painting fiberglass exterior door - Paint Talk

A Man For All Reason · 09-09-2008, 04:27 PM

I have a customer who has an exterior fiberglass door that was originally stained and polyurethaned, them primed ( not sure what primer) and stained again. The door is now peeling. She wants to paint the door with an acrylic paint. I have no experience in painting fiberglass doors with all the coats on it. What procedure should be taken.

aaron61 · 09-09-2008, 07:18 PM

Fiberglass doors ae really easy to strip. if it is peeling i would strip it and start over

poet-1 · 09-09-2008, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A Man For All Reason

I have a customer who has an exterior fiberglass door that was originally stained and polyurethaned, them primed ( not sure what primer) and stained again. The door is now peeling. She wants to paint the door with an acrylic paint. I have no experience in painting fiberglass doors with all the coats on it. What procedure should be taken.

Is the peeling layer the newer stain/polyurethane coat, or the primer, or the previous stain/poly?
It's likely a time-consuming job, for the existing failing layer(s), technically, must be completely removed to ensure the longevity of the new paint --in which case, it's not an easy, perhaps not feasible, task. Removing stain/paint on fiberglass by means of heat-gun or chemical is not recommended (regarding the latter, however, you can test a small area using a mild, non-solvent base stripper to see if it works safely --for most chemical strippers would corrode/eat away the fiberglass if left on the surface for too long).
If the HO wants a quick fix, the followings can be done:
- Scrape and power-sand peeling areas (w/ fine sand-paper, 150 or higher). Wipe the door with cleaner or paint thinner. Full-prime using quality alkyd primer. Topcoat with Aura or Duration. Repeat the procedure every 2-3 years.