Entryway Transformation In Three Easy Steps
Sometimes spending $3000+ on a new entry door in your home isn’t necessary if you’re just looking to upgrade the aesthetics to your foyer. In this post I’ll review the steps taken to remove those annoying dents that seem to show up on metal doors, add privacy to the sidelights using a modern textured film, and simply changing out some hardware to fit the current decade trends. We start below with before and after photos.
In my excitement of starting this project I forgot to take a before photo prior to removing the 1990’s brass handle and deadbolt which was very similar to the image to the right. Before going further I’ll try to address all of the comments that I’m sure will be coming letting me know that brass is making a come back in 2021/22 and some designers are removing antiqued bronze hardware and replacing with brass. I get it. I have no issues with brass but it’s just not my style and doesn’t go with the overall design of my living space. If you love brass then by all means slather your home in brass and bask in the brilliant shiny yellowness.
Step 1: Prep The Door For Paint
Protect Surfaces that you don’t wish to paint
I am certainly not the neatest of painters and it’s not normally a case of “if” I make a mess but “when”. I covered the floor with some painters paper and taped it down with painters tape. Now is also a good time to tape off the walls where the trim meets them to ensure a nice crisp line between trim color and wall color.
At this point I removed my lockset hardware since I knew I was going to replace it. If not replacing, you can tape around the handle and deadbolt as needed.
Smooth surface and repair dents, nicks, and gouges
This is typically the step that is most likely to be skipped in the process but I would say it’s the most important step which has to be done. In my case, the door was almost 30 years old and definitely was showing its’ age. Dents from shoes and dog toys being thrown against the door and gouges from furniture being moved in and out had to be fixed especially since I was going with a darker paint which highlights imperfections. Also, 30 years of painting and repainting left too much texture behind from paint brushes and rollers and although I knew I couldn’t ever get the door to look like it was brand new, I knew I could make it look much better than it would if left undone.
I used a heavy duty patch that would stand up to a door that would be opened and closed constantly. If you have metal doors like mine, an even better solution is to
use automotive Bondo which will last a lifetime but the downside is an odor which is fairly strong. This patch is applied just like any other wall patch using a putty knife and sands very easily. I found two thin coats with a light sanding in between worked the best.
Using a random orbit sander with 220 grit sanding disc, I lightly sanded all of the flat surfaces of the door to 
remove as much of the previous paint texture as possible. This obviously can also be done by hand if you don’t have an electric sander…but once you try a random orbit sander you’ll never go back. For the detailed panel sections of the door I used a sanding pad which easily conforms to the shape of the panels to make this a super easy step.
Note, I really don’t like the sanding sponges from the big box stores. They’re too stiff for detailed work like furniture or repainting kitchen cabinets. All of the products I used in this project are linked below including the absolute best sanding sponges I have ever used and I’m not just saying that. They last forever compared to the name brands (I used only 2 sponges to sand over 50 kitchen cabinet door and drawer fronts) and they are soft so you don’t have to push so hard to take the shape of whatever you’re sanding.
Once you finish this first sanding you can really see any imperfections that may have been missed with the first application of the patch.
Step 2: Prime and Paint
Once sanding is complete you’ll want to put a fresh coat of primer on the patches. If you paint over the patches without primer, the paint in those spots will dry with a different sheen than the rest of the door. I applied primer to the enter door just so I had a consistent surface across the entire project. I used Killz interior primer but any standard water based primer will work just fine
The paint I’m using is Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane. This is the first time I’ve used this product and wanted to give it a try because I’ve heard some great reviews mainly around how flat it lays downs and dries extremely hard. I’m painting the entire project with a soft bristled brush specifically made for fine trim finishes including this product. I thought about spraying everything with my Fuji HVLP sprayer which would produce a flawless finish, but I really wanted to see how this Urethane layed down with a paintbrush which is the main purpose of this product.
I worked my way around the door by doing the sidelights and trim first. The main reason being this product works best by maintaining a wet edge to avoid brush marks. I found that I had to avoid overworking the area that I was painting for best results. Once the area was painted and before it dried, I went over with one continuous stroke to even everything out.
This becomes a little trickier with the six panel doors though. I painted each of the inset panels first being careful from getting excessive amounts of paint on the flat surfaces. Once all of the details were painted I went back, starting from the top and working my way down, and painting in the same up and down brush strokes (think back to Karate Kid paint the fence technique) worked my way down the door keeping a wet edge as I went. This blog post wasn’t meant to be a tutorial on how to use this Urethane so I’m avoiding getting into the details because I’m a newbie to this product and there are some great tutorials on youtube and Pinterest from Painting Pro’s if you require more information.
The pictures below show my process except for the door which I didn’t want to step away for photos and have the paint dry too much ruining my wet edge. Overall, it only took me two coats and the finish looks amazing. I can’t say for sure if Emerald Urethane is much better than the other trim paints I primarily use but I can confirm it’s fairly easy to work with, the smell is not bad at all, and the finish is hard (I can’t dent it with my fingernail). I will use it again on other projects.
Step 3: Add Hardware and Privacy Film
Locksets and Hinges
There’s a ton of different options when it comes to handles, colors, styles, smart locks, etc. I chose Kwikset lock/handle set in Venetian Bronze color. Installation used the existing holes except for a hole that I had to drill for the bottom of the exterior handle. One nice thing about this set is that it came with a deadbolt adaptor kit incase the existing deadbolt hole is 1.5″ which i ended up having to use.
Hinges are sometimes overlooked but if not updated I would have had brass hinges which would have stood out like a sore thumb.
In the picture you can see the top was the original brass hinge and the middle is the new antiqued Bronze. These little details really help to pull the overall look together
Privacy film for glass
The lack of privacy we had was a primary driver behind wanting to go and buy a new door before this project started. Anybody walking by could see straight through the house to the family dinner table. Waving to passersby as I’m eating my pizza was not optimal.
After researching other options I found a product which is applied with just water and could be cut with scissors…can’t get any easier. I had applied this to the door prior to this project and was able to remove the film and reapply once painting was done. There’s a bunch of different patterns, opacity, and sizes to choose from. We went with a rain glass texture which, from the pictures, you can see provides a good amount of privacy along with a modern look to the glass. I highly recommend this product if you’re needing any privacy in a bathroom, front door, interior office french doors, etc. Product link is included below.
Tools and Products Used In This Project
The below links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate I earn small commissions from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
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