructions. Some products require thinning with a solvent, but it is always important to thoroughly mix the paint until smooth and then pour a small amount of the product into the paint container. If a spray gun is used, it has a special tank.
The spray gun is simple, but helps create an even and beautiful coating.
The composition is applied in small quantities with light movements to the surface. It is important to do this evenly, which will allow you to get a layer of the same thickness on any part of the door. After processing one side of the canvas, you need to wait for it to dry and turn the product over for painting on the other side.
After processing on one side, the door is turned over
After the first layer has dried on each side of the door, you can begin applying the second. The paint is applied in small quantities and distributed as evenly as possible. The finished product is left to dry completely, and then the fittings are installed and hung on the hinges.
A bright door will easily make the interior original

These steps relate to the general technology of painting doors made of chipboard or wood. Depending on the type of paint used, the material of the canvas, and the tool used, some features of the work must be taken into account.

Video: painting an interior door with a brush or roller

Selection and features of paint application

Manufacturers produce many options for wood paints. Such compositions are also suitable for MDF or chipboard, since these materials consist of wood chips and binding components. The only exception may be water-based paint, because it helps to moisten chipboard or MDF, which will lead to deformation of the canvas.

Paint for wooden interior doors

Several types of paints can be used to process wooden products. Before purchasing one or another option, you should definitely read the manufacturer’s instructions and the specifics of using the composition.

The choice of paints includes options with different characteristics

The following types of compositions are optimal for wooden interior doors:

alkyd paints are available in different colors, create a durable and dense coating, and are resistant to fading. At the same time, the products are characterized by a strong unpleasant odor that lasts for several days after painting. An affordable price and a variety of shades make alkyd compounds in demand for treating external doors, while interior doors will smell unpleasant for quite a long time;
acrylic paint has no distinct odor, provides a thin coating, dries quickly, and has a bright color. The disadvantages of such a product are expressed in the low strength of the layer, low resistance to mechanical stress, high cost with average characteristics;
oil compositions are suitable for wooden doors, contain natural drying oil and have a strong odor that disappears a few days after painting. High quality coating retains its appearance for several years, and affordable price makes the paint popular;
nitro enamel or nitro varnish are optimal for wood, as they create a durable layer of rich color that is resistant to mechanical and chemical influences. High toxicity requires the use of nitro paint in a room equipped with good ventilation.

All of the above products have a certain odor and therefore, to use them, it is important to follow the rules and use personal protective equipment. If weather conditions permit, it is worth setting up a place for painting outside. Do not use the compositions near heating devices or open flames.

Paint for chipboard doors

On sale you can find doors made of chipboard that do not have a laminated or veneered coating. They are designed for DIY finishing and are easy to paint. Such products already have a small layer of primer that protects the canvas. But before painting, another layer is applied on top of this layer, providing a better base for painting.

Chipboard canvases can be painted with a roller, brush or spray gun

Oil, alkyd and nitro paints are optimal for processing chipboard panels. Acrylic compositions are rarely used, since the thinness of the layer and low hiding power of these products does not allow hiding the rough surface of the chipboard.

If the doors have a laminated layer, then it is very difficult to apply paint evenly over it. That's why the best solution is a surface treatment without a decorative coating. To do this, the same steps are carried out as when preparing and painting wooden products. It is important to make sure that the chipboard door does not bulge, since this material is not resistant to moisture. And they also use water-repellent impregnations for wood.

Painting interior doors made of MDF

MDF stands for finely dispersed fraction and is sheets made from pressed fine chips and binder components. At the same time, the structure absorbs moisture and liquid substances well. Therefore, thick paints are used to treat doors, and the surface is pre-primed.

MDF doors are covered with a film with a pattern in the form of wood structure, and painting should be carried out on the canvas without a decorative coating

Thick paints, for example, nitro compounds or oil-based products, are suitable for processing MDF doors. When processing and selecting, the following rules are important:

the composition should provide a glossy surface, since matte paint will emphasize the unevenness of MDF and make the doors unsightly;
The optimal consumption of coloring composition for a door measuring 200 x 80 cm is 1 kg. The same amount of primer will be required for the canvas;
the product is applied to the surface treated with a primer in several layers of equal thickness;
For primer, you can use drying oil, which will eliminate excessive porosity of the door material.

The compositions should provide a durable, hard layer after drying. The color can be any, and each subsequent layer is applied after the previous one has dried.

Features of acrylic paints and odorless compositions

Acrylic enamel is one of the common options, which forms a matte finish with only a slight shine. The product is not resistant to mechanical or chemical influences. Therefore, the acrylic coating is additionally protected with a durable varnish, which will add gloss to the surface.

Acrylic paints are produced different manufacturers, but it is important to choose the optimal color and protective varnish

When painting interior doors made of natural wood, MDF or chipboard, products that do not have a strong odor are often used. Such paints do not contain toxic components and are characterized by an average level of durability and a variety of colors.

Products without a strong odor include the following options:

acrylic enamel has a slight odor and therefore the product can be used to paint a door directly in a living room, but with open windows;
acrylic - a light coating suitable for interior doors;
Thermal enamel dries quickly and is intended for painting radiators of a heating system, but is excellent for wood, as it is water-based.

These types of coatings are presented in packages of different sizes. When choosing a specific option, you should take into account that when painting with a brush or rollers, there is a greater consumption of the composition than when applied with a spray gun. Therefore, it is best to purchase the product with a small supply.

Color of interior doors

Thanks to painting, you can give the door any shade. To do this, you need to choose a paint color taking into account the interior of the room. You should be guided by the following rules for selecting the shade of a door:

strict canvases dark shades from chocolate to black, suitable for a solid interior in an English, classic style;
light doors from white to light brown are optimal for a children's room, as they make the environment pleasant;
bright green, red, purple and other tones are appropriate in the style of pop art, modern, high-tech and other design trends;
Multi-colored canvases are often installed in a children's room or in an apartment decorated in a single bright style.

Doors can contrast with the color scheme of the interior. This bright solution is original, but requires an ideal combination of other details. For example, in a setting decorated in blue and white tones, yellow doors will look unusual. In this case, it is worth choosing a shade that is not too saturated, which will allow you to achieve harmonious combinations.

Yellow and white doors look bright and are suitable for a child's room

The color of the door should also match the shade of the frame. If the canvas is multi-colored, then the frame is painted in any one tone that is present on the door. It is ideal if the color of the canvas is repeated in the decor of the room. In this way, harmony and correct combinations are achieved.

When dyeing, it is important not only to choose the right product, but also its color. The technology for processing wooden products, MDF or chipboard materials is the same and therefore you can easily paint the doors yourself in the desired shade. Preliminary preparation will ensure a lasting and high-quality result of the work.

There is a wide range of paint and varnish products on sale for decorative and protective coating of wooden doors. The article will discuss what paint to paint doors under different operating conditions.

What is the best paint to paint wooden doors?
- Stains
- Paints
How to paint doors correctly
- Surface preparation
- How to repair cracks and chips
- Sanding the door
- Applying primer
- Applying finishing paint
Painting with stain

What is the best paint to paint wooden doors?

Lucky

This is a traditional wood coating. It adds shine, preserves the color of the material and protects it. Varnish is usually chosen to cover doors in baths or saunas. It is most convenient for them to cover new products, since old ones will require careful preparation, which includes sanding the entire canvas to its original light color. True, you can immediately choose a tinted varnish, which will add color and varnish in one step.

Although varnishes seem universal at first glance, they have different compositions and purposes.

Nitrocellulose varnish is suitable for coating wooden doors in residential areas. It is not recommended to use it in baths or bathrooms due to the low strength of the resulting coating. It can crack quickly.
Acrylic lacquer. Resistant to ultraviolet rays and adverse effects. It can be glossy or matte, most often it does not have an unpleasant odor. A door treated with it can be washed.
Polyurethane varnish. It has high adhesion to the wooden surface of the door and high strength characteristics. There are glossy, semi-gloss and matte. They are suitable for application not only to wood, but also to veneer, parquet, and countertops. Resistant to abrasion, but gives yellowish color to light wood.
Water based varnish. It dries for a long time and does not have an unpleasant odor. Their properties can vary greatly as manufacturers include different additives. More accurate information can only be found on the jar with the composition.
Polyester varnish. They are toxic and have a pungent odor, which is why they are chosen for painting outdoor wooden doors. Creates a particularly durable coating.

Advice: if you are painting the door of an outdoor building, it is important where the work is done and with what composition. If it is located in the sun, then it is worth choosing long-drying compounds that, when heated, penetrate better into the structure of the wood and are applied more evenly. If the varnish dries quickly, it will evaporate too quickly, resulting in uneven paint. It’s even better if the door is first removed from its hinges and painted indoors. This will help prevent dust and insects from sticking on.

Oil varnishes. They have a high content of fatty resins and are therefore incompatible with some paint surfaces. Therefore, before application, it is necessary to completely clean the wooden door of the old coating. The consistency is quite thick, so it is more evenly applied with a brush than with a spray gun. They do not have a pungent odor. Wax oil varnishes can lighten soft wood.

Now about how to paint wooden doors: for interior best choice will become a varnish on polyurethane or acrylic base. But for outdoor work or for bath doors It is best to choose durable varnishes, the so-called deck varnishes.

Stains

Their task is to tint wood and provide short-term protection from adverse factors. But such coverage needs to be constantly updated. Their main advantage is that they do not hide, but rather emphasize the beautiful structure of the tree.

There are 4 types of stains available:

alcohol-based - dries most quickly, but has a pungent odor and a higher price;
water-based - it will take longer to dry, but it does not have an unpleasant odor. Only suitable for interior work in rooms with normal humidity;
oil-based - before use they must be diluted with solvents, such as acetone;
varnish-based - most often called azure. Despite the fact that they significantly reduce painting work, achieving a beautiful result is quite difficult. To obtain a smooth, uniform surface, you should spray it with a spray gun.

Advice: when choosing between a quick-drying stain and a slow-drying one, you need to take into account not only their drying time, but also the result obtained. Thus, water-based compounds penetrate deeper into the wood, making the color more saturated and the pattern clearer. If the pattern is not important, but you need a quick result or a light color, then it is recommended to choose alcohol stains.

Paints

Using paints you can not only paint new doors, but also restore old paintings. The main thing is to understand the types of paint and choose the right one.

Paints belonging to opaque coatings are made on the basis of organic solvents, such as polyurethane, acrylic, etc. This group also includes water-dispersed acrylic coatings. Despite their toxicity and fire hazard, they are very popular due to their ease of application and the high quality of the resulting coating.
When choosing what paint to paint interior doors, most often their choice is alkyd paints with water-repellent properties. They lie superficially, without penetrating the wood structure, and form a dense, strong film up to 1 mm thick. When working, it is important to observe one nuance: application is possible only on a completely dry surface, otherwise air bubbles will form, which will lead to further cracking of the paint.

Today, oil paints based on drying oil have practically disappeared from sale. This is due to the high price and low strength characteristics of the protective layer. Sometimes it is replaced with alkyd resin oxoli, this reduces the cost, but the composition acquires a sharp unpleasant odor that lasts for several days.
The most popular are acrylic and polyurethane paints based on organic solvents. This is especially true for water-dispersed compositions; water is used as a solvent (this is a classic version of white painted Canadian doors). They are odorless and create a vapor-permeable coating. When they dry, a film is formed that protects the wooden door from humidity and temperature changes. But when frozen in a jar, they lose their properties.
The paints are universal; they can be used to paint both prepared wood and directly over the old coating.

How to paint doors correctly

Before painting wooden doors, it is necessary to carry out a number of preparatory work.

Surface preparation

Most often this concerns no longer new doors that require restoration or simply updating. Preparatory work, first of all, involve removing the old paintwork. This is done either with sandpaper or a spatula. But both of these options will take a very long time. Let's look at how to simplify the task.

Heat the surface with a hair dryer. This household tool is often in demand and is inexpensive, so almost every home craftsman has one. Unlike a household one, it has significantly more power and heats up more strongly. It is enough to just hold it close to it for a few minutes. old paint as it begins to bubble. After this, cleaning it with a spatula is much easier and faster. You must work with gloves. Inexpensive hair dryers overheat quickly, so they cannot be used for a long time.

Advice: when cleaning a wooden door with a hair dryer, you cannot set the temperature above 220oC, otherwise the wood structure will be severely damaged and will collapse faster in the future.

Paint removal. This is the name of special chemical compounds designed to remove paint. In appearance, it is a gel-like mass of a transparent color or with a slight tint. There are several types of them on sale; in this case, you need to choose a remover whose label indicates that it is intended for wood. It’s easy to work with; just use a brush to spread it evenly over the entire surface of the door and leave for 30 minutes (the paint should start to come off). Next, it is cleaned off with a spatula or scraper. When preparing the door surface in this way, you cannot immediately begin subsequent painting. First, everything is thoroughly wiped with a dry cloth, then washed with soapy water and allowed to dry.

Tip: All paint removers have a pungent odor that can make you dizzy. Therefore, it is recommended to take safety precautions. If, after applying the gel, you immediately cover the surface with film (ordinary food film will do), the smell will be somewhat less and the effect of the composition will be better.

Folk method. It has been tested for years and requires acetone, film and a spray bottle. Using a sprayer, acetone is sprayed onto the surface of a wooden door and a film is immediately applied, preferably in several layers. It is important that it fits tightly, without air access. As a result, after 15 minutes the paint will begin to bubble and come off. But the composition of acetone negatively affects wood.

How to repair cracks and chips

Wood is a rather vulnerable material. Therefore, when using a wooden door, chips, dents or cracks often form on it. During restoration, they can be sealed so that after painting they become invisible.
To mask minor defects, wood putty is useful; for large ones, furniture wax is useful. Externally, they are easy to distinguish, the latter looks like a dense block, and the putty, like all analogues, has a pasty consistency. All types of wood repair compounds have a palette of shades that are closest to natural. You need to choose the one closest to the color of the door being repaired.
Before restoration, the door, cleaned of paint, is wiped with a rag soaked in solvent. Then use a small spatula to take a little putty and fill the gap tightly. The surface is immediately smoothed so that no grooves remain. It is convenient to work with a rubber spatula, which is used to apply grout when laying tiles.
When repairing a large flaw, use a soldering iron with a thick tip to heat up a little furniture wax. The softened, but not liquid mixture is applied to the repaired area. If the figured part is broken, then you need to try to repeat its contour with the mass. If a gap is being sealed on a flat surface, the patch should protrude somewhat. This is necessary in order to then level and smooth it with sandpaper.

When working with wax or putty, although it is possible to disguise the chip under the tone, it will still stand out due to the lack of a wood grain pattern. But there is a way out here too. There are special furniture markers on sale that are also matched to color. With their help, lines are drawn that repeat the pattern of the base. It is cheap, in the range of 50 - 100 rubles. They are painted with it at the last stage before applying varnish or stain.

Sanding the door

Often even a new wooden door needs to be sanded. If there are even small chips, burrs or unevenness on it, this procedure should not be skipped. This is done either with a grinding machine or manually with sandpaper.
To make it easier to work by hand, you can screw a piece of sandpaper onto a small block using self-tapping screws or secure it with nails. The main thing is that the caps are recessed and cannot scratch the surface. First, the processing is carried out with coarse-grained paper, and only then with fine-grained paper. It is recommended to pay special attention to cross-cut ends, which, as a rule, always have roughness.

Sanders significantly speed up the work process. For initial rough processing you will need a circular Sander, and for the finishing one - tape. If the door has patterns or relief, then you can’t do without hand sanding.

Applying primer

To apply the primer, a roller with a small pile, a brush, a sponge or a spray gun may be useful. It is important that brushes or rollers do not leave lint or hairs. It is enough to simply rub them with your hand before starting work.

As a rule, primers are colorless and have a very liquid consistency, so applying them is not difficult. But there are some recommendations on this matter:

It is more convenient to apply impregnations and stains to a wooden door with a natural sponge;
Water-based and alkyd primers are applied with brushes, carefully rubbing in so that no smudges form. Brush movements should be ordered from top to bottom or vice versa.

After the primer layer has dried, check the surface by hand. Sometimes the composition raises the fluff, making the wood rough to the touch. You need to lightly go over the finishing sandpaper with the finest grain once again.

Applying finishing paint

If you didn’t have a special primer on hand, you can make it yourself from paint that is intended for the door. To do this, it is diluted with a solvent in a ratio of 1:2. It is more convenient to apply it with a brush. In the future, this contributes to a more even coloring and the absence of unpainted areas.

Mix the paint well before use. It will not be possible to evenly paint the entire area of the door at one time. And don’t try to do this by causing too much thick layer paints. If some place remains lighter, it will be covered with subsequent layers.
If the door was not removed before painting and it is in a vertical position, then work begins from the top, gradually going down. This will avoid the flow of drops onto the previously painted surface. When the canvas is positioned horizontally, you can paint as you like, but adhering to the given direction, without chaotic strokes and joints.
The first layer is left until completely dry. The time is individual, depending not only on the composition, but also on the temperature and humidity of the environment. As a rule, this takes no more than a day for alkyd paints.

Advice: when buying paints and varnishes in a store, the buyer tries to choose a composition that dries as quickly as possible. Water-based paints have the best performance in this regard. But they are characterized by low moisture resistance, so they are not recommended for painting a wooden door in a bathhouse.

When dry, carefully inspect the surface. Paint almost always lifts up wood fibers that have been smoothed down during sanding. You can’t leave them, you’ll have to go through the sandpaper again. It’s okay if the wood starts to show through a little somewhere, but you should still try to avoid this.
It is recommended to apply the second layer across the door leaf. As in the first case, you should not apply too thick a layer of paint. After drying there should be a completely smooth surface. Often two layers are enough, but if there is doubt about the uniformity of the coating, then the last third layer is applied.

Painting with stain

Painting a wooden door with stains differs from painting paintwork.

Stains, regardless of the base on which they are produced, have a rather liquid consistency. In order for the color to apply evenly, the wood is moistened with water before painting, which contributes to less absorption of the composition and a more uniform distribution.
If the door is positioned vertically, the stain should be applied from the bottom up to prevent drops from falling on the unpainted surface. This also applies door frame with slopes.
When painting in a horizontal plane, the first layer is applied along the grain of the wood. After drying, the second time the composition is laid across, and the third time the finishing composition is applied along again. Thanks to this, uniform toning of all elements and from all sides is achieved. It should be noted here that after drying the color will be slightly lighter than when applied. Therefore, more layers are sometimes required to achieve the desired result.

Like paint, stain raises fibers, forming a rough surface that must be sanded again with a sanding pad.
If you use an alcohol-based stain, you won't have to re-sand because it won't lift the grain. In addition, drying time is only half an hour. But still, the first place in popularity is occupied by aqueous solutions, due to their environmental friendliness and non-toxicity.

How to paint laminated doors

Laminate coating, especially in interior doors, is replacing products made from natural wood. They look beautiful, can imitate expensive types of wood, are easy to use and, compared to solid wood doors, are affordable. It is no wonder that they occupy an honorable first place among the doors installed in apartments and country houses. Despite the durability of the material, they are also subject to mechanical damage. But many owners don’t know whether laminated doors can be painted and throw them away and buy new ones. Next, we’ll look at how to restore it by painting.

If you need to disguise stains or scratches, you will have to choose opaque paints. Also for work you will need:

brush or roller;
spatula and wood putty;
rags;
sandpaper;
solvent;
enamel for laminated surfaces.

Stages of work

Lamination on the door has low adhesion to all materials. If you just start applying it, it will slide off, forming smudges and stains.
Therefore, the entire surface must be thoroughly sanded and any dust that has formed must be wiped off with a dry cloth.
The entire door is covered with a thin layer of putty. The thinner and more uniform the layer, the better it will adhere to the surface, creating a durable coating. When it dries, it is lightly sanded with sandpaper, focusing on possible irregularities. Then a second layer is applied and also leveled by sanding after drying. In addition, this will make the surface rougher, which will ensure better adhesion to the finishing paint.
To paint a laminated door, it is better to prepare a more liquid paint composition, for which it is diluted with a solvent twice. (It is recommended to choose a composition diluted with white spirit).
If you don’t have a spray gun, it’s best to do the work with a brush. Use it to carefully apply the paint, rubbing it into all hard-to-reach places. It is important to ensure that no sagging occurs. It is better not to paint over than to apply too much. If this could not be avoided, then after drying it is sanded.

To consolidate the result, varnish is applied after three layers of paint.

If the laminated door has no defects, but you just want to update it, you can use stain or tinted varnish (the latter can only be applied with a spray gun). The technology will be reduced only to sanding, tinting and further varnishing. Therefore, if there are doubts about whether it is possible to paint doors made of veneer or any other materials, then if the technology described above is followed, it is permissible to do so.

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