How To Paint Your Storm Door To Blend In With Your Front Door
Hi, sweet SI family, I hope you’re having a great start to the week. You may remember at the end of July, I painted my front door. A BIG thank you to all of you who chimed in on whether or not to keep the storm door. After reading all your suggestions, I decided to leave the storm door (at least for now) and give it a paint makeover to match the front door. I hope it blends in and isn’t that noticeable anymore… but I’ll let YOU be the judge!
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. There may also be affiliate links in this post to other companies/products I use and love as well. You will never be charged extra when you purchase through these affiliate links. Thank you so much for supporting the #siblog! To see my full disclaimer, click here.
Here’s the old storm door/screen door I started with. It is brown aluminum and is original to the house when I bought it 20 years ago. With our harsh seasonal weather, it’s very helpful with blowing snow storms. And it even helps keep the cold from coming into the house. There are a lot of benefits to having it even though I prefer the more modern look of NO storm door.
My goal wasn’t to make this storm door look fancy (I don’t think that’s possible with this old model) but instead to blend it in a little more so it’s not quite as noticeable. I’m also a little embarrassed about how rough the decorative molding around the door looks. I hope you can see past the peeling paint around the brick mold. This will be an entirely separate project. I’m always slightly uncomfortable sharing home projects but I’m slowly learning if I wait for everything to look perfect before I share… I’ll never get around to it. It’s also well worth a little uncomfortably if it inspires and encourages YOU to take baby steps as well!
THIS POST IS SPONSORED/CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS TO PRODUCTS I USE. YOU CAN SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE HERE.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Front Storm Door – SALVAGED
Exterior Door Paint
Drop Cloth
Shop Towels
Paint Brushes
Painters Masking Tape
Utility Knife | Glass Scraper
Chip Brush
Metal Bonding Boss Primer
Liquid Masking Tape
PAINTED DOOR PREP
Before painting, I prepped the door by cleaning it with Windex and paper towels. My little sidekick-supervisor was watching me from the other side of the door. I like telling her if she had hands – she’d be helping!
The red/brown dye was coming off the aluminum and I was thinking, what is it with dye lately? If you missed my candy apple-dyed hands on my last makeover you can see them here. I did not bother sanding because I planned on using a clear bonding primer.
MASKING LIQUID
To keep the glass free of paint I used Masking Liquid and it works GREAT! The first time I tried it was on these french doors. It’s very easy to use. After I open the can I give it a good mixing. Then using an inexpensive chip brush I brush it on over the window AND the door frame. It doesn’t matter if it gets on the aluminum because it acts like a primer.
It applies milky so I can see exactly where I’m applying it. I’m brushing it on right over the window and the storm door.
This is what it looks like as it’s drying. When it’s 100% dry (about 2 hours) it turns clear.
BONDING PRIMER
To make sure my paint sticks to the aluminum door, I used this Bonding Boss which is a bonding primer meant for slick surfaces. It works on metal, ceramic, glass, clay, plastic and more!
PAINT
After leaving my primer to dry for 24 hours, the next day I started painting. I used the same paint in the color “Semi-Sweet” that I used to paint my front door.
It took two full coats and there were a few areas I applied a third coat for full coverage.
STEPS TO PAINTING A STORM DOOR
- Clean and scuff sand existing finish
- Mask off the hinges and lock hardware (if not painting)
- Paint on Masking Fluid to protect the glass
- Paint on Bonding Primer
- Paint 2-3 Coats of Paint
- Remove Masking Fluid
FINISHING DETAILS
For the finishing details, I used a utility knife to score around the edges of the glass. Once I had it scored, it was easy to pull off the Masking Liquid. This Masking Liquid is Gidget APPROVED! 😉
It is satisfying to pull this off. It reveals a perfect paint line and peels off like a sheet of plastic wrap!
THE FINISHED LOOK
Here’s the finished look. As I mentioned, all the decorative wood around the door needs stripping and a good makeover – but I do think the screen door blends in a little better. What do you think?
I’m pleased with how smooth the paint job looks! Just goes to show you don’t need to use a sprayer to get a nice finish. And I do think it blends in with the front door so much better than the original brown color. I even when ahead and painted the handle. I’ll keep you posted on how well (or not) it holds up.
Photographing windows and mirrors is always tricky because of the reflections. But I hope you can see how this storm door blends in with the front door in behind it.
I’m happy I painted it and thanks again for all your encouragement. I’ll keep you updated on how it holds up!
Here’s another look at this door before and after. I hope it inspired you and gave you some ideas for your upcoming painting projects.
Before you go, my friend Kathy at Petticoat Junktion has an awesome tutorial on How To Paint Exterior Metal Doors. When I received her email, it was just the inspo I needed to get me started on mine. 😉 If you give her a visit, be sure to say Denise sent you!
I always love hearing from you so feel free to drop a comment down below, it makes my day! 🙂
Happy painting my friends!
Denise x
RELATED POSTS::
HOW TO PAINT A FRONT DOOR
PAINTING FRENCH DOORS BLACK
SALVAGED WINDOW GARDEN DECOR
NEW PAINT ROOM WORKSPACE
MAKING DATED FURNITURE DESIGNS DISAPPEAR
HOW TO REMOVE DATED DRAWER PANELS
PIN AND SHARE!
Hello again... I'm so happy you dropped by! Let's keep in touch! Follow me on social media or sign up for a dose of furniture painting inspiration and diy tutorials. :) 
Looks great! Do you leave the masking fluid on the painted part under the paint? Does it stay on after the winter and summer weather?
Thanks Elizabeth and yes you do. The instructions say it acts like a primer. I’ve had NO issues and I live in the (GTA) Greater Toronto Area where we have very hot humid summers, and frigid cold winters and everything in between. 🙂
Ohhh That looks very nice! I love the color – esp with the brick etc.
The full front door view flows nicely together. 🙂
Thanks for your tips / details.
The masking fluid looks very handy.
Yes, baby steps is a good suggestion.
Yes, baby steps, hehe. If I don’t take baby steps I often don’t take any steps because it feels overwhelming. Thanks so much P! Hugs XOXO
It looks great! And thank you for not only showing us the door, but how that masking fluid works. I’m painting the house next week (finishing up siding today before thunderstorms, whew) and will be buying some of that so I don’t have to tape off fifteen windows and doors. Can’t wait to start on our doors after reading this! Have a great weekend. 🙂
You’re going to love the masking fluid Mariele! You can paint right over the glass+wood so you don’t have to be precise about it. (at least with the brand I bought… you might want to check the instructions on your brand but I’m guessing they all work the same). Then score and peel off. It’s super satisfying and will save you a ton of time on fifteen windows!! Have a great weekend as well and hope you beat the storm!😊
Wow. Screen door looks great and you made it look so easy to do. Have the exact coloured screen door on our rental. May consider doing the same.
Hi Diane! It was easy. Aside from the dry time it took me all of about 3 hours of actual paint time. If you decide to give it a try, I think it’s a great option for a rental.😊
Looks great! Thanks for posting. Have you ever painted front door hardware ie handles? Mine needs it but I’m hesitant.
Thank you! I have never painted front door hardware but I’ve painted a TON of furniture hardware. Even the high traffic items have held up nicely. I think the key is the prep. A good bonding primer and durable paint. The way I’ve been looking at it – if I don’t like looking at it – what have I lost by painting it. ?? If I don’t like it, I’ll buy a new one (which is what I would have done eventually anyway) but I may love the look of diy. I vote give a go!🤗
Looks much better against the door, and the darker bricks blend well – so win win!
Yay, thanks so much! I like it much better than the brown as well.👍
Hi Denise. The storm door looks brand new and blends in perfectly with your front door. Thank you for showing us all how to make our homes and furniture look beautiful without buying new. I appreciate all you do for us readers and for the environment. It’s so much better to use what we already have😊
aw, thanks my friend! I’ve always prefered salvaging what I have rather than buying new – at least for the most part. I am getting BRAND NEW WINDOWS installed in the next couple of weeks tho! I’m really looking forward to seeing how they match up with the ‘new’ color on the front doors. Thanks again for always being so encouraging! XOXO
Hi Denise,
I’m a recent fan and email subscriber, from Moncton N.B. I wanted to mention I love all the work you do, you are so creative! The painted storm door is perfect! I didn’t know you could paint a storm door, and would never be brave enough to even try painting one. The masking liquid is a game changer!
Thanks for all your blogs!
Janet
Hi Janet and WELCOME! I love new subscribers sharing where they are from and I love Moncton NB! My sister and I used to vacation down east almost every second year taking the long drive from Toronto to PEI and making stops along the way. Down east is awesome. I miss it. So glad you like the painted door and YES, the masking liquid is a game changer. Here in Canada it’s not inexpensive. I believe I paid $45-50 but it lasts for a TON of projects.😃
It looks so much fresher! Good choice!Makes me want to do my storm door which is at our back door but it is white and my door is a bluish black. I’d rather paint them both again and get rid of the white.
Thanks Leslie! If you’re not going to remove the doors, the actually paint time isn’t that bad at all. This storm door may have been 3 hours work in total and I spread it over 2 days because of the required dry time. I’m really pleased. I hope it encourages you to give it a try! My friend Kathy has TWO posts on painting metal/front doors and she loves her ‘new’ door as well. Hope between the two of us we can inspire you to give it a try.😘🤗
It does look so much better! But I think it would look even better to hang the wreath on the storm door.
Thanks Connie! I don’t see anyone doing that around here, maybe because of our harsh winters/weather the wreaths might just blow away, but I’m all for being different!🤣 I should give this a try!!
Ohhh, doesn’t that look nice, Denise! I’m so glad you did that! Yeah, I wonder how the door handle will hold up, but it’s good that you did it. Good job!!
Hi Caye!!!🤗 yes, I have NO idea how it will hold up either. I know painting furniture hardware holds up amazing however it doesn’t have the outdoor weather/elements to deal with, lol. I’ll keep you updated!💙
Oh yes! That’s exactly what it needed. It blends perfectly and add a touch of sophistication to your front porch. Great job, my friend. xo 😘
Thank you Do! I think it looks better. I really wasn’t fond of the brown. I’m also getting my new windows installed in the next couple of weeks so I wanted my front doors to look a little more updated as well. 😉 XOXO
I’m not sure if it blends beer not, but is a dramatic better color!! lol. It looks great!!
It’s a much BETTER color, I agree! Thanks Cara!
Looks good Hun, glad u left the screen door on!
Thank you K and thanks for chiming in! You all had such great points and I appreciated the help. XOXO
The screen door turned out very nicely. I’m thankful for people like you who share their knowledge. I’m sure it helps a lot of people, including me. 😊
Thanks Barbara! I really hope it helps someone decide if painting their storm door is for them… or not.🤗
Storm door looks new. Really like to color.
All of your projects are so well done. Very inspiring.
Thank you so much Kay! I like the color as well as it’s not a harsh black but kind of a warm chocolate brown/black called Semi-Sweet. I’ve used it on a good few projects already.🤗
It turned out great! Now I am definitely going to do mine. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so GLAD you’re going to give it a go Nancy!! Thanks and I’d LOVE to hear how it all turns out for you!!😃
pinned!!
Thanks my friend! And thanks for your two tutorials – it was GREAT inspo for me!!🤗
I absolutely love it Denise and thanks for the shoutout!
Thanks my friend and my pleasure!! Hugs XOXO
Wow what a difference! Really lovely.
Thanks so much Ginger!💙