How to Use Satin Paint on Doors & Trim

Remove the door from the jamb and remove the hardware with a screwdriver. Place your door on a sawhorse or an old table to make it easier to paint. Wash down your door and trim with a rag and trisodium phosphate (TSP) according to the manufacturer's directions. If your door or trim is new and unfinished, TSP is unnecessary.

Check your door for imperfections. If there are dents, nicks, nail holes or other problem areas, fill them with a wood filler or the appropriate compound with a putty knife. Check the trim's joints for separations or cracks and fill them. Sand scratches and old, peeling paint with a medium grit sandpaper on both the door and the trim. Turn the door over to do the opposite side if you're painting both sides.

Sand the door and trim again with fine grit sandpaper. Wipe the trim and door with a tack cloth or damp rag to remove dust.

Locate the hinge mortises on the door. The mortises are the notches on the side of the door where the hinges would fit. Cover them with painter's tape and use a utility knife to trim it to fit snugly inside of the notch. Cover the door knob with painter's tape if you can't remove it.

Apply a primer/sealer to the door using a roller if your door is completely flat, and use a brush to get around the door knob if necessary. Use a brush for the whole door if it has bevels or molding. When priming or painting a decorative door with panels, paint around the edges first then paint the panels. Next, paint the rails, or the horizontal strips of wood below the panels, with horizontal strokes. Paint the stiles, the vertical strips of wood, with vertical strokes. Start with the middle stile between panels, and finish with the two long stiles on either side.

Put tape on the walls around the trim to keep your lines clean and put a drop cloth down in the doorway to protect the floor. Apply primer/sealer with a brush. Use vertical strokes for the side, and horizontal strokes across the top of the entryway.

Stir the satin paint for your door with a paint stirrer. Keep stirring until you can dig deep into the bottom corners of the can and stir it up without causing any streaks of color on the surface. If the door has a flat surface, paint around the door knob with a brush first, then roll paint on the edges and over the front surface. Paint a beveled or decorative door with a brush in the same order you applied primer.

Paint the trim with satin paint in the desired color. Allow the paint to dry on the door and trim as recommended by the manufacturer. Give a second coat to each if you feel it's necessary.

Remove the painter's tape from the door and the walls. Reattach the hardware and hang the door when the paint is dry. Satin paint usually dries within a few hours. Touch it in a place where marks would not be obvious, such as the top or bottom edge. If it is dry to the touch, it's ready to hang.