LESLIE: Louis in Florida is on the line with a painting question. How can we help you with that project?
LOUIS: I want to say one thing for the record, first of all. Leslie, you have one sexy voice.
LESLIE: Wow.
LOUIS: I love listening to both of you but you’ve got him hands down.
LESLIE: Thanks.
TOM: I’m totally fine with that, Louis.
LOUIS: Hey, I do have a full-sized, double garage door. It’s made of aluminum. It’s a typical, 15, 16-foot wide, 3-panel garage door made of aluminum. It has the eight little windows in the top panel and it is fading. It is not that satin, painted look anymore and I was wondering, if I repainted that – maybe even go with a little bit different color – do I just need to wash it down first or do I need to – help me if I do – remove that paint first? I really – that may seal the deal if I have to remove the paint first.
LESLIE: Other than the sheen, Louis, there is no paint that’s sort of flaking and chipping off? It’s just an aesthetic thing that’s driving you crazy?
LOUIS: Exactly, exactly.
TOM: Yeah, then I think you can clean it using a TSP solution, so you get any grime that’s attached to it off. And then a light sanding and I think you can go ahead and prime over that and then paint it again.
I would include the primer step because that’s going to make sure you get maximum adhesion. The primer is really the glue here that’s going to make the paint stick, Louis.
LESLIE: And it’s sort of the neutral base. If you go top coat over top coat, it’s not really going to stick as well as it should. And when you go in there with that flat, neutral primer, it’s going to go on there, it’s going to stick. Plus, if you’re going with a super-saturated color, you’re going to want to tint that primer, as well, to reduce your amount of top coats and sort of give it that nice, even base.
LOUIS: OK. Well, currently it’s white and I thought of maybe just going with an ivory: just a little bit, not quite as white. So, hopefully, one coat will do it after the primer. So I’ll be – actually be painting it twice: primer one coat and then top coat, one coat.
TOM: And it shouldn’t – and because it’s a metal door and not an organic door like wood, you’ll find that a properly-applied paint job like that, Louis, can probably last you 8 to 10 years.
LOUIS: OK. Well, that’s excellent. We made it in the house 13 years. The door itself has been through a couple of hurricanes and a whole bunch of Florida sun, so it’s probably time to just bite the bullet and do it.
LESLIE: Oh, great.
TOM: Alright. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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