Painting a fiberglass man door on garage

[reader2580]

I have a fiberglass man door on my garage that has not been painted. The UV is causing the fiberglass to delaminate slightly. I know I need to sand before painting. Do I need to use filler before painting? I am going to use an acrylic trim paint from Sherwin-Williams.

 

[The Cobbler]

doesn't the door skin have a texture on it? if you fill it will look crappy

 

[PCustoms]

I have a fiberglass man door on my garage that has not been painted. The UV is causing the fiberglass to delaminate slightly. I know I need to sand before painting. Do I need to use filler before painting? I am going to use an acrylic trim paint from Sherwin-Williams.

Not sure paint is going to help a delaminated door....

Also not sure what the goal is with fillers.

Pictures?

 

[reader2580]

doesn't the door skin have a texture on it? if you fill it will look crappy

Door skin is smooth, not textured.

 

[reader2580]

The delamination is hardly noticeable. I just happened to notice it the other day. I did some Google searching and found suggestions to use body filler or epoxy to make the door smooth after sanding with 400 grit.

 

[bluedog225]

People routinely paint fiberglass boats. Lots of info there. Some use quality house paint for a “workboat” finish. Works fine. Would look fine for a garage door. You are not going for boat gloss. Depending on condition, delam might just look like wood finish.

 

[Shiftless]

Sand lightly. Wash thoroughly. Apply good quality primer… I use Stix. Then 2 coats of acrylic satin finish and you’ll be good to go.
Unless there are major defects, I wouldn’t use filler.
If you apply with a roller, the resulting texture will hide very minor imperfections. If you want a show car finish, there is going to be a LOT of work and lots of expensive product involved.

At some point, a new door would be easier and less expensive.

 

[PCustoms]

The delamination is hardly noticeable. I just happened to notice it the other day. I did some Google searching and found suggestions to use body filler or epoxy to make the door smooth after sanding with 400 grit.

If you've sanded to 400 grit that is more then smooth enough for paint...

A pic or two of what you're dealing with will help steer the advice

 

[reader2580]

The recommendations I have seen are to sand with 400 grit. I have not done anything yet. I will try to get a picture. The delamination is very slight.

I am not trying to do anything fancy here. I hadn't painted it prior to this because the white look is just fine to me. I didn't realize UV would damage the unpainted fiberglass.

 

[The Cobbler]

for brush or roller painting 400 is overkill... but it will work . I like a bit more tooth to help the paint bond, but C'est la vie

 

[reader2580]

for brush or roller painting 400 is overkill... but it will work . I like a bit more tooth to help the paint bond, but C'est la vie

I am just going by what I found on another forum when doing a Google search yesterday. I forgot to take a picture when I was outside earlier, but I am heading back out in a few minutes.

 

[reader2580]

I took a close up picture because you couldn't see the delaminations in in the fading light otherwise. The door is very dirty. The thumbnail is not enough to see the damage. You will need to click on the thumbnail. It is quite rough.

 

[PCustoms]

I took a close up picture because you couldn't see the delaminations in in the fading light otherwise. The door is very dirty. The thumbnail is not enough to see the damage. You will need to click on the thumbnail. It is quite rough.

What the hell...

That's not delamination, that's the raw glass from the fiberglass matt used on the outer layer.


Edit:

CSM





Typical (cheap) fiberglass process:

Wax tool (this is the outward facing surface)
Apply gel coat/finish
Back gel coat with strand mat
Back mat with structural glass

You seem to be very light on the gel/finish. If the door is super old it my be degraded as it wasn't painted. Not sure you can save it or how interested you are in dealing with itchy nasty dust vs. Buying a new door.

 

[PCustoms]

This thread made me think of walking past the door and window aisle at the orange store, you can smell the styrene off gassing from poorly cured doors.

Based on smell alone I'm not sure I'd buy a fiberglass product

 

[reader2580]

What the hell...

That's not delamination, that's the raw glass from the fiberglass matt used on the outer layer.

It is a Menards door. Probably not the best door. The damage is new. It definitely was not like that last fall. I have a two year old door from Menards on my new garage that doesn't have this issue. This door is from 2019 I recall.

 

[PCustoms]

It is a Menards door. Probably not the best door. The damage is new. It definitely was not like that last fall. I have a two year old door from Menards on my new garage that doesn't have this issue. This door is from 2019 I recall.

Is the newer one painted?

If you're looking to save this I'd hit a spot with 220 on a DA sander and see how it looks. Be warned, that could be a super itchy process and you absolutely need to wear proper lung protection.

Assuming you can get it sort of kind of smooth, I would hit it with the best exterior primer you can find followed by several coats of exterior paint.

Their specific products for fiberglass that would work really well in this situation, but they're probably going to run you more than just buying a new door

 

[reader2580]

Is the newer one painted?

Not painted, yet. The painting of the newer door is a lot higher on my priority list after what happened to the older door.

I have a very nice full face respirator, but sanding fiberglass is never fun.

 

[K13]

Body filler will work perfectly fine on that but I would probably use a finishing putty rather that a filler as you won't need much build. Sand put a light skim on it sand again then prime and paint.

 

[bluedog225]

Plenty of tooth there. Clean and paint with a quality outdoor primer and paint.

 

[volaredon]

I need new man doors for both the attached garage and the detached. Am seeing more fiberglass doors these days for sale. I was gonna ask for pros/cons vs typical metal clad wood doors as mine are definitely delaminated at the bottom. I was looking at a fiberglass one on the clearance rack at the local lumber yard that needs to be painted since it's green and my stuff is brown. Laying a door on sawhorses and getting out the spray gun is not a big deal

 

[volaredon]

Ok I went to Sherwin Williams as I need to spray 2 of my overhead garage doors. All over Google they show that Sherwin Williams and behr have the paint codes for their factory colors. I actually have the code from Ideal door/clopay and nobody here could do anything with that.
The SW "guru" actually came to my house and color matched my 2 newer (2 years old) doors so I could make my 20 year old ones look 2 years old again
I ended up buying 2 fiberglass man doors that come printed and need top coated and Id like to match the overhead doors
The guru came up with their acrolon line a water based 2 part polyurethane. Matched I guess to a common SW color which they call "otter". Clopay doors calls it a chocolate brown.
He sold me a gallon of primer and 2 gallons of the paint and 2 quarts of hardener mixed to this color.
The overhead doors that need paint are steel and are 100 feet away from the ones im trying to match. Not right adjacent to the newer doors so close is good enough, off a 1/2 a shade most won't notice.
The guru went with water based because he was worried about how genuine the "fiberglass" is on the man doors and what solvent in conventional paint might do to the fiberglass.
I've never dealt with water based besides latex house paint before so this will be new to me.