How to Paint Internal French Doors

If you’ve bought your new internal French doors as unfinished doors, or after a long time are thinking of changing the colour of your current set, we’re going to be detailing how you can paint your internal French doors in this guide.

It’s a very simple process and if you use our guide, you can chop and change the colour of your internal French doors with ease. 

What Do I Need To Paint Internal Doors?

Before you do anything, you need to make sure that you have the following:

• Brushes/Rollers 
• Paint
• Sandpaper
• Newspaper
• Tape
• Precision Knife

For your brushes, you need to make sure you at least have one big and one small. The smaller brush will help with the more fiddly painting bits and the bigger brush will cover the larger areas quickly and efficiently. You may want to employ the help of a larger roller. Make sure the roller is dry when you start.  

Make sure you’re in painting clothes. If you don’t have any clothing at all that you don’t mind paint getting on, then get some overalls before you start painting.

Before you begin painting the door, lay down some dust sheets or newspaper so you ensure that your carpet or floor doesn’t get an unexpected paint job. 

For the tape, masking tape is best but any tape that will allow you to paint comfortably without getting any on the glass, handles etc will suffice.  If you don’t have a precision knife, just try and get something sharp that isn’t overly fiddly. 

How Should I Paint My French Doors?

So before you start painting there’s a couple things to go over. First of all, if you’re painting doors you already own and have hung, then you should take them down before painting. This will make your life much easier and create a more consistent finish.

Next, sand your doors lightly. Whether they’re unfinished, primed or have been painted for years. It will break down any surface grime and make applying the paint much easier. 

If you have bought unfinished doors, you will need to prime them before you paint them. You apply a coat of primer, we recommend a latex primer, and latex paint is good for your overcoat as well. Although, most primers from well-known retailers will get the job done just fine. 

It’s worth looking at some online recommendations and forums for what primer to use, there might be some slight advantages to another that suits you better. 

Tape up your door, making sure that you won’t get any paint on the glass panels, handles, hinges,  and so on and so forth. Be careful when taping over glass as i’s hard to remove. This is why we suggest having a knife to hand to make it easier to remove further down the line.

Start applying your first coat, of primer/paint. Start with any large wooden panels. If your French doors have full length lights, then you won’t have much to paint anyway and you can just start on the wood. 

Ensure you follow the grain of wood for a neat finish and don’t cake on the paint too thick. It needs to be evenly spread or you will have nasty bumps appearing on your door. 

Once your main areas are filled, then move to the intricate areas with your smaller brush, taking care not to go over your tape. 

Once you’re happy, leave it to dry. When it is dry, sand the door again. Be extremely gentle however. You should repeat this process at least twice more before hanging your doors again. 

Painting your French doors is very simple and can be done without calling in professional help very easily. If you are painting over existing doors, just make sure you’re confident in how to take the doors down, and you have someone with you to help. You can cause injury to yourself if you attempt to take the doors down alone. Plus, it is much easier with a helping hand. 

For more helpful French door guides, see the following:

• How to Install Internal French Doors
• How to Childproof Internal French Doors 
• How to Frost French Door Glass

Shop our internal French doors here, amongst our wider internal doors range. Not taking your fancy? See our internal bifolds for a stylish and contemporary door style. With options to suit any budget and interior, save money when you buy online today at Aspire Doors!