Painting: Garage door and meter box

[Lynxboy252]

Hi there,

First time poster here and was a first time buyer last year. As its nice out, I'm concentrating my efforts on the exterior of the house. The garage door is pretty naff, bare bits of metal, scuff marks, rust, other colours showing through etc so I'm planning on painting it black.

I think I'm pretty alright on the garage door front. Today I used a wire brush attachment on my drill to get rid of the flaking paint and to buff up the bare metal areas. I've also sanded down most of the current paint (mid-blue) to take off the shine. I then hosed down the door and used a sponge to get rid of the dust, then hosed again. I assume I'm doing ok so far?

At a guess and from researching, I need to apply metal primer to the bare metal and undercoat to the rest before I need to apply the top coats? Is this right?

I also want to paint the meter box on the wall outside, or at least just the plastic door. What sort of process do I need to go through for painting this? Currently it's white but whenever I touch it when it's wet, I get a white residue on my fingers. There are also some white marks running below it down the wall which looks a complete mess. I guess whoever painted it last didn't do it using the right techniques?!

Sorry for all the questions but hopefully someone out there can answer them.

Thanks in advance.

Adam

 

[nigelm]

I would suggest you coat the bare metal with a rust converter (you can get it from halfords). This will neutralise any particles of rust that will still be embedded in the steel.

Also its best not to use water where there is bare metal, wipe down with solvent. Water is ok for wet sanding between coats of paint.

 

[JohnD]

the meter box will be some kind of plastic. If the white paint is eroding like that it might be emulsion or masonry paint. rub it down well (I'd use wire wool as it is not a flat surface) until you are back to either the base material or a sound, well-adhering paint. Clean it with white sprit to remove remaing dust. Make sure it is fully dry. give it a good flowing coat of non-drip gloss (no primer or undercoat).

mine has lasted more than 20 years and is OK though not so glossy as when I first did it

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you can do plastic waste pipes etc the same way.

p.s. agree about the water on the metal door. You will just cause more rust. Use a soft dry brush to remove most dust. I would use a metal-preservative primer.

p.p.s. Black paint absorbs a lot of heat in sunlight and the expansion causes it to crack and break down faster than other colours.