Can You Paint Aluminum Storm Doors

How to make an old tempest door wait new once again

A reader wants to update this aluminum storm door. (Reader photograph)

Q: I would like to update an Andersen aluminum storm door. The door is in very skillful condition but has weathered over the past 15 years. How do I make clean the frame? Can the door be painted? Are replacement door handles bachelor? Or should I purchase a new door?

Falls Church building

A: Andersen Windows & Doors (800-426-4261; andersenwindows.com) has a "Parts & Support" section on its website, and one of the categories there is a "Storm Door Help Eye." Nether "Intendance and Maintenance" are instructions for cleaning the frame. Yous might be able to guess what they say: Rub with a soft, clean cloth moistened with a mixture of mild lather and water.

If that doesn't restore the look you want, it is indeed possible to paint the aluminum. Andersen gives advice on that, too. Lightly sand the frame with fine moisture-dry sandpaper (300 to 500 dust), just enough to roughen the surface. Launder with soap and water, rinse, and let dry out. Lightly spray with an outside paint in a spray tin. Allow dry, and then re-coat. Several coats work best.

Also Andersen's suggestions, here are a few others: Remove the door and take out the glass panel, if possible. (The drinking glass panels are removable on all but one type of Andersen storm doors; the exception, according to a woman who answers consumer questions for the company, are full-view laminated doors. The visitor began making those in 2005, and then information technology's unlikely your door is one of those.)

Aluminum storm doors can exist spray-painted, or you could hire a pro to apply a highly durable powder-coat finish. (Reader photo)

Set up a piece of work area outdoors, with the door apartment on sawhorses or other supports. When you get to the spray-paint stage, put on safety goggles. To ensure an even glaze, move your body as y'all spray, so that the distance and angle of the spray remain compatible. Exercise not just tilt the tin right and left or up and downward.

If you want a pro to exercise the painting, you might or might non save money compared with ownership a new door. At Home Depot, Andersen total-view storm doors range from $199 to $410. But regardless of the cost, repainting would reduce waste, and you could get a splendid stop from a company that specializes in pulverisation-coat finishes. This type of finish uses an electric charge to ensure that every nook and cranny of the metal is coated and the finish is baked on, resulting in an extremely durable, like-new coating. Gary Lamb, possessor of Farthermost Pulverisation Coating in Lorton (703-339-8233; extremepowdercoating.com), said it would toll around $200 to $250 to sandblast the existing stop off and re-glaze. However, powder-coating is an option just if the glass panel can be removed; otherwise, it would crack during the blistering process, Lamb said.

As for replacement hardware handles, Andersen has an online store for storm door parts (parts.andersenstormdoors.com). You can search past the model number of your door (wait for information technology on a hinge) or by identifying the handle set using the "Identify Storm Door Parts" section of the Storm Door Help Middle. New handles are bachelor for all models that have mortise handle sets but only for some doors that have surface-mounted handle sets. Domicile Depot, which sells Andersen doors, also carries some replacement handle sets for $50.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/how-to-make-an-old-storm-door-look-new-again/2017/11/03/48af1ef4-bb4b-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html

Posted by: barstowfrally1974.blogspot.com