A good combination of painting can change the appearance of your garage and make it lucrative for others. It also changes the overall look and appeal of your home. If you own a garage and thinking to paint the garage door, or your previous door has been cuffed, scratched, chipped, or gouged, it means that the door might need a fresh coat of paint. Before painting, you have to make some decisions.

Those decisions include what type of painting tools you are going to use. For example, brush tools or spray tools. What color you want to paint and what combination of color you want to use also matter. But first of all, to make all these decisions, you have to know how much does it cost to paint a garage door? Because it is necessary to know the cost, to make a perfect budget and planning.

The cost to paint an interior door varies depending on how many doors you want to paint, the size of your garage door, type of garage(single or double entry garage), and the condition of the door. The cost also depends on what type of paint you want to use. The labor cost depends on the geographical area in which you are living. You have to think of some additional costs such as preparation costs for the worksite. The painting process requires at least some degree of preparation. Those preparation works need some costs as well, which should be brought into consideration. So, a well-conditioned door can cost you lesser than an older door.

Paints

You have to consider a few things, for knowing the budget for paints. You have to choose the type of paint you are going to use and the color of your paint. There are several types of garage door paints such as latex, Acrylic, and oil-based paints. Latex-based primer and paint contain a bonding agent. You have to choose what type of paint is most suitable for your door. If you own a steel or wood door, you should choose latex or oil-based paint. 

Latex or Oil-based paints also have a different color scheme. The color range is from matte to high gloss. The high gloss color has higher resin and lower pigments. The paints which have higher resin are easier to clean. Generally, doors are painted with semi-gloss to high-gloss paints. But you may also consider satin or medium-gloss paint if you think your doors are handled a lot.

It is because higher-gloss paints are easier to clean and remove fingerprints. But you should also consider that higher-gloss paints contain low pigment. So, it requires more coats to cover. If you are going from a light color to a dark or vice versa, the decision can lead you to a higher cost. The non-discounted retail price of latex-based paint ranges from $37 to $55 nowadays.

Labor

Once you are done with the paint costing, now let us move forward to labor. If you want to paint the door by yourself and confident enough to do so, then your labor cost is free. What you need are the materials of painting. But if you want to hire labor for your painting, then you have to consider a few things. Keep in mind that to paint a single door, you will have to bear higher expenses than usual. You can hire labor in many ways. You can just contact a contractor who will handle all of your work. In this case, you have to bear extra expenses.

You should rather higher labor directly. You can hire labor on the per square feet basis, or you can hire on a per hour basis. Whatever the basis is, the labor cost varies from town to town, country to country. Labor cost ranges start from $1.5 to $4 per square foot without materials in the United States. With materials, the range is nearly $4 to $6 per square foot. On an hourly basis, the cost range is around $20 to $50 per hour. Sometimes, it can rise to $70. Nowadays, labors generally charge on an area basis, not on an hourly basis.

Other Considerations

Now, after finishing the primary budget-making task, let us move forward to the painting process. The painting process starts with cleaning the door. Because the door needs to be fully cleaned so that the paint adjusts smoothly to the door. Any dust, scratch, etc. will impact the durability of the paint. You can use power wash initially to get rid of heavy dust or other objects. If you own an old door and the paint layers on the door are old, then you need to sand the entire door to remove the top layer and old paint. A belt or orbital sander works best in this situation. 

After finishing the washing process, take a brush and a roller. A roller covers the larger part of the door, whereas a brush is helpful to paint the edges perfectly.  Use the brush and roller according to your door's structure. You only need to paint them like painting other surfaces. You can give the door a coat of primer and leave it to dry completely. After giving a primer coat, you need to give the coat of paint. Make sure to cover the entire door perfectly. 

Once you have finished the painting, leave the surface fully open and let it dry. After 1.5 hours, it should be dried to perfection. You can apply a second coat of paint to garage doors because garage doors generally take a lot of abuses. The second coat of the paint can increase the durability of the paint layer and enhance the finishing look. The painting reflects an individual’s personality. You don't want your personality to be shown negatively. I hope all these tips can help you towards building a charming personality of yours in front of others.

Some Useful Advices

  • Make sure to use exterior paints. Exterior paints are made to combat fading and mildew. Which will give you the best reward for your investment?
  • Make sure the weather is suitable for painting. A super-hot day or a rainy day is not suitable for painting.
  • Let the paint dry perfectly so that it becomes durable and you get most out of it.
  • The poor condition of your door can lead you to extra charges
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