We’re back with the full front door makeover, as promised.
Here’s what we started with:
The old maroon storm door caused three main problems: the decorative grids didn’t line up with the six-paneled wood door behind it, the door frequently jammed, and it didn’t latch reliably so it would bang open in storms. We rarely used the storm door—there’s a functional screen door on the side of the house—so we decided to remove it and reveal the solid wood door hidden behind.
After removing the storm-door hardware, we spackled the holes and prepped the trim for paint. Luckily the previous owners left exterior paint in the basement, so we used that to touch up the surrounding trim.
Next up: choosing a color. We tested a rainbow of swatches—plum, turquoise, navy, lime green and more—but kept returning to a cheerful yellow. The final contenders were similar, varying by subtle shifts in white or orange undertones. After checking the swatches in morning sun, afternoon shade, and porch light at night, we chose Full Sun EB1-1 from Valspar’s Eddie Bauer Home collection.
We also decided to restore the original door knocker, which was rusted and peeling. Carefully removing it allowed us to refurbish the hardware and reinstall it once the painting was complete.
We sanded the surrounding paint to create a smooth surface and removed a rusted brass plate at the bottom of the door, spackling and sanding those screw holes. We also removed the handle and lock to clean and refinish them while the door was being painted.
Then came the can of sunshine:
We had the paint pro at Lowe’s recommend an exterior product. She suggested Valspar Duramax because it has a built-in primer and is formulated for weather resistance. We had the Full Sun chip color-matched to Duramax and bought a quart in semi-gloss for about $15.
Before painting, we used a liquid deglosser (Next Liquid Deglosser by Crown) to remove oil and residue and improve adhesion. Deglossers don’t smooth surfaces, so we sanded any uneven or filled areas first. Deglossing is useful when you want to avoid aggressive sanding, but it’s important to prep spackled or rough spots by sanding beforehand.
We applied the paint with a small foam roller to minimize brush strokes and a 2″ angled brush to reach the recessed panels. Yellow over maroon needed coverage, so we applied several thin coats rather than one thick coat. The first thin coat looked surprisingly good considering the dark base.
After four thin, even coats the finish was smooth and glossy. Applying thin coats and allowing each to dry before the next helped avoid visible brush marks and created a durable finish.
The yellow looks great from both outside and inside, bringing a cheerful pop to the brick and cream siding.
Using quality exterior paint combined with careful technique—foam roller for body coats and a high-quality angled brush for trim—helped achieve a glossy, even finish. We avoided globbing on paint and waited for each coat to dry for the best result.
We refreshed the hardware as well; a separate post will show the hardware makeover with step-by-step photos and instructions.
From the outside, the door looked fresh and bright; we avoided fully closing it until the paint had time to cure, but by evening it was dry enough to shut without sticking.
Removing the old maroon storm door completely changed the porch’s appearance—brighter, simpler, and happier.
Summary of the process:
- Test color swatches on the door at different times of day to see how light affects the color.
- Remove the storm door, spackle and sand surrounding trim holes.
- Remove and sand hardware mounting areas and any rusted plates.
- Degloss the door after smoothing spackled spots.
- Refurbish hardware separately and prepare for reinstallation.
- Apply four thin, even coats of exterior primer + paint in semi-gloss.
- Reattach hardware once paint is dry, and allow full cure before heavy use.
Costs: one quart of Valspar Duramax in semi-gloss from Lowe’s was about $15. If you need spackle and deglosser, each is roughly a few dollars more. A quart was plenty for our front door and left extra for touch-ups; we left the interior side of the door white.
If you’ve recently painted your front door or are planning to, what color did you pick? This was my fourth door paint in five years and my second happy yellow—small updates like this can make a big difference and often motivate further exterior improvements.
Update: Several readers asked for wider curb shots, so here they are. Keep in mind the surrounding landscaping and trim may change in future projects—we’re slowly working through other exterior updates.
… especially the large row of bushes that can obscure the door from certain views.
Wouldn’t the power to move bushes with a finger be an amazing superpower? I’d pick that over flying or mind reading.