When painting a panel door, you must paint the door in sequence in order to keep a "wet edge" so that the painted areas cam blend together.But first, you must determine the type of surface preparation you must do prior to painting.
Repainting over Enamel or Varnish.
Glossy surfaces must be dulled by light but thorough sanding. The only exception to this is if the door pre-dates 1978 in which case you will clean only with Krud Kutter or a No Rinse Prepaint Cleaner and forego the sanding because of possible lead paint hazards.
Post 1978 Doors: Sand the door with fine sandpaper (220 grit) to remove the gloss and then vacuum it off , follow the vacuum with a micro mesh tack rag. Then move on to clean the door with Krud Kutter.
Priming
You will prime the door with a bonding primer in almost all cases. If the door was enameled, varnished, or new and either wood or metal - you will prime before painting.
Coverstain primer
A good bonding or sealing primer is Coverstain. It is good for new or repainting, and for wood or metal (some manufacturers don't want a alkyd primer on their metal doors, in which case you can use XIM UMA primer). Coverstain dries quickly, but you must provide for good ventilation with this primer during and after application. The solvents which help it to dry quickly are also quite strong. Coverstain, being an oil primer, will not be re-wetted by the waterborne enamel that you will be using to finish paint the door with. This will give you more working time.
Roller - Brush - or Spray?
If you are not a professional painter, I would not recommend spraying the door as a rule - too many things can go wrong. You can get a nice spray-like finish using a short nap or foam roller - or a brush.
Use the short nap or foam roller for the primer too. If you leave grooves in your prime coat they will show in the finish paint regardless of the leveling of the finish paint and skillful application.
Roll the paint on with a short nap roller cover then lay if off (lightly smooth out the stipple) with the tips of a good quality brush. This will give you a smooth spray-like finish if you use a good leveling enamel.
In order to maintain a wet edge and smooth joining of painted areas, a door is painted sequentially as depicted below.
Paint
Doors are almost always painted in enamel, either latex or oil. Enamels come in both latex (or waterborne) or oil. Oil enamels will dry slowly allowing more working time and easier blending of painted sections. Oil enamels level better than latex enamels giving a smoother finish. The newer waterborne enamels are very close to oil enamels in leveling and smoothness, but they do dry fast so you have to work quickly.
Please read lead paint warning if your house was built before 1978,
Painting Sequence
Divide the door into three sections. Do the panels then the middle stile and then the rails and finally the side stiles. Work the top section then the middle section then the bottom section.
How to Paint An Interior Panel Door
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