Front door makeover with new Behr Marquee paint

I FINALLY painted my front door!  This is one of those projects that I seriously said, “why did I wait so long to do this?”  Our front door has never been painted in the 10 years we have lived here.  It hasn’t always looked quite as bad as this but honestly it never looked good from day one.  That sticky mark in the right large rectangle has been there from the very beginning. 

Over time more marks and scratches have happened along with fading. 

I tried using these rubber coated heavy duty magnets made for hanging wreaths on doors and the heat/sun would make the rubber stick and then tear off paint/leave huge marks when you removed it.  Won’t be using those anymore…  I sanded all these areas until smooth before I started painting.

I think one of the reasons I procrastinated waited so long to paint it is I really didn’t want to leave it burgundy.  I hated that I never could use red in my wreaths because it clashed so much and even other colors just didn’t look great on a burgundy front door.  And you know my wreaths are important to me!  I really wanted a black front door but that required painting the shutters black too and we have a 2-story house house which required a really tall ladder to get to the shutters on the 2nd floor.  Anyways, all excuses aside… I was determined to tackle this project this spring and I did!!  Can’t wait to show the whole before/after of the newly painted shutters and door!

I was excited to try out this new Behr paint called MARQUEE.  It is available online right now and will be rolling out to all Home Depot stores by the end of the year.  My local Home Depot has the exterior paint in stock already.  Here’s what Behr says about this new paint line – “Behr MARQUEE Exterior is a stain-blocking paint and primer that features Behr’s most advanced dirt and fade protection technology It creates a tough, non-stick surface that resists dirt to give color that looks freshly painted longer, even under severe weather conditions. It also delivers a mildew-resistant finish and stands up to rain as early as 60 minutes after application, as well as providing exceptional gloss retention.”  I loved that it had that dirt and fade technology especially since black shows dirt horribly and I don’t want to be repainting my 2 story shutters or front door anytime soon! 

The black color I picked is called “Broadway” and I had it mixed in Behr MARQUEE Exterior in Semi-gloss Enamel.  It is not a Behr Marquee color so the coverage isn’t necessarily guaranteed in one coat but it should hold up very well outdoors.  The Semi-Gloss Enamel is a sleek, radiant sheen that creates a hard, durable finish. It is formulated to withstand wear, and will also resist moisture, fading and stains.  You can even use it on wrought iron or patio furniture (I will be using to on my outdoor bench too!)  I used a foam roller (recommended for doors) and a brush.

I did this the lazy easy way and just left the door on the hinges to paint it.  I taped a blanket over our door to help keep doors and some of the heat out while I worked.  My poor indoor cat was very glad that this paint dries very fast as he had to stay locked up in the bedroom while I was painting.  I did 3 coats and it was completely dry in about 2 hours.   I taped off the handles but honestly I find that paint scrapes off handles very easily so I probably wouldn’t bother if I was to do it again because if you don’t get the tape completely perfect around the handle you end up with bits of unpainted door left when you peel off the tape.

Coat 1 – I applied thin coats and painted the outer rectangle and inner lines first, then painted the raised area inside the rectangles all with the roller.  Then used the brush to paint the inner edges of the rectangles.  Making sure to not leave brush marks and to use the roller to smooth everything out. 

Coat #2 – getting there! 

One last light coat and it was done! 

I LOVE the after!  Our door looked so beat up before and I wasn’t sure if the black would show all those dings and dents but honestly it helps hide them which is great.    We still may install a kick plate and I would love to update the handle to something non-brass and more decorative looking but that requires new keys and I am not sure if it is worth it. 

Before I painted, I also had my husband help install a peep hole.  We didn’t have one before and honestly needed one for safety sake.  Another one of those “why did we wait so long to do this” as it was less than $10 for the peephole and took less than 10 minutes.

So once again here’s the before…

And the after!

And a sneak peek at the newly painted shutters too!  

Next week I plan to show you the whole house before/after with the painted door and shutters and you know I can’t leave my front door naked for long so a new summer wreath is in the making too. 

Have you been doing any painting projects?  I feel like I am living in painting clothes right now – have been doing so much painting!  Can’t wait to show you all I have been working throughout this month.

Need some more Behr paint inspiration?  Here’s some links to get you started:

• Behr’s website – Behr.com
• Behr Marquee product info and how-to: behr.com/marquee
• Behr’s blog  – Colorfullybehr.com
• Follow Behr on Twitter 
• Like Behr on Facebook   
• Follow Behr on Pinterest

Disclosure: I am a member of the Behr DIY Expert program and was provided Behr paint for this project.  But all opinions and ideas are all my own.