As part of the restoration of our modernist home, we intend to retain some of the original colours (or as close as possible) used in the home when it was first built in 1963.
We're using an old photograph and also taking DNA colour scrapings from the wall...Ha! The old colours seem to work quite well and it makes painting a little more interesting when using colour as opposed to our usual vivid white.
We found out the original colour of the front door was a deep blue after we scraped it back. Funnily enough it is not a colour we would have ever contemplated using in this house...but we like it and, more importantly, we think it works well with the exterior.
We love the new door colour - Dulux Snorkel Sea - which was as close to the original blue we could find from our local hardware. Jason used a water-based gloss enamel (he's used water-based enamel in a vivid white to paint around the window architraves to great effect).
The door, however, has not worked out as well as he would like and Jason is quite despairing of the finish. The paint strokes are too visible for his perfectionist streak (I don't really mind too much but he doesn't like it at all)! He's been fiddling with the front door for two weeks now and it is still not quite right.
He plans one more attempt to fix it before abandoning the whole project and using an oil-based enamel. We'll have to go back to square one and strip the whole thing back if we do...yikes!
Anyway, there are three more exterior doors we need to paint blue so we need to get this front door right before we proceed further.
We're using an old photograph and also taking DNA colour scrapings from the wall...Ha! The old colours seem to work quite well and it makes painting a little more interesting when using colour as opposed to our usual vivid white.
 |
| Snorkel Sea blue front door |
 |
| The front door used to be green on the inside and white on the outside |
We love the new door colour - Dulux Snorkel Sea - which was as close to the original blue we could find from our local hardware. Jason used a water-based gloss enamel (he's used water-based enamel in a vivid white to paint around the window architraves to great effect).
The door, however, has not worked out as well as he would like and Jason is quite despairing of the finish. The paint strokes are too visible for his perfectionist streak (I don't really mind too much but he doesn't like it at all)! He's been fiddling with the front door for two weeks now and it is still not quite right.
He plans one more attempt to fix it before abandoning the whole project and using an oil-based enamel. We'll have to go back to square one and strip the whole thing back if we do...yikes!
Anyway, there are three more exterior doors we need to paint blue so we need to get this front door right before we proceed further.
 |
| On the weekend Jason painted the front facade white which it was originally from what we could gather... |
I am anal about the painting of doors! Their tricky buggers to get right, I know, but I reckon your front door and its beautiful blue colour deserves perfection.
ReplyDeleteOil based enamel is not the nightmare you're thinking (or Jason's thinking?!) It is. I would never use anything else for doors (or window frames for that matter) it is so much tougher than the water based stuff and it goes on better too (IMO) The only negative is the clean-up (but you can wrap your brush tightly in Gladwrap between coats and ditch it when you've finished the job if you're too lazy/not inclined to break out the turps)
Such a gorgeous new house you've got yourselves :)
Yes, it's the drying time with enamel that is off putting. It may be the only way though... Xx
DeleteYes of course, the drying time is a pain in the bum - especially with kids around and wanting to close your front door, but it is worth the inconvenience Anita. Sorry ;)
DeleteOh and the rollers work well.
What about rolling? Lots of paint and a cool day (so longer drying) are my best tips. Good luck! X
ReplyDeleteThat's the next thing we are going to try...he bought a roller especially for gloss paint...the day Jason started painting the door was a very windy day, so it just dried too quickly! Cross fingers it will work. xx
ReplyDeleteYep...a roller specifically for gloss paint. ...or what about spraying?
ReplyDeleteWe're keeping all our options open! xx
DeleteKate said to try using a foam roller specifically for gloss enamel for the doors. She did our doors in white and said that you could see roller lines after the first coat, but they were less noticeable with subsequent coats. The blue looks great.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Col
We'll be giving that a try and hope for the best. The blue kind of shows all the lines and strokes, but we'll give it a go. xx
DeleteI love the blue door!! It looks wonderful. Hope that you can get it to how you like it. xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy! We have our fingers crossed that we improve the finish. xx
DeleteI think Jason will have to go the enamel to be happy. I have used the waterbased gloss enamels for our window frames and skirts and for small areas the brush streaks are not as visible but suspect when we do doors it will be awful. I think for a vibrant colour they probably stand out more than for white as well. The thing I hate about enamel ( aside from the turps/cleanup) is that the white goes yellow over time - and this won't be a problem with a blue! mel x
ReplyDeleteI suspect you're right Mel! But he'll just have to hit his head against a brick wall a few more times before he concedes defeat with the water-based enamel... It's just the drying time which puts us off. xx
DeleteIts a great colour really vibrant! I stained my new front door a few weeks ago and then felt like I could see every brush stroke, but now I dont notice them at all :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Michelle. I know I wouldn't notice after a few weeks but Jason is another story...lol! xx
DeleteA few years ago, I attempted to paint my front door red. Like Jason, I was never satisfied with it because of the brush strokes. Also, I found that it was very difficult to get even coverage with the color I used. I worked on that door for weeks, even with a foam roller, and finally gave up and painted it black. The orange we have now went on smoothly with a brush. I guess you never for sure know how any paint will adhere to a given surface till you try.
ReplyDeleteAhh! Sounds like we'll be stripping back that door...I think the problem is that the paint dried too quickly...We've just left if for now and will face the door when we have more patience. xx
Delete