Steel garage door, two-bay, south-facing, heavy UV oxidation on the lower panels and chalking on the trim. Customer wanted it done before spring listing season but didn't want to wait until April.
What we did
Five hours, single painter, indoor work in a heated garage (kept at ~16°C):
- Cleaned the door with TSP solution, rinsed, dried
- Sanded the worst oxidation back to bare metal in a few spots, feathered the transitions
- Primed the bare-metal patches with rust-converting primer
- Two coats of direct-to-metal exterior enamel, brushed and rolled (sprayed wouldn't be safe indoors with cars and gear in the garage)
- Door cracked open 4 inches all evening for ventilation, fully closed by morning
Why this works in winter
A heated garage is a real paint shop, humidity is low, temperature is steady, no UV. Steel doors painted this way come out smoother than mid-summer outdoor paint jobs. We do about 5-6 of these every January and February.
