I hired a contractor to repaint my outdoor door, which has been flaking quite a bit. Normally, I would strip the paint using a heat gun or chemical stripper, especially since the glazing is cracking and needs attention. But when I checked their progress (here's a picture: https://imgur.com/a/3J3x8II), it looks like they just sanded the surface a bit and applied some kind of mud to fill in the gaps where the paint has peeled. I'm noticing some areas where old paint is still cracking, and I'm worried that if they just add layers on top without properly stripping the old paint, the new paint might also crack, especially where the door meets the frame. I've never seen this technique before, so I'm unsure if it's a clever approach or a big mistake. What do you all think?
4 Answers
Are you sure that’s not Bondo they used? It can sometimes be mistaken for mud. Just a thought!
I mean, you could just ask them what’s going on. But I doubt they'll admit if they’re doing it wrong. They’ll probably just say it’s fine, since it's their work.
Honestly, if the paint is still cracking or peeling, painting over it is likely to lead to more issues in the future. If the contractor just scraped and sanded the peeling parts, and maybe used something like bondo to level it out before painting, then that could be okay. But if they just covered it up, you might have a problem on your hands down the line.
I recently tackled my front door too. I stripped it chemically, washed it, sanded it, wiped it down, primed, and then painted. I’m really not sure what approach your contractor is taking. That mud they used looks a lot like the paste I had to strip off my door.