Your garage door is probably the first thing that greets you every day when you arrive home. When people pass by your home, the garage door is also one of the most prominent things they see. As such, this often-neglected door says a lot about your home and persona in general. A clean, spotless and shiny door says that you’ve got a good handle on your affairs while a dirty, scratched and peeled door lowers your home’s aesthetic appeal and gives off a message of neglect. Nonetheless, exposure to wind, rain and sunlight can cause your wooden garage door to eventually require paint removal. Using improper painting techniques can also result in an unattractive and scaly appearance. As such, you will have to thoroughly remove the old paint and prepare it for a fresh coat of new paint. Here are a few tips on how to remove paint from wood garage door:
How to Remove Paint from Wood Garage Door
Step 1
Use a garden hose to spray the garage door and get rid of any dirt or grime. You can remove stubborn debris with a nylon scrub brush before giving it time to air-dry completely.
Step 2
Lay a few old newspapers or a plastic tarp at the base of the garage door to catch any falling chips of paint as you’ll be peeling and scraping off the old paint.
Step 3
Using a paint scraper, scrape off any peeling, loose or chipping paint. You want to do this following the wood grain. Also, don’t try to scrape off any intact paint as that may also damage the wood.
Step 4
Remove any remaining paint with 30-grit sandpaper, rubbing back and forth following the wood grain. One of the most important factors to bear in mind is that sanding takes the surface off. As such, you need to sand as evenly as possible without creating gouges or rubbing it thin in certain places. A power tool helps because the design forces you to apply even pressure. However, whether you’re sanding using a machine or by hand, the trick is to take it slow and easy until you get the hang of it.
Step 5
Remove any scratches and smooth the surface with a 60-grit sandpaper, using the same sanding technique as before.
Step 6
Rinse away the dust particles from the sanding process by spraying the wood with a garden hose before letting it air-dry completely.
If sanding the door proves to be a bit difficult, especially hard to reach areas, consider chemical stripping. In reality, you’ll probably have to use a combination of mechanical and chemical methods to get the best results, especially if your garage door has layers of old paint to remove. Chemical paint removers deliver exceptional results, remove paints and varnishes fast, and also tend to be the least harsh. Be sure to take necessary precautions as chemical strippers have their own care and safety issues.
Bottom Line
Your garage is one of the focal points of your home, and that is why it’s important to ensure that your garage door is well kept. With the exposure to wind, sunlight, and rain, your garage’s paint can start to deteriorate rather quickly. Although in order to give your wooden garage door a fresh coat of paint, you must know how to remove the existing paint off of it first. This article went over how to remove paint from wood garage door so that your wooden garage door is adequately prepared prior to repainting. Regardless of the condition of your current wood garage door, garage pros at Cedar Park Garage Doors offer custom garage door refinishing services to help spruce up your garage door.