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Painting my galvanized steel entry door

I have a vinyl coated galvanized steel entry door. The sun has caused the vinyl to peel, is there any way that I can paint this door? There is nothing wrong with the door other than it looks awful. HELP!

Patti Thompson
homeowner - Bonneau, SOUTH CAROLINA, USA
2003

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I would somewhat doubt if you have a vinyl coated door. It is probably a powder coated door that was not properly "prepped" for painting. Most powder coat is hard to strip. Most solvents do not readily attack it in a useful way. You could peel it off, but that will find areas that are virtually impossible to get the paint off. You could use a sander and take off the tight stuck stuff, but it is going to take a lot of time. Galvanized takes a special primer that a good paint store can help you out with [Galvanized Metal Primer [affil links]].

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2003

Your best bet is to strip the vinyl with a bit of heat. Its thermal plastic. The underlying adhesive should paint nicely. I believe it is an epoxy-urethane adhesive.

Ronald Zeeman
Coil Coating - Brampton, ON, Canada
2003