How to paint a door without sanding down to bare wood?

Karen Rapp
by Karen Rapp
My husband and I purchased old home. We are finding everything's been painted previously over the years with different colors of paint! Yikes!!

  8 answers
  • Honeybabe Honeybabe on Jun 26, 2017

    You could use Nitromors for stripping off the old paint and then undercoat and paint

  • Emily Emily on Jun 26, 2017

    Well you can sure try. We successfully painted everything in our old house, its better to use oil paint but the paint made now makes me ill to use inside. Plus you should know if it is latex or oil you are covering.



  • William William on Jun 26, 2017

    Just lightly sand to remove any gloss and roughen the surface for paint. Prime with a good stain blocking primer like Zinsser 123 or BIN. Then paint with your color.

  • MG MG on Jun 26, 2017

    If you are painting .... make sure there is no loose paint, sand any "shiney" surfaces so new paint will hold. surface should be sanded to help new paint hold. If unsure whether previous paint was oil base, might suggest using a primer first to ensure paint will hold.

  • Lyn Buerger Lyn Buerger on Jun 26, 2017

    I love, love the layers of old paint. I would try doing a nice sanding without going through all the colors and then varnish that and let the colors shine.

  • Norris720 Norris720 on Jun 26, 2017

    Karen Brown - IF there is years of paint you will have to do some work as suggested above by Honeybabe. If the door is in good condition a lite sand and a new coat of paint is all you need. Light color over dark will need a primer first. Use a good quality paint too.

  • Michele Pappagallo Michele Pappagallo on Jun 26, 2017

    As long as you sand off any shiny areas, you should be okay to repaint. Lightly sand the door, then primer it, then paint as usual. That should be enough to insure a good finish.

  • Virginia Virginia on Jun 26, 2017

    For primer, I recommend stainkill in order to prevent any dryrot from setting in. Mind you, I have not myself used it; my family has, it seems to good effect.