Front door paint not lasting - blistering and cracking due to sun

[tiredoflondonnottiredoflife]

My front door seems to need repainting almost every year. Would it help if it was a paler colour?

Any paint recommendations - something that will resist the heat better?

Linseed oil paint - but it's a pain as you need to strip the door right back to the bare wood.

www.greenshop.co.uk/natural-paint-128/gloss-exterior-133/holkham-linseed-paints-174/

It's fantastic stuff and really does last in excess of 10 years

blistering and cracking

Is it black? Is it red? what primer did you use?

It's a mid grey colour at the moment.
It's cracking and coming away.
I didn't paint it - a decorator did so I don't know re primer I'm afraid.

If it's cracking and blistering, and it isn't black or red, and you are in the UK, then it is probably due to poor preparation, not poor paint. I would want to strip it back to bare wood, and use Alumium Wood Primer, followed by Dulux Trade oil-based undercoat and gloss. You might find something else as good, and if you employ a decorator he might recommend a different brand. But insist on aluminium primer and oil paint, these are the most durable.

Insist that the top edge and the bottom edge are painted especially thoroughly. They need it most and are most often neglected.

I prefer lift-off stainless or brass hinges because it is very much easier to prepare and paint a door that you can lift off. Many people would not want to go to so much trouble, especially if it isn't their house and they can get paid the same for an inferior ordinary job.

Look for anything that might make the wood damp, and fix it. Wet washing on radiators will cause condensation on the inside of a cold door. Fit a weatherbar at the bottom (screwed from the inside) and protect from rain getting to the edges.

This is amazing advice. Thank you Pigletjohn. The pant we've had has not been gloss as we wanted an eggshell finish. The last lot was Paint and paper library or some such. Do we need to just go with Dulux and gloss? I suspect gloss is tougher?

Forgot to say the door gets a lot of sun and seems very hot. It is in the Uk though that said!

I don't know what Paint and paper library is

Oil-based gloss is the most durable you can get. Eggshell is OK indoors but I would avoid it outside. I think you need to be aiming for maximum durability, with your past problems. The gloss will tone down with exposure to weather long before it needs repainting. I understand 10 Downing Street has three front doors in a warehouse, and they swap it every six months for a freshly painted one.

Lighter colours stand up to sun better as they will not get so hot. White paint does not go yellow if it is exposed to sunlight.

Thanks piglet. It was oil based eggshell but we will definitely do as suggested as it's costing me a fortune and looking dreadful after six months! So light colour, gloss with the undercoat as suggested and your other tips!

i painted our front door myself, it was previously a dark orange stain/varnish.
we used black dulux exterior weathershield gloss and its still great 3 yrs later.
we sanded the door, hoovered/ wiped it it down, used dulux grey weathershield exterior primer/undercoat - 2 coats -with a light sand inbetween .
agree with above preperation time/effort is the key to a good finish.

If you are stripping it back to bare wood as piglet advised it's worth your while using the linseed oil paint. Very few decorators have heard of it, so don't use it, but it is much better than standard gloss. We have a huge number of windows, and the upkeep was costing us a fortune, so DH spent months researching solutions. We found this, and funnily enough on stripping back we discovered this was the original paint type. Our decorator now uses it on all his exterior jobs as it goes on very smoothly and lasts years.

I think people find it hard to get their head round, as you first strip back to bare wood and then paint the wood with linseed oil. The next paint layer sort of soaks into the wood which makes it completely drip free. Once the required number of coats have gone on, you don't need to keep repainting every few years. A top up coat of linseed oil can be used if needed.

I love the stuff, and even better it doesn't stink. Linseed is a pleasant non-toxic smell.