A real front door: red to Waterloo blue
This carved front door on Chuckanut Drive started out red. As part of a full exterior repaint on Chuckanut, we took it to a deep blue in a single day:
- Power-sanded the flat surfaces, then hand- and detail-sanded the carved panels and edges.
- Vacuumed and cleaned off every bit of sanding dust.
- Masked the leaded glass, the sidelights, and the porch around the door.
- Sprayed it in Benjamin Moore Command, color-matched to Sherwin-Williams Waterloo (SW 9141), with Pure White (SW 7005) trim around it.
Why a Front Door Is Harder to Paint Than It Looks
A front door is a small surface with big demands. It's handled every day, it takes the weather head-on, and it's usually the most detailed piece of woodwork on the outside of the house. A finish that would be fine on siding won't last on a door unless it's prepped and applied for those conditions.
Handled every day
Hands, keys, bags and packages all hit the same spots around the handle and lock. The finish needs to be hard and cleanable, not soft enough to scuff or pick up grime.
Weather, head-on
Rain, sun and wind hit an exposed entry harder than most of the house. Even covered doors see moisture at the bottom edge and around the hardware, where paint fails first.
Carved panels & glass
Raised and carved panels have recesses that a brush tends to overload or skip. Glass and sidelights have to be masked cleanly so the finish stops at a crisp line.
Sticking shut
Fresh paint that closes against weatherstripping before it has hardened can stick and tear. The right product and a little patience while it cures prevent that.
Our Front Door Painting Process
This is the sequence we ran on the Chuckanut door. Every door is different, and we'll walk yours with you before quoting it.
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Sand it smooth
A power sander on the flat surfaces, then hand and detail sanding to get into the carved panels and edges. Sanding knocks down the old finish and gives the new coat something to grip.
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Vacuum & clean
Sanding dust left in the recesses shows up as grit in the finish. We vacuum the door and clean it before anything gets masked.
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Mask & protect
Glass, sidelights and the area around the door get covered, and the floor gets protected, so the only thing that takes paint is the door.
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Prime where it's needed
Bare wood exposed by sanding, or a big change in color, can call for primer before the finish coat. We decide that door by door.
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Apply a durable finish
The Chuckanut door was sprayed, which lays an even coat into carved recesses and across flat panels alike. The finish is chosen for a surface that's touched every day.
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Unmask & walk it with you
We pull the masking, check every edge and panel, and tell you how to treat the door while the paint finishes curing.
Picking a Color, and Painting the Other Doors
A new front door color is one of the smallest projects that changes how the whole house looks. On Chuckanut, a deep blue door set against Pure White trim and an Unusual Gray body pulls the entry forward and makes it the focal point.
- Color changes: going from red to a dark blue, as on Chuckanut, takes full, even coverage so none of the old color shows through.
- Back doors too: on the Chuckanut job, four back doors got the same Benjamin Moore Command finish as the front door.
- The garage door: matching it to the trim ties the front of the house together. See our garage door painting page.
- Doing the whole exterior? The front door fits naturally into a full exterior repaint, since we're already on site and masked up.
What Bellingham Homeowners Say
★★★★★"We had Ellwanger Painting do a full exterior paint on our 10-year-old house in Bellingham that was starting to fade. Justin and the team were professional, took their time with the pre-cleaning and prep work, used quality paint, and made the house look like new again. I would not hesitate to use them again."
John AbelnExterior repaint · Bellingham, WA · via Google
Licensed, Lead-Safe & Local
Ellwanger Painting LLC is an owner-operated painting contractor based right here in Bellingham, painting homes across Whatcom County since 2004.
- WA Contractor License ELLWAPL779QL: bonded and insured, publicly verifiable through the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.
- EPA RRP lead-safe certified for older homes. Original doors and trim on pre-1978 houses may have lead paint, and sanding them takes the right containment.
- 5-year workmanship warranty on our painting projects. Specific terms are spelled out in your written estimate.
- Serving Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden, Fairhaven, Birch Bay, Blaine, and the rest of Whatcom County.
Front Door Painting FAQs — Bellingham, WA
How much does it cost to paint a front door in Bellingham?
Front doors are quoted per door. The price depends on the size of the door, how much detail it has (carved or raised panels, glass, sidelights), its condition, and whether you're changing color. A front door can also be added to a full exterior repaint. Either way, you get a written number before any work starts. See how we price on our painting prices page.
What paint do you use on a front door?
A front door needs a hard, durable finish because it gets handled every day. On a recent front door on Chuckanut Drive we used Benjamin Moore Command, a commercial-grade finish made for high-touch surfaces, color-matched to Sherwin-Williams Waterloo (SW 9141). We choose the product for each door based on its material, exposure, and the look you want.
Can you paint a front door with glass or sidelights?
Yes. The Chuckanut door had leaded-glass sidelights and glass panels. We masked all of the glass before spraying, so the finish stopped cleanly at every edge and the glass stayed clean.
How long does it take to paint a front door?
The Chuckanut door was sanded, vacuumed, cleaned, masked, and sprayed in a single day. Your timeline depends on the door's condition and the weather, and we'll tell you up front. Fresh paint keeps hardening for a while after it's dry to the touch, so we'll let you know how to treat the door, especially where it closes against the weatherstripping, while it cures.
Do you have to take the front door off to paint it?
Not necessarily. The Chuckanut door was painted in place on its covered porch, fully masked off around the frame and floor. We'll tell you during the estimate whether your door is best done in place.
My front door is old. Could it have lead paint?
If your home was built before 1978, the original door and trim may have lead paint, and sanding it releases dust. Ellwanger Painting is EPA RRP lead-safe certified, so older doors are prepped with the right containment and cleanup.