With time, wooden garage doors lose their shine due to exposure to the elements. The moisture in the outdoors causes paint to peel while extreme temperatures cause discoloration and blistering. Sometimes, a botched DIY paint job might result in a rough and unattractive finish. In all these cases, you will need to remove paint from your wooden garage doors before you can apply a fresh tint. This article will show you how to remove paint from wood garage door so that you can prep your door for a fresh coat of paint.
How to Remove Paint from Wood Garage Door
1. Clean the Garage Door
Meticulous cleaning is necessary before removing paint from your garage door. Blot away all hardened cakes of mud and dirt or grease deposited on the outer side of your garage door. Scrub from top to bottom and from left to right then rinse with a garden hose.
A clean and dry garage door remarkably takes on the finish. Even though there could be other commercial cleaning products for this purpose, nothing beats the effectiveness of just a little soap, a brush, and garden hose. You get to cut down costs significantly.
2. Lay Down a Piece of Clothing to Catch Paint Chips
Before you get into removing old and dingy paint from your garage door, it is essential to cover your bases. You want to work smoothly without old paint chips falling into fresh paint. You also want to have an easy cleaning time after the DIY excursion. An old blanket or sheet will help to catch all peeling paint chips and other debris you scrape from the door.
3. Cover All Areas of the Door with Intact Paint
If it is a routine repaint job, there could be areas of your garage door that have done a great job of retaining their color and glow. Before you start to remove aging paint from your garage door, tape all the spots you don’t want to strip off paint. A painter’s tape should come in handy for this purpose. Ensure to do the taping with preciseness and accuracy to achieve even edges.
4. Scrape Off All Peeling Paint
Get a scraper and use it to scrub all the chipping paint from the door. The scraping should be gently done to avoid damaging the wood. You might not be able to get all the paint off the door, but a scraper will do enough to facilitate repainting. As long as you remove cracking makeup, don’t worry about intact paint. Collect all the debris in a garbage bag.
5. Sand the Door
Sand the garage door with 30-grit sandpaper. Gently rub back and forth, following the natural wood pattern. After that, use 60-grit sandpaper to remove all scratches.
6. Give the Door a Thorough Rinse
After removing old paint from your garage door, the next step is to ensure it is as clean as possible. Use a garden hose to wash off all sandpaper dust and paint scrapes. Dry with a towel.
Bottom Line
Don’t know how to remove paint from wood garage door? To remove paint from the wood garage door, start by cleaning the door to remove dirt and mud, lay down a piece of cloth to catch falling paint chips, cover all the intact areas of the door, and use a scraper to strip off all cracking paint. After that, sand the door with a 30 grit and 60 grit sandpaper then rinse with a garden hose.