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Ready to conquer a DIY garage door makeover? Get all the tips on how to prep your door, what paint to use, and the easiest carriage door accents to add! This project is a game changer when it comes to curb appeal!
It's an inexpensive project that will have a big impact to your home!
DIY Garage Door Makeover
This post is sponsored by DIY DECOR STORE. All opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe would be a good fit for my readers. This comes at no added cost to you!
I'm really embarrassed at that before picture y'all. I had NO IDEA my garage had gotten so bad. It wasn't until I decided to add some metal look garage accents that I realized she was looking worse for wear. We've lived in the house for almost 12 years, and with 4 boys, I guess she wouldn't be pristine, but OH.MY.
I realized pretty early on that she needed a coat of paint, and not just a cleaning. So I'm gonna share all the details with you, so in case you'd also like a dramatic garage door before & after, you can have one too! It's more time consuming that difficult, but I have total faith you can have yours looking just as spiffy!
I'll be the first to admit that I keep finding excuses to go out and look at her. I may have told my neighbors around the corner to swing by and take a peek too!
The total for the cost of the project is around $100 give or take a bit, depending on what supplies you already have on hand. That's a steal considering how much this project will up your curb appeal!
So let's dig in!
Prepping Your Garage Door For A Makeover:
- The first thing your garage door is going to need is a really good scrub down. If you have a power washer, woo hoo! What a great start! I'm not that lucky, so I just used my hose. While I was at the store, I grabbed THIS FANTASTIC CLEANER! My store didn't have the handy kind that attached to my hose, so I used a mop and a sponge, along with gloves to really saturate the garage door. Allow it to sit for several minutes, as instructed on the bottle. Be careful scrubbing if you don't intend to re-paint your door. Make sure you aren't flaking paint off by testing an area first!
I took this side by side photo so you can see just how well the cleaner worked. This was before scrubbing! The other spot had been sprayed by my hose, but that stuff was clinging on until the cleaner got ahold of it.
- Next, you'll want to inspect your weather stripping at the top and on the sides. Also, don't forget to check the seal at the bottom of the door. Replace those or make repairs if necessary.
My weather stripping was coming out on one of the corners. I was able to secure it with a few nails. Easy peasy.
- If you're a messy painter, tape off all the areas you want to avoid. Place paper below the garage door, but make sure the wind won't move it against the door, nobody wants the wind to ruin a paint job!
Painting A Metal Roll Up Garage Door:
There are several methods to painting a garage door. Some people swear by a sprayer, some by a roller. I decided I didn't want to tape off other areas, and went with the roller instead. The paint sprayer probably would have saved me a bit more time.
What kind of paint should you use to paint a garage door?
You need to use exterior paint for sure. That's sort of non-negotiable. From there, you can decide the features you are looking for. The most common finish is semi gloss. Semi gloss paint is durable - which on a garage door is key. Think of all the elements it is exposed to!
It's also more resistant to moisture. Which for something that gets rained on- well, that's pretty important.
For us, living in Texas I needed something that protected against UV damage. Most of the damage to the door was from the kids playing with basketballs and stuff like that- but another sore spot was that the paint had truly faded over the years. I wanted to prevent that as best I could. I went with "Extreme All-Weather Protection in One Coat" which touts a strong finish that resists cracking, blistering and peeling. It also provides a mildew- and algae resistant finish. As much as I liked the cleaner I mentioned above, I'm hoping to avoid that again!
What method should you use to roll paint to a garage door?
I used a small roller, a big roller, a small angled trim brush, and a wide brush.
I started in the corner, and worked on 2 recessed areas at a time. I used a small roller on the recessed parts, the weather stripping and other tight spots. I would then go over the 2 small panels with the larger roller. I worked downwards, and then started again at the top. I made sure that my paint hadn't totally dried, and painted strokes over the areas next to it that were already painted, and did so in a non-uniform way. This worked.
The paint touted one coat- and I might have been able to get away with it had I been more conscious of what I was doing, but I planned on doing 2 coats from the get go, so I allowed myself a little wiggle room for errors.
Painting the trim and the weather stripping was sort of tricky. The #1 tip - do not let the paint go under the weather stripping! Paint straight over it, not against it and you should be okay. Once your paint has dried, lightly press in on your garage door along the weather stripping and it will sort of peel off. I really liked this part. Go around the door before trying to open it.
Some people suggest raising the garage door while it dries to prevent bugs from drying on the wet paint. I somehow got lucky and we didn't have a million mosquitos that day.
Installing Magnetic Decorative Hardware Garage Accent Pieces:
This was the easiest part! Magnetic garage accent pieces are my new favorite things! The carriage door handles and hinges all have heavy duty magnets on the back. They are amazing! They snap on and stay in place. You can easily take them on, or smush them over a bit if you need to. The only thing to avoid is placing them directly on the cracks were a roll up door folds. They stay in place when you move the door up and down.
Did I mention how easy they were? I have longed for the fancy black metal hardware that my neighbors had, but every kit I saw required drilling, and seemed like to much of an effort. Well, honestly I was scared I'd ruin the garage door by mistake. These amazing decorative accents prevent that from happening!
So where did I find these gems? Let me introduce you to a truly remarkable online store that all DIY'ers and weekend handy people need to know - ---> The DIY Decor Store
They are mainly known for their ceiling tiles, backsplashes, wall panels and more. It's the MORE part that got me. They like to take intimidating projects and make them easy. Like my project above, or peel and stick backsplash tiles that don't require grouting! Perusing their website is so fun, and there are so many different ways you can use their products. In fact, a few of my blogging friends have done just that! We each chose a product and ran with it. I've listed them below, so please visit each of them and see what creative designs they have come up with!
Let's take a few more peeks at this door first though! I told you I can't stop looking at it!
I did debate using 2 sets of the carriage door style accent kits, but decided I liked the single kit better. What do you think?
Your garage door takes up a big chunk of your house's exterior. Isn't it crazy that such an inexpensive, and pretty simple project can have such an impact?
This project didn't take any special tools or talents. It merely took time, a bit of elbow grease, just a few purchases. I was able to knock it out in about 6 hours. Here is hoping I can take care of my landscaping and my sorry potted plants in that amount of time!
Looking to do more DIY projects around your house? You might enjoy these posts:
- Downsize a double sink to a single sink drain
- How to clean the best ever toilet seat for boys
- Burglar proof your home
And don't forget those projects my friends created!Here's a look at a few more decorating hacks using supplies from the DIY Decor Store:
Let me know if you conquer painting your garage door! I'd love to hear about it!
Don't forget to pin for later!
kim jones says
wow - that is soooooo much better! I think our garage door is one of those things we block out until we just can't anymore lol! This looks so fabulous and really changed the exterior of your house! great job!
Deb says
This looks sooo good Sara! amazing what a different some paint and hardware can do!
Kristy says
This looks so amazing and I’m totally inspired to do this to my garage! I like that you went with one set instead of two - looks fab!
MrsMajHoff says
Thanks Kristy! It was too hard to choose!
MrsMajHoff says
Thanks Deb! I'm in love with the hardware!
MrsMajHoff says
It's well worth taking the time to fix it up! Thanks!
Becky says
I am so impressed and encouraged!
A HOW question and WHAT question, please!
1. HOW: (a) Did you need to lightly scuff-sand your garage doors first? (b) Did you need to prime them first?
2. WHAT:
I have three vinyl garage doors that are still in great shape, but they are dark brown with white vinyl trim and I WISH THEY WERE GREIGE like my interior or more like the color you chose... I had brown faux cedar shingle siding installed in our two front-facing gables to tie in the garage doors. The gables also have white vinyl trim. The once-dark brown on the gable siding that matched our garage doors has faded significantly the last few years (though the garage doors have not).
My home's siding is a neutral, light sandy non-descript color so it all went ok together (though the fading color on my gables is starting to really bother me). My home interior at the time was on the warm "goldy" spectrum.
But now I have painted all interior main walls and trim SherwinWilliams AGREEABLE GREY, with white kitchen cabinets and stair balusters, black mantel and black top handrail on the stairs.
So that's the context for my WHAT question. WHAT can I do to paint the vinyl faux cedar shingle siding on my gables and garage doors so they better mesh with my new GREIGE interior? If vinyl garage doors can be painted as beautifully as yours, I'm guessing the same is true for my fading gables?
Sorry this was long. Your post really inspired me to believe there may be a DIY solution....
MrsMajHoff says
Thanks Becky, I did not scuff or sand. Simply used the cleaner. I can't wait to see what you decided color wise for your gables. And yes, I believe the process would be the same! My door was done a year ago and it still looks incredible! Had I known that it would have simply taken about a half day, I would have done it years earlier!