# freshly painted interior metal door paint peeled off



## ARC Painting (Dec 23, 2011)

This is simply an adhesion problem. Latex paint doesn't stick to metal very well, you need to prime with an approriate primer first. The paint-primer-in-one is not really adequate for any but the least demanding purposes. It sounds like the builder did not prime either, since the original paint came off too. latex paint sticks to latex paint better than metal, hence why it all came off together. 

So you want to prime the door before painting, using a high quality adhesion primer, rated for metal. Then you can use the same paint you have, which should do fine as a finish coat.


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## dreamstwogo (Mar 24, 2012)

*metal door paint peeled off*

Thanks for your quick response! I am heading out to get the adhesion primer right now


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

This happens a lot with doors made of galvanized metal. If it's galvanized you will need a special primer.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

Gymschu said:


> This happens a lot with doors made of galvanized metal. If it's galvanized you will need a special primer.


I think he ran out to buy before he read your post.:laughing:


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

ARC, the problem is with the builder, not OP. Paint peels down to the layer where the issue occurs, which is that of not priming originally. OP was applying over paint, he didn't need a primer.


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## dreamstwogo (Mar 24, 2012)

*Getting correct primer*

I am still in process of getting every speck of paint off the metal door... both my coats of paint and the builders. I am going to start the whole thing from scratch. So therefore I haven't used the primer yet, and before I do, are you saying there is more than one type of metal primer? One specifically for galvanized metal doors? I think mine is just a general apply to "metal surfaces" primer.


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## PaliBob (Jun 11, 2008)

dreamstwogo said:


> ....are you saying there is more than one type of metal primer?.......


 I'm a tyro when it comes to painting, but I would not use it unless your can says for galvanized metal


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

We don't know for sure that it's galvanized. Besides, what steel doors would come unprimed anyway? I doubt it's bare, raw steel.


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## poppameth (Oct 2, 2008)

The problem with builders is that they see a pre-primed door and paint right over it. You have to CLEAN it first. Latex will stick just fine to a factory primed door it you just take time to clean the oils and dirt off of it. As for galvanized metal, any acrylic primer should do fine on it. Stay away from Oil. Galvanized and oil don't like each other. Chances are it isn't galvanized anyway.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

I've never trusted factory primed anything. The primer is just sprayed on at the very thinnest rate possible. I should think a high bond primer/underlay would work fine for this although I suppose something with a rust inhibitor on a raw steel door might be a good idea. I too doubt the door is galvanized.


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## pkrapp74 (Dec 16, 2011)

poppameth said:


> The problem with builders is that they see a pre-primed door and paint right over it. You have to CLEAN it first. Latex will stick just fine to a factory primed door it you just take time to clean the oils and dirt off of it. As for galvanized metal, any acrylic primer should do fine on it. Stay away from Oil. Galvanized and oil don't like each other. Chances are it isn't galvanized anyway.


Poppameth is correct about the factory primer. Usually a thorough wipedown is all you need. 

All steel doors manufactured in the last 10 years are galvanized. The better quality doors are hot-dipped.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

pkrapp74 said:


> All steel doors manufactured in the last 10 years are galvanized. The better quality doors are hot-dipped.


Did not know this. Thanks. :thumbsup:


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## bbo (Feb 28, 2010)

I also would not wait to take off the tape. the longer you leave tape on, the better it adheres to the surface it is on.

And I'd use painters tape ... made to go on and come off much more easily.


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## ric knows paint (Oct 26, 2011)

see next post...(sigh)


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## ric knows paint (Oct 26, 2011)

...I have a new white metal door, painted by the builder (I assume) on the inside. I wanted to go over with a darker gray color. I bought Olympic paint with primer in it at lowes. It is a semi-gloss. I went over the door with a sanding block to rough up the paint already on. I then put on 3 coats, waiting about 24 hours between coats. All I can say is that the paint never seemed to adhere properly. it felt rubbery, and when I was finally done I geve another 48 hours before taking off tape. While taking off the tape, it pulled at the paint, and all of the paint came off in sheets. It took off the white paint that was on the door as well. Now I have a metal door with nothing on it. Any ideas as to where I went wrong?


Dreams,

Are you saying all paint came off to a bare metal skin? Or just the builder's paint come off to the original prime coat? So, which paint "never seemed to adhere properly"? If it was only the paint you applied, *you* did something wrong...However, in either of the other 2 scenarios, what you put on may have "caused" the previous coats to fail, but only because they never had a tight bond to begin with. 

Latex paints create a fair amount of stress to the surface it is applied to. This is best illustrated when brushing out a coat of latex on a sheet of notebook paper - when done so, the paper buckles and constricts while the paint dries. This same stress can wreak havoc on an existing coat of paint if it isn't already tightly adhering to the substrate - the evidence of poorly adhering, existing coats of paint and/or primer was demonstrated when you removed the tape. 

If this is the case, it wouldn't have mattered what type, or brand of paint you could've or should've used...if the very first application isn't adhering tightly, nothing else will either.

Your best bet now is to remove as much of all coats of paint as possible - back down to the metal skin, which may or may not be galvanized. You didn't mention if this was an interior door (often primed steel or aluminum - rarely galvanized) or the interior face of an exterior entrance door (most often primed galvanized). Once you determine what type of surface you're looking at, then you can apply the proper primer and topcoat with any number of quality latex (acrylic) paints. Good luck - and there are many latex paints and primers that'd work well in your situation. Talk to your local independent paint dealer for his or her suggestions.


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## poppameth (Oct 2, 2008)

pkrapp74 said:


> Poppameth is correct about the factory primer. Usually a thorough wipedown is all you need.
> 
> All steel doors manufactured in the last 10 years are galvanized. The better quality doors are hot-dipped.


I didn't realize this either. I haven't seen one without the primer for so long!


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## dreamstwogo (Mar 24, 2012)

*Follow up- The paint is now adhering!*

Thank you to all who answered! I used a heat gun and scraper and got off every speck of paint that I had applied, as well as the paint that the builder had applied. It actually came off very easily..... There was still a very fine layer of gray primer on the metal door from the manufacturer. 

Then I wiped off the door with denatured alcohol in water. Then I primered again with a primer that stated it was for metal doors, and it said it was a "high adhesion" primer. Then I used very fine grit sand paper, roughed up the surface, and wiped it down with the denatured alcohol again to get off any loose dust. After that dried, I put on my paint in 2 coats. I used the sand paper and denatured alcohol between coats. This worked great and the door looks like a million bucks. Can't thank everyone enough. It took me a while to get back to it because I was bummed about my first try, but now I am so happy I stuck with it and got it done properly. Danke!!


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## kaalapurushha (Jun 6, 2011)

dreamstwogo said:


> Thank you to all who answered! I used a heat gun and scraper and got off every speck of paint that I had applied, as well as the paint that the builder had applied. It actually came off very easily..... There was still a very fine layer of gray primer on the metal door from the manufacturer.
> 
> Then I wiped off the door with denatured alcohol in water. Then I primered again with a primer that stated it was for metal doors, and it said it was a "high adhesion" primer. Then I used very fine grit sand paper, roughed up the surface, and wiped it down with the denatured alcohol again to get off any loose dust. After that dried, I put on my paint in 2 coats. I used the sand paper and denatured alcohol between coats. This worked great and the door looks like a million bucks. Can't thank everyone enough. It took me a while to get back to it because I was bummed about my first try, but now I am so happy I stuck with it and got it done properly. Danke!!


 
This may be too late, but I have successfully painted two primed metal doors (The stock HD/Lowes) doors with Sherwin Williams Latex Enamel (http://www.sherwin-williams.com/pai...egory=exterior-paint-coatings/paint-coatings/)

Never had a problem with chipping or peeling, but you do need two coats for good coverage


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