HERE’S AN EASIER AND FASTER WAY TO PAINT YOUR INTERIOR FRENCH DOORS BLACK | ENTRYWAY MAKEOVER | YOUTUBE VIDEO

Hi, creative #sifamily! I’m back sharing an EASY & FAST way to Paint French Doors Black. I’m comparing the traditional green painter’s tape method VS a masking product that claims to save time and effort. I can’t wait to share the results!

I’m also including ~

1. How I picked the ‘right’ black paint color
2. Perfectly painted frame w/o taking the door off
3. No mess Hardware w/o removing the hinges and knobs
4. The perfect brush for cutting in the glass panes
5. The perfect roller that gave me a professional finish

Here’s the door I started with. This is my cozy entryway. It’s a work in progress. When you come through the front door the living room is to your right, and to the left is this french door that leads into my office.

THIS POST IS SPONSORED/CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS TO PRODUCTS I USE.  YOU CAN SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE HERE.

SOURCE LIST

French Doors – SALVAGED
Painters Tape | Plastic Wrap
Masking Liquid
Scissors | Utility Knife
Zibra Triangle Paint Brush
4″ Paint Roller
Large 3″ Foam Brush
Heat Gun

HOW TO PAINT FRENCH DOORS BLACK

As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, my home decor is long overdue for a refresh. I would love to restyle my office and entryway, but the full task feels overwhelming because I’m not exactly sure what I want to do with it. So I figured I’d start with baby steps. I LOVE the look of black french doors so that’s where I’m starting.

PICKING THE RIGHT ‘BLACK’ 

Picking a black is a personal preference. A great way to test what shade and undertone(s) of black paint you like is by painting a few options on a whiteboard or a piece of white paper. I painted 4 colors on a white piece of paper and then left them on the door for a full day and night. I checked in as the light changed and came up with a winner – Semi-Sweet! It’s swatch number two in the pic below. It looks the grayest in comparison to the other swatches but as you’ll see once the door is painted, it’s a beautiful warm black.

CLEANING

Once I had picked my paint color, it was time to clean the door. I used Windex and a paper towel to make sure the glass was sparkling and there was no dust or dirt on the french door frames.

PROTECT HARDWARE

I didn’t want to remove the door to paint it. So to protect the door hinges I used painter’s tape. I carefully applied it making sure all of the hinges were completely covered.

For the door knobs, I used painter’s tape to cover the face plates and I also used something we all have on hand – plastic wrap! Here you can see I taped and covered the original door knobs with plastic wrap on the other french door to my office. I ended up buying new door handles but this is a great way to protect your existing hardware while painting!

PAINTER’S TAPE

I started by masking off the glass panes with Painters Tape. I cut the tape into 4″ strips about an inch shy for the top and bottom of each glass pane. Then I cut 24 pieces of painter’s tape in 12″ sizes for each side of the panes. Then I applied all the short top and bottom pieces. Then I applied all the side pieces.

 

Then using a utility knife, I cut off the excess tape so so there was no overlap onto the wood frame. I found the perfect brush for painting in all these corners was the Zibra Triangle Brush. It worked really well to get into all the nooks and crannies and gave it a nice smooth finish.

Once my two coats of Semi-Sweet were dry, I removed the painter’s tape by scoring it with the utility knife, adding a little heat with a heat gun, and removing the tape. The scoring along with a little heat makes the tape removal super easy!

PROTECTING THE FRAME AND FLOOR

To get a professional finish I used this 4″ roller. I buy mine from the dollar store but you can get similar brands online as well.

To protect the door frame and floor as I was painting, I also used something we all have on hand, a piece of 8×10 paper! I did have a drop cloth in place on my floor but below you’ll see I also put a piece of paper under the door. The paper rolls right along with the roller as I paint.

I used this exact same paper technique when painting against the door frame. I’m demonstrating how well this works in the Youtube video below.

MASKING LIQUID

I learned about this Masking Liquid on Youtube and decided to give it a try even though it was pricey at $74 CAD a quart. (I believe in the US it’s around $30-$40).  All the videos I watched were raving about how great Masking Fluid is used to paint French doors because helps create crisp, clean lines when painting. The product prevents the paint from bleeding onto the glass with just one coat.

Here are the steps I took-

1. I cleaned my French doors with Windex and made sure there was no dust or dirt on the frames. Then I masked off the hinges and door knobs.
2. Then I gave the Masking Fluid a good mixing and poured some onto a paper plate. Using a 3” sponge brush, I applied a layer onto the glass making sure it was fully covered.
3. I waited 2-3 hours and then applied two coats of paint.
4. After my paint was 100% dry, I used a craft knife to score around the frame and then peeled off the masking fluid. It peels off like plastic wrap!
5. Small areas still need a little touch-up but overall it looks great!

Here I’m applying the Masking Fluid with the large 3″ Foam Brush which works amazing. It got in all the corners and gave really good coverage.

Below is a close-up of how thick I applied this product. I dipped the brush into the masking liquid and butted the tapered edge of the foam brush along the edges of the frame. Then I reloaded the brush with the product and brushed the entire frame from top to bottom with a generous coat on the glass.

It doesn’t matter if it gets onto the wood as it will act like a primer!

Here’s how the Masking Fluid looks about an hour into dry time. It looks milky in the wet areas and clear in the dry areas.

After the paint dries, I scored the edges with a utility knife before pulling the product off.  Just a note, be SURE to SCORE before you remove the film. For the first pane I peeled off, I forgot to score it and in the Saturday video I’ll share what NOT to do!

Once it’s scored and a tiny corner is pulled back, the mask pulls off flawlessly! Check this out! PERFECT and so satisfying!!

And here’s the finished look.

I bought new brushed brass door handles which I like WAY better than the crystal knobs I had on the white. I also picked up a new black and brushed brass/glass light fixture and added a textured carpet. I’m in the middle of filling the front door frame with wood filler and I’m thinking of painting the front door in Semi-Sweet black as well. What do you think?

I also want to change out these cute entryway pics (you can see the full DIY on this dollar store art here!) for something larger. Maybe a mirror? I’m all ears if you have any suggestions. 😊

I also want to paint the entryway and office walls off-white and buy a new rug for the office.

YOUTUBE TUTORIAL

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on Youtube. If you have any problems viewing it below, feel free to watch it on my Youtube Channel HERE. Our #siyoutubefamily is already a community of 37.2K so don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t done so already! So exciting, thank YOU! 🙂

PAINTER’S TAPE VS MASKING LIQUID 

So my thoughts on painter’s tape VS the Masking Liquid – the results are the SAME. Looking at the finish, I can’t tell which side was sealed with the mask or which side was taped off. But, if you’re looking for a more cost-effective way of painting your french doors, I’d suggest the painter’s tape. If you don’t mind paying more to save yourself some time and effort, the Masking Fluid is the way to go. Both versions will give you a clean and crisp painted black french door.

And as a bonus, the Masking Fluid works like magic on ANY type of glass or mirror makeover. So if you don’t have any french doors to paint, no worries. This will be a time saver for ANY of your glass or mirror-painted projects. I still have 3/4 of the can left-over which I’ll be using on my next mirror project!

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF MY NEW BLACK-PAINTED FRENCH DOORS! OR FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE… I ALWAYS LOVE HEARING FROM YOU. IT MAKES MY DAY! 🙂

Happy furniture painting friends!

Denise x

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