Messed up door copying influencers

[Anonymousfds]

Please be kind I’m really feeling low right now. I’m trying to make my home look better as I feel really depressed that the house had been neglected. I followed the instructions given by this lady on tik tok who has transformed her home. She’s in her 60’s and a novice not professional. She made everything look so easy and I thought I can do it rather than pay someone hundreds.

I spent £55 on a sander which she recommended any electrical cordless one which I got, sanding pads £12, primer £27, door paint £35. Plus painters and rollers. Already I’ve spent more than was quoted to paint door. The door looks awful. Even though I put masking tape around it the paint has splattered onto the brick wall around it. I put sheets down but there’s paint over the patio. The paintwork looks awful. I really feel fed up. Spent a good amount of time yesterday sanding, priming etc. I don’t want to waste today as well. I have young kids so they’ve been neglected whilst I do this. I feel I’ve had no downtime this weekend and back to a bloody stressful and demanding job tomorrow. House is a mess as I didn’t do my usual cleaning on Saturday. I’m so fed up I feel like crying and did last night!

plus youngest has a class party today service parents are expected to supervise at. Why did I even bother trying to make my house look better? I’m a useless loser who can’t even paint a door

We have a professional decorator do our wooden front door every year. It takes 2 days. 1 full day prep and base coat and 1/2 day to apply the colour. He uses brushes not rollers. (I wouldn’t risk pairing pvc. It’s not designed to be painted.)

You are not a useless loser. This just isn't your skill set
I know I am rubbish with things like that.
Although a novice, if someone has taken to SM then they have some experience and are crafty (if that's tge right word) minded.

Take it as lesson learned, get a professional to sort it and don't try this stuff home again.

Paint is thin, you need to brush it out really well to avoid drip marks on the door and then finish with nice long vertical strokes so it doesn't look swirly, leave that coat to dry and then repeat at least once to get a good finish. Don't put too much on the brush to avoid drips on the floor and splashes, and I wouldn't use rollers on a door, rollers are good for big surfaces like walls and ceilings.

Edit: And you probably need to stir the paint or it may be thin in the top of the tin and thicker underneath.

Sounds like you overloaded your brush and it’s run and splattered everywhere. Very thin coats are better than thick ones. You can use white spirits, gloves and a scouring sponge to get it off the brick work and floor. You can sand it down and start again. Be kind to yourself and remember it’s only the back door.

Op, this is an easy fix.

Get some Frenchic paint - the al fresco line.

Sand the door lightly and tape off the widows and around the door.

Aim for 3 or 4 very light coats. Make sure your brush isn’t overloaded.

Frenchic is self leveling and it is very forgiving. The first few coats look dubious though.

Building DIY skills has a sharp learning curve, but this is one you can fix ☺️

Disagree about Frenchic.
I have used it many times and for many different projects. I painted my front door with it and it looks great still, after 4 years.

@Pinkissmart you aren’t wrong on the learning curve. I can wallpaper, but needed to line a wall in my youngests room, so decided to cross line it.

Yeah, that went well, I was like a toddler having a tantrum the first couple of goes.

As it is wood you can sand it off or strip what’s on there and try again. Good advice above about getting the paint off the brickwork. I definitely second stirring the paint really well and doing very thin coats. It won’t look good on the first one or two coats but it’s worth it in the end by coat three or four. I remember trying things out for the first time and it looked terrible, especially when I was impatient and wanted things done as quickly as possible. But every failure is a useful lesson so don’t beat yourself up! You have done a lot more than many others who wouldn’t even attempt to do something themselves!

If it's any consolation I would be utterly useless at a door. Don't be hard on yourself.

Also in the grand scheme of things a door is not important.

But quit the gram and/or tic toc. The algorithm is ruining most people's lives.

Is the Sandtex specifically for wood? They do different exterior paints, so check.

Also, I keep getting videos popping up on Facebook demonstrating how easy it is to sew x y and z. So far, not one of those demos has worked for me and I’ve wasted lots of fabric. DS made me feel better by telling me that I’m watching an edited video of someone who has practiced many times. No one is going to show you the crap job they did. They are feel good videos for the poster, not for the watcher. Stop beating yourself up.

You need to put on multiple coats, the 1st coast always looks terrible.

Sandex is a good quality exterior paint and is off used by professionals. It’s will need a couple of coats with good drying time and a light sanding in between. Try not to apply the paint too thickly, and take your time!!

I've been doing my own decorating since I was a teenager, now mid 40s and it was not at all good when I started. My Mum was incredibly patient about ruined carpets and drips on furniture etc. You have to assume it will drip (or splash with a roller). I've also learnt with gloss paint that it's easy to put it on too thickly and get drips so it's better to try to do 2 or 3 thin coats even with paint that says it's 1-coat.

So well done for having a go. You will get better and better if it's something you want to carry on with.

Why did I even bother trying to make my house look better? I’m a useless loser who can’t even paint a door

because we want to live in a nice enviroment
stop it, you tried and that is the most important part - ok so the door doesn't look great, but youve earn stuff along the way. Can it be salvaged?

Don't be so hard on yourself

Why on earth would you take advice on anything from some random wannabe on TikTok? 🤔

They're completely untrained and could be telling you any old shite plus how do you know they’re not paying a Pro to do the actual paint job between takes?

Honestly, I find the whole idea of following ‘influencers’ to be a completely alien concept.

I would say that any decorating takes 3 x the time you think it will.
were you sanding it right back to the wood - that’s hard

ehat you could do in future is go into the local paint shop - ones that supply decorators and ask what you should do. They might know your style of door and they won’t recommend doing unnecessary work.

I painted my front door a few years ago and it was hard work, its the prep that takes the time, washing it with sugar soap, rinsing it, sanding it, washing it again then two coats of gloss, I factored in two days to do it and of course you need two days of good weather. Then there is all the cleaning up. Influencers miss all this out, they tend to just show before followed by a speeded up video of the actual graft followed by them grinning away! My door was done with a water based gloss which has not lasted all that well and it has flacked at the bottom so needs a sand and a touch up and at the moment I just can't face it! Try and sort it out at a later date , have a bit of time out for now.

The Sandtex paint is good quality. Don't beat yourself up about the door. What these influencers don't tell you is the proper ins and outs of doing things. When I do any DIY that I've never tackled before, I usually go to youtube and just see how a few ordinary people do it. They're a lot slower and less glam, but you will pick up some excellent tips and workarounds.

Reminds me of this cartoon.

I was also lucky to have my mum support my efforts. A lovely friend bought a big Collins DIY manual as a housewarming gift - such a thoughtful present. We still have it.

Yes, the first coat is always a heart sinker, that feeling of looking at it and thinking "why did I start this: it now looks even worse" 😕

Give yourself credit for making the effort. I wouldn't have a clue where to even start.

OP, did you use stain? That’s not the same as paint. It’s a semi-transparent covering which is supposed to show the grain of wood. It wouldn’t look right on a previously painted then sanded door.

Are we meant to believe that these 'influencers' really do things themsleves?

I don't but they'll all have the same active ingredients.

Fellow diyer here. Dont give yourself a hard time OP. Think of it as a learning process. You can fix this. You’re probably feeling despondent because the influencer made it look easy. Take a breather and then come back and try again later. You can do this.