Painting the back door black

The notion of painting a door black is not a revolutionary one.  The idea has been all over Pinterest and blogs for a while now.  I think it is a great idea and for many homes it can really make them feel classy and expensive.  

When I noticed our back door was really starting to look worn, I thought that painting it black would be a great solution. 

 Scratch marks from our dog.

 General dirt and grime build up.

I stopped by Lowe's to pick up the following:

 As far as the actually painting went, I didn't need to do anything special.  However, the prep work and the clean up work was pretty extensive for this project.

I started by cleaning the door very thoroughly using an all purpose cleaner.  Once I was satisfied that it was clean, I taped off the glass.  It took a while because there is so much glass on my door, and I wanted my lines to be as clean as possible.

Then I started painting!  I opened the door while I was painting and while it dried so that the edges wouldn't stick. (SIDE NOTE: Since this was an exterior project, I waited until we had some nice weather.  It's been really cold here lately, and I didn't think the paint would cure properly if I applied it in 40 degree weather.  The day I painted the door it was in the 60's and sunny.)

It took three coats to get a nice, even finish.  After the paint had dried, I used a razor blade to score the edges of the tape and make peeling it away easier.  Then I had to go back over the glass with q tips to get the edges as straight and clean as possible.  I had to do a few touch ups around the door knobs and edges of the glass where the paint peeled off with the tape.  So far it has held up very well, but in hindsight, it probably would not have hurt to sand the door first. 

 Here's the finished product: 

After I was done painting, I let the door stand open for about 2 hours before closing it.  It takes up to 30 days to fully cure, and since there was no way I could leave the door open that long, I just waited until I was sure it was dry.  The paint hasn't stuck at all, and I've opened and closed it countless times since then.

All in all, I think it was a success! It definitely looks cleaner, fresher and shinier :) I probably could have gotten away with a sample size of paint because my little quart is still nearly full.  Anybody have anything they need painted high gloss black?  If so, I got the hook up!

Thanks,

Jesse