Too cold to be painting right now here, what's the temperature there ?

We're in coastal CA, so we have good weather all year round. It was a pleasant 65 degrees when we painted Sunday....should have done it Saturday when it was 87 b/c the drying time would have been quicker.

Obviously the door is dry now. It has a nice even coat of color; it just is textured. It looks like the orange peel texture some people have on their walls. DH still thinks it looks fine, but honestly, who has a orange peel textured front door?

So what's my best bet, let it dry a week or two, sand it (with what grit?) and then do another coat with a brush? Any brush recommendations to get a smooth finish? Thanks!

Hi Alku,
Depending on the sprayer AND technique, it's so hard to isolate why it's a bumpy texture.
* Was it sanded prior to priming?!
* Was it primed (with a sandable exterior primer) ??
* These are very important steps before the first drop of paint hits a surface!
* Paints just telegraph the texures underneath them...UNLESS bad techniques/tools compound the issue.

To get the smoothest gloss, resand with 220-grit or higher sanding sponge(s) until you have a "smooth as glass" surface.
* Remove dust, & wipe off.
* Consider having them sprayed at an auto-body shop. Mine were!
* If not, buy a VERY good brush...a 3" Corona or Purdy for ~ $15-$20. Make sure it's for the latex or oil you're using.

* Don't overbrush...let the paint level itself.
1) If you have recessed panels, do them first.
2) Do the center horizontals. Only go about 1" into the vertical strip.
3) Do the center vertical, stopping ~ 1" into the top/bottom horizontal strip as a feathered out stroke.
4) Brush the top/bottom horizontals feathering 1" into the long verticals.
5) Now the 2 long "vertical" sections. You'll be "painting thru" your horizontal "feathers" which is fine.

If a solid smooth door, buy a good 4" brush to minimize strokes (these will run $20 or more!)
* Same prep here!!
* Sand, prime, sand, paint...2 coats!

Good luck!
Faron

Thanks for the tips, Feron!

The door is a new pre-primed steel door, and was perfectly smooth before my husband got a hold of it. I'm going to let the paint fully cure, and then follow your technique to fix this.

Maybe test the paint on a different surface and see if it does the same thing? Could be the paint itself? Ah, temps in the 60's. As a member of the 'deep freeze club' for too long now (although it looks like it's beginning to break) I envy your weather!

Your description of orange peel texture leapt out at me but I was confused by your comment that some people have it on their walls, as if on purpose. My recollection was that it was a very bad sign. So I googled "orange peel paint". Apparently it can be a popular wall finish or a defect. I couldn't find anything like the info I found years ago, don't know if I'm using the wrong words or if the terminology has changed. Oh, I just tried again and one website also calls it fisheyes. Is the smell fading? That was the other thing about the problem I remember. Orange peel texture and persistent odor. Aha, yes, they're now calling it solvent-popping. If that's what it is I'd be sanding it very thoroughly. Good luck.

Macbirch, I'm pretty sure this is an application issue, not a faulty paint issue. We used Sherwin Williams exterior Superpaint, and it is behaving normally. I think my husband just had the flow too high on the sprayer or too small of a spray pattern, or too thick of a coat or some combination of that. Thank you though!

Was the door hanging in place or was it laying flat like on saw horses?

If you are looking to have the door be a show stopper log onto this site! http://finepaintsofeurope.com/ click on paints and stains, then on the right side find doors of holland.. A MUST SEE!!

My opinion, exterior doors should never see any type of acrylic/latex cating on them, latex builds up and you see all sorts of brush strokes.
They make a door paint kit with proper instructions.
Simply the best paint in the WORLD!!

Hey everyone, MYSTERY SOLVED!!

This was most definitly an application issue. Turns out that after a more extensive inquisition, it turns out that when DH applied the gray primer, he used a ROLLER. Hence the nappy roller look to the paint. I just saw him spraying the red topcat which is why I assumed there was an issue with the sprayer. Silly hubby, rollers are for walls! Good thing he has other redeeming qualities, seeing as apparently painting isn't one of his better talents.

In any case, there's a weekend of sanding and repainting in my future. Repainting with a brush.

Hey Alku,
Great detective work there! It's stuff like this I run across all the time at work..."Well, he said he primed it...".
"Yeah but HOW"? ;-)

>>> Sidebar here...
Faron (mixing paint)..."Are your walls primed M'aam"?
guest (at counter)..."Yeah, they're painted"
Faron (silently, to himself)..."Aaaaauuggh"!
* Thought some of you may enjoy that!

Faron

Rolling can be an effective way to get the paint on the area - lay it off with a brush after rolling.

With acrylics, beware of leaving brush strokes behind from over working the paint. Get the paint on - lay it off - move on. Don't over brush.

Thanks for the tip, Chris. I will give that a try when I repaint. Right now I'm just giving it a week or two to fully cure before I sand away and try again with a smooth surface.