Greetings!

I have a steel door that has faded some in the sun. Is it possible to buff the sun fading out and restore the paint like you do with a car? I'm willing to experiment since the door needs to have something done. Worst case scenario, I have to repaint it...right now my options are repainting it or buffing out the damage. Nothing lost but a little time.

I have access to products car dealerships use to detail vehicles if anyone knows something that would be effective but consumers can't buy off the shelf.

Thanks for your help!
Ber

99% of the time I see a stell door failing it's not the doors fault.
The doors come primed not painted.
When the door was new there was a sticker on it that stated to paint the door with acrilic latex paint within 24 hours on all sides and never to use a dark color. Heat will destroy the door.
The door needs to be removed, cleaned on all sides then lightly sanded with 110 grit paper then vacuumed and wiped down with mineral spirits, paint any deatils with a quality sash brush then use a foam roller to paint the body. Make sure to paint all sides.

Thanks for the faith in my intelligence about some subjects. I'm not the person who bought the door new. This door is on my mothers house. She died unexpectedly of a heart attack a short time ago and she's the one you're calling stupid when it comes to doors. I do know that if there was a sticker on it she would have followed the instructions and kept the sticker with the receipts for the door and any paint she purchased if she painted it--I'll keep an eye out for it as we go through her paperwork.

Thanks for taking the time to include the tips on how to paint it. That's something else to put on my long list of projects. Luckily it's only a 6-panel door so there's not a lot of time consuming detail work.
Ber

Joecaption's quote:

quote:

Where all stupid, just in different subjects.

is part of his signature block and shows up on all his postings. Nothing personal, I'm sure.

Quite frankly never heard of doing that. But what the heck. Try it. Use a very light compound, for fine scratch removal. Not the orange stuff as its to agressive. These doors are not baked on finishes but you may be able to bring up the shine a little bit.
Stay away from wax type compounds. And do not wax the door when done. If you do this you and it does not look good. It will be a bear to remove the wax before you repaint it.

You do not have to go all out with the buffing. Try a little spot on the door using your hand and a rag. If it works then go for it.

Keep us posted how you make out.

LA Marlowe
Thanks for the tip about the signature block. I've never been on a board that didn't have the signature blocks defined by a line above them so you could easily tell what was signature and what was part of the post.

Home Care
Thanks for the tips. I'm going to have to finish my current project before starting on that one but I'll be sure to post about the experience.
Ber

I couldn't resist testing a car care product I found at Mom's this weekend. It's called Klasse All In One Polish and it took about 30 seconds of rubbing to make a small section of the door look like new. I can't wait to finish my current project and start working on that door!
"Before" with test patch above doorknob
Ber

I completed the job yesterday afternoon and as soon as my camera gets back I'll post a finished picture. All I can say for now is WOW! The first day I did the top half and it took quite a bit of rubbing to bring up the shine. I was surprised because the test patch had been so easy to shine up. Yesterday I did the bottom of the door and it shined as quickly as the test patch. That's when I realized what the difference was. Yesterday and the day I did the test patch the door was extremely warm, both days were sunny and in the mid-70's and the door faces southwest. The day I did the top of the door it was cool and overcast; the metal was almost cool to the touch. I did the work in the evening with the sun directly on the door, as the sun went down to where the trees blocked the direct light and the door cooled I had to rub a little harder to get the shine. It looks like a brand new door now. I can't wait to get pictures of it to share. I don't know what the long-term effect of using that product will be but since it's safe for auto, marine and aviation metals I'm hoping there will be no negative effects on a door. I'm not going to seal it with the wax like you would on cars/boats/planes in case someone wants to paint it in the future.
Edit: Figured out how to get this from my cell phone to the internet
Door half done, that surface is not wet, it's the finished look.
Ber

It would have taken me 20 minutes to make your door look brand new. Never heard of buffing and waxing a door. ;-)

quote:

Originally posted by DBC-design-build:
It would have taken me 20 minutes to make your door look brand new. Never heard of buffing and waxing a door. ;-)

So where were you two months ago? ;-)

The door now looks brand new (like the top half in the picture) and didn't cost me a dime since mom had the cleaner laying around. It wasn't actually buffing and waxing, I just put cleaning compound on a rag and wiped it down. If I'd known it worked better when the door was warm it would have taken me about half an hour to complete the whole project.
Ber