[Abuc]

We are going to repaint the exterior of our front door. Wife likes the color of a door in another part of the neighborhood so she made an inquiry. Turns out it is Sherwin Williams Naval Resilience. Owner said it took three coats to cover. I’m ok with the color, but not so sure I want to use Resilience on a door. Reading the spec sheet, it appears Resilience is designed more for aluminum and vinyl siding.

I assume Ben Moore can make a perfect copy of SW Naval so I am not limiting myself to SW paint. What is the best paint to use on an exterior door? By best I mean easiest to apply (easy to maintain wet edge and minimal drips/runs), excellent leveling and durable/washable. Thanks.

 

[mark sr]

Do you know what type of paint is currently on the door? is it a steel door or wood?

 

[Abuc]

Do you know what type of paint is currently on the door? is it a steel door or wood?

Pretty sure it is original builder paint which would be cheap latex. The door is wood core clad with metal. Not magnetic so I assume it is aluminum.

 

[cocomonkeynuts]

I usually spec mooreglo or aura exterior for exterior facing doors. grand entrance is another option.

 

[Abuc]

My local BM store is closed due to fire. Not sure when it will be back in operation so I went with SW Emerald urethane enamel semi-gloss. Two coats did the trick. The new brass hardware looks sharp against the Naval blue. SW guy tried to talk me out of semi-gloss saying it is too much sheen for front door. Glad I didn’t take his advice.

 

[mark sr]

What sheen to use is pretty much determined by personal tastes. Personally I like a nice sheen although satin won't highlight any defects if there are any.

 

[Abuc]

What sheen to use is pretty much determined by personal tastes. Personally I like a nice sheen although satin won't highlight any defects if there are any.

The door has a deeply embossed grain which does stand out with the semi gloss. However, I still prefer shiny on a front door. At certain angles, the bottom rail almost appears unpainted compared to the dark vertical stiles.

 

[Gymschu]

Glad you are avoiding the SW Naval. That deep blue color took me at least 7 coats to get proper coverage on doors I did last summer. I swear I will never use any SW red, blues, or yellows ever again.

 

[Abuc]

Glad you are avoiding the SW Naval. That deep blue color took me at least 7 coats to get proper coverage on doors I did last summer. I swear I will never use any SW red, blues, or yellows ever again.

No, I used Naval and two coats covered perfectly.

 

[mark sr]

I quit using it yrs ago but SWP has a line of paint called Decorators [?] It was for deep tint interior work. It did not cover at all!! 5 coats seemed to be the norm. Anytime I was supposed to use it I had the paint mixed up in something else .... even if it was an exterior base. Same color in a different based covered ok.

 

[Abuc]

I quit using it yrs ago but SWP has a line of paint called Decorators [?] It was for deep tint interior work. It did not cover at all!! 5 coats seemed to be the norm. Anytime I was supposed to use it I had the paint mixed up in something else .... even if it was an exterior base. Same color in a different based covered ok.

Original color was light gray. The first coat covered well except at the beginning of a stroke where the brush pulled the paint. Maybe urethane enamel covers better than regular acrylic? Anyhow, the second coat looks great. The neighbor who painted her door with SW Resilience said it took three coats of Naval. Don’t know what her original color was and don’t know if it was painted by someone who knows how to paint a door properly.