Trick to Painting French Door Panes
“I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them.”
The house has lots of character with three French Doors. They are beautiful paned glass, but if you have ever attempted to paint these in the past, you know they are a pain in the ass! I stumbled across the most amazing product that despite having to paint three coats of white paint over black, this stuff called Masking Liquid kept me from losing my marbles! You literally paint all the glass panes with it, then paint the door and then carefully trim around the panes and cut the “masking tape paint” just like you would normal painters tape and viola! I mean sheer perfection! Not a drop of paint ran underneath the masking paint and it came off in one beautiful piece for each pane. In fact, it worked so well, I’m going to tape the rest of my windows in the house and then quick run a quick brush of the Masking Liquid around the window sill to seal the tape so when I take it off, there is no final touch ups to clean with a razor blade. I’m telling you…best invention ever at the moment!
Investment
$20 (Masking Liquid)
30 min (To paint masking panes plus time in painting door which is a whole other story!)
Supplies*
Paint of choice (use high quality wood paint such as Sherwin Williams ProClassic or Benjamin Moore Advance).
Paint brush (disposable 2” chip brush is fine)
Steps
Remove door from hinges. I prefer to remove the hardware rather than just popping the pin. It is almost impossible to perfectly tape it off and paint on hardware looks sloppy and shabby DIY. We’re going for professional DIY! It’s seriously not that hard and a max of 10 more minutes to remove the hinges and door knob. Set the door across saw horses.
Prep door properly before painting. If you are painting on raw wood, you’ll need to prime it first. If you are painting over stained & varnished wood, you’ll need to either sand & prime or strip to raw wood. If you are painting over paint, you should be fine as long as the door looks decent now. Remember, paint does not cover up problems, it just highlights them!
Wipe door clean so all dust and dirt has been removed. My favorite combo is the recipe from @gocleanco with 1 gallons hot water and 1 teaspoon powdered tide.
You’re going to have to do each side separately if you took it off the hinges and to completion before flipping. Paint a fairly thick coat of masking liquid in each pane. Paint the entire pane and be sure to get it all the way into the edges and corners. It’s going to get on the door a bit; it’s okay. You can paint over it. Let dry for an hour or more.
Paint one, two and Lord help you, perhaps three, coats of paint, respecting the “re-coat time” per your paint can instructions.
Carefully trim with a razor blade all the window panes - cut straight lines. Use your blade to carefully start a corner and viola, pull the whole darn thing off. Be careful when doing so in case you missed a tiny cut or you’ll start pulling paint off the door.
Flip door, repeat steps. Put door back on hinges and admire!
Enjoy the Project
Playlist | John Mayer Radio from Spotify
Wine | Kirkland Pinot Grigio (from the box!)
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