Garage Door Painting Advice

How To Paint A Garage Door

With a little investment of time & money, your garage door can quickly turn into an area of beauty that accentuates your home's style and your own personality with just a coat of paint. Don't let your garage door be an afterthought. On many homes, it is one of the most significant parts of the front appearance.

Choose A Style That Works

Give your garage door the attention it deserves and make it a stylish element that enhances your home's appearance. If you are investing in a new door, it is important to know which style is most complementary to the architecture of your home.

Heritage-style homes
Heritage-style homes often have garage doors that infuse the exterior with character, such as faux carriage or French doors with heavy accents, paned windows and hardware.

Contemporary homes
Contemporary homes work well with standard panel doors, with or without windows.

Ranch-style homes
For elongated, single-story homes such as the Ranch style, doors with longer, more rectangular panels are a good match.

Minimalist homes
Minimal modern homes work best with garage doors of the same nature, with a flat finish that is free of panel detailing. Windows are optional.

Discover Exterior Paint Colors

Match Your Colors

One way to get the best out of your garage door's appearance is to match it with your home's base paint colors, especially if it's a dominant part of the front façade. Another option to consider is matching the garage door color with another more subtle part of the exterior, such as your grout color or the darkest tones of any existing brick or stone.

Visualize these colors

1. Clean
Garage doors can get grimy, so clean the surface thoroughly with soapy water and a sponge. Make sure you then rinse the surface thoroughly with water. Scrape loose paint, sand, and then clean the surface again.* 2. Cover surfaces & choose paint
Cover windows or glass accents with painter’s tape, protect the floor with drop cloths, and use Glidden One Coat Exterior Paint + Primer*** in satin or semi-gloss sheen.
3. Apply paint
Paint recessed panels first using a 2 to 2 ½ inch-wide nylon/polyester brush. Wipe away excess paint that overlaps onto the stiles.
4. Air dry & apply second coat
Use a roller to paint the stiles around the panels’ perimeter. Air dry according to manufacturer specification, and apply second coat.

* WARNING! If you scrape, sand, or remove old paint, you may release lead dust or fumes. LEAD IS TOXIC. EXPOSURE TO LEAD DUST OR FUMES CAN CAUSE SERIOUS ILLNESS, SUCH AS BRAIN DAMAGE, ESPECIALLY IN CHILDREN. PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD ALSO AVOID EXPOSURE. Wear a properly fitted NIOSH-approved respirator and prevent skin contact to control lead exposure. Clean up carefully with a HEPA vacuum and a wet mop. Before you start, find out how to protect yourself and your family by contacting USEPA National Lead Information Hotline at 1-800-424-LEAD or log on to www.epa.gov/lead. Follow these instructions to control exposure to other hazardous substances that may be released during surface preparation.
**Stir thoroughly and apply with a high-quality brush, roller or paint pad or by spray equipment. When using more than one container of the same color, intermix to ensure color uniformity. No thinning is usually required. If needed, add up to ¼ pint (118 milliliters) of water per U.S. gallon (3.78 liters) of paint.
***Stir thoroughly and apply with a high-quality brush, roller or paint pad or by spray equipment. When using more than one container of the same color, intermix to ensure color uniformity. No thinning is usually required. If needed, add up to ¼ pint (118 milliliters) of water per gallon (3.78 liters).
Please refer to the Product Label, Technical Data Sheet (TDS) or Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for safety and detailed application instructions.

Apply Fresh Paint With These Steps

1. Clean
Garage doors can get grimy, so clean the surface thoroughly with soapy water and a sponge. Make sure you then rinse the surface thoroughly with water. Scrape loose paint, sand, and then clean the surface again.* 2. Cover surfaces & choose paint
Cover windows or glass accents with painter’s tape, protect the floor with drop cloths, and use Glidden One Coat Exterior Paint Primer*** in satin or semi-gloss sheen.
3. Apply paint
Paint recessed panels first using a 2 to 2 ½ inch-wide nylon/polyester brush. Wipe away excess paint that overlaps onto the stiles.
4. Air dry & apply second coat
Use a roller to paint the stiles around the panels’ perimeter. Air dry according to manufacturer specification, and apply second coat.

* WARNING! If you scrape, sand, or remove old paint, you may release lead dust or fumes. LEAD IS TOXIC. EXPOSURE TO LEAD DUST OR FUMES CAN CAUSE SERIOUS ILLNESS, SUCH AS BRAIN DAMAGE, ESPECIALLY IN CHILDREN. PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD ALSO AVOID EXPOSURE. Wear a properly fitted NIOSH-approved respirator and prevent skin contact to control lead exposure. Clean up carefully with a HEPA vacuum and a wet mop. Before you start, find out how to protect yourself and your family by contacting USEPA National Lead Information Hotline at 1-800-424-LEAD or log on to www.epa.gov/lead. Follow these instructions to control exposure to other hazardous substances that may be released during surface preparation.
**Stir thoroughly and apply with a high-quality brush, roller or paint pad or by spray equipment. When using more than one container of the same color, intermix to ensure color uniformity. No thinning is usually required. If needed, add up to ¼ pint (118 milliliters) of water per U.S. gallon (3.78 liters) of paint.
***Stir thoroughly and apply with a high-quality brush, roller or paint pad or by spray equipment. When using more than one container of the same color, intermix to ensure color uniformity. No thinning is usually required. If needed, add up to ¼ pint (118 milliliters) of water per gallon (3.78 liters).
Please refer to the Product Label, Technical Data Sheet (TDS) or Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for safety and detailed application instructions.