How do I get a smooth finish when painting interior doors in my New Brunswick home?

The secret to a smooth door finish is removing the door from its hinges and painting it flat on sawhorses, using a foam roller for the panels and a quality brush for the edges and detail work.

This single step — laying the door flat — eliminates 90% of the drip and sag problems that plague vertical door painting. When a door stands upright, paint migrates down the surface under gravity before it has time to level and dry. Panels are especially prone to sags and fat edges at the bottom. Laying the door flat across a pair of sawhorses lets the paint self-level properly and gives you a noticeably smoother finish with far less effort.

Prep is everything with doors. Doors in NB homes — especially older homes in Moncton and Saint John — often have many layers of paint built up over decades, meaning the panel profiles are soft and any new paint will highlight existing imperfections. Lightly sand the door with 120-grit sandpaper before you start, paying attention to any drips or rough areas. Fill dents and gouges with a lightweight wood filler, let it dry, sand again with 150-grit. If the existing surface is glossy (common with semi-gloss or high-gloss doors), sand it or use a liquid deglosser (like Krud Kutter Gloss-Off) to give the new paint something to bite into. Wipe the door down with a damp cloth after sanding to remove all dust.

For paint choice, an acrylic-alkyd hybrid trim paint gives the smoothest results on doors — Benjamin Moore Advance and Sherwin-Williams ProClassic are the two most popular options among NB professional painters. These products flow and level like an oil-based paint but clean up with water. They dry slowly (4–6 hours to recoat in normal conditions, longer in NB's humid summers), which is actually an advantage — the extended open time lets the paint level out and eliminate brush marks on its own. A standard latex trim paint dries too fast and often shows brush strokes on flat door panels.

Technique: For a panelled door, paint in this order: recessed panels first, then the horizontal rails (cross pieces), then the vertical stiles (long pieces running top to bottom), then edges. Use a 4-inch foam roller (6mm nap) on the flat panel areas and a 2-inch angled brush for the moulded edges and detail. Roll a section, then lightly tip-off (drag a dry brush across the rolled surface once) to eliminate any bubbles or stipple texture. Two thin coats always beat one thick coat.

Practical tips: Pull the hinge pins out and remove door hardware completely before painting — painting around hinges looks amateurish and collecting paint around hardware makes them sticky and hard to operate. Use a cup hook or nail to prop the door up slightly while paint dries so the edge doesn't stick to the sawhorses. In NB's humid summer months, allow extra drying time before reinstalling doors — at 70–80% humidity, acrylic-alkyd products can take 8–12 hours before they're ready for a second coat.

When to hire a pro: If you have 10 or more interior doors, or if the existing paint is multiple layers of oil-based products that need stripping or extensive prep, hiring a professional painter will give you a faster and cleaner result. Professional painters often spray doors with an HVLP sprayer for a completely brush-mark-free factory finish — something that's very difficult to achieve with brush and roller alone. Cabinet and door spraying typically runs $200–$500 for a set of interior doors professionally completed.

---

Find a Painting Contractor

New Brunswick Painting helps you find local painting professionals through the New Brunswick Construction Network:

• Expressions Painting ✓
• Loves Painting Ltd. ✓
• Worry No More Handyman Service ✓
• Worry No More Handyman Services ✓