How to lacquer doors and furniture white without brush marks

What you need

• Screwdrivers for removing hardware
• Sanding block or orbital sander
• 10 cm high density foam roller
• Short pile 4-5 mm microfibre roller
• 40 mm fine bristle brush
• Paint tray
• Putty knife
• Microfibre cloths
• FFP2 mask and gloves
• Sandpaper in 120, 180, 220, 320 and 400 grit
• Degreaser
• Wood filler
• Bonding primer (Zinsser Bulldog or the equivalent from Montó, Bruguer)
• White satin or gloss water-based lacquer or enamel (Montó, Bruguer, Titan, Xylazel)
• Masking tape and paper
• Tack cloth

Step by step

1. 1

   Take it down and protect

   Remove the handles, hinges and lock if you can. If the door cannot come off, protect the floor and frame with paper and masking tape. Lay the door flat on two trestles if possible.

2. 2

   Clean and degrease

   Clean with degreaser and a damp cloth, rinse and leave to dry. On the coast, remove the salt and sticky dust: lacquer will not grip it.

3. 3

   Repair dents and holes

   Fill holes and dents with wood filler, leave it to dry for the time on the pack and sand flush with 120 grit. Check in side light before going on.

4. 4

   Sand the surface

   Sand the whole door with 180-220 grit, always with the grain. On veneer, press lightly. The aim is to take off the shine, not to remove the previous coat. Remove the dust with a vacuum cleaner and tack cloth.

5. 5

   Apply the primer

   Put on a thin coat of primer with the foam roller. Leave for 4 hours. On knots or resinous timber, use an anti-tannin undercoat. If the door is a dark colour, a second coat may be needed.

6. 6

   Sand the primer with 320

   With a block, lightly sand the primer with 320 grit to remove fibres and specks. Wipe off the dust with a tack cloth and a microfibre cloth.

7. 7

   Apply the first coat of lacquer

   Load the foam roller lightly. Paint the edges and mouldings first with a brush, then straight away the flat with the roller, in long strokes from top to bottom, without going back over it. Finish each area before starting the next.

8. 8

   Leave to dry and sand with 400

   Wait 4-6 hours depending on the product and the humidity. Sand lightly with 400 grit, only to take off specks and marks. Wipe off the dust with a microfibre cloth.

9. 9

   Apply the second coat

   Repeat the process with another thin coat. Look along the door in side light while you paint to spot any thin areas. If the white shows through, apply a third coat after 4-6 hours.

10. 10

    Leave to cure and refit

    Leave the door to dry for 24 hours before refitting the hardware and 7 days before cleaning it or knocking the finish. Avoid resting heavy objects against it during the first week.

Lacquer or enamel: which product to choose for a white that lasts

Lacquering means giving a smooth, hard finish, normally satin or gloss, on timber, MDF or veneer. White is the most demanding colour: it shows every mark, every trapped speck of dust and every difference in thickness. That is why the product matters.

Water-based lacquer (acrylic or water-based polyurethane) is now the default choice in homes: it barely smells, dries in a few hours, cleans with water and does not yellow with time. Solvent-based synthetic whites yellow in the sun and with age, especially on bedroom doors that get light, and they smell for days. Montó, Bruguer, Titan and Xylazel all have satin and gloss water-based enamels and lacquers at Leroy Merlin and Bricodepot.

For doors that get a lot of handling (kitchen, bathroom, interior entrance), choose a water-based polyurethane lacquer, which is harder than acrylic. For wardrobes and furniture, a satin acrylic lacquer is enough. A gloss finish shows more imperfections than satin: if your door has dents or the timber is porous, choose satin.

Common mistakes that leave marks and drips

• Not sanding. Lacquer will not grip a shiny surface. A light sanding with 180-220 grit is what stops it peeling.
• Skipping the primer. On varnished timber or old lacquered doors, a bonding primer (Zinsser Bulldog or the equivalent from Montó or Bruguer) stops it flaking. On knotty or resinous timber, use an anti-tannin undercoat.
• Using a brush on flat surfaces. A big brush leaves ridges. Use a high density foam roller or a short pile microfibre roller (4-5 mm) on the flat, and a good quality brush only for edges and mouldings.
• Overloading the roller and brush. It is the number one cause of drips. Several thin coats are better than one thick one.
• Going back over paint that is starting to dry. Every pass out of time leaves marks. Finish each area and do not touch it again.
• Not sanding between coats. The first coat raises small fibres. A light sanding with 320-400 and a microfibre cloth leaves a smooth base for the next.
• Painting in dust or damp. Dust gets trapped. On the coast, with high humidity and salt air, drying time stretches and the paint can go cloudy. Paint with ventilation and avoid damp levante days.

How to prepare the door depending on its condition

If the door is solid timber that has never been painted, sanding with 120 and then 180 leaves the surface ready. Fill holes and dents with wood filler, sand flush and go over it again. There is more detail in how to repair wood with filler.

If the door is MDF, veneer or already lacquered, avoid sanding hard: the veneer is thin and you can sand through it. A 220 sanding to take off the shine and a thorough clean with degreaser is enough. On a varnished door, bonding primer is what makes the difference.

If the door is already lacquered and you just want to refresh the white, clean with degreaser, sand with 220, fill dents, touch up the edges and give two coats. If the old white has gone yellow, prime first with a white undercoat with good covering power. If there is mould or damp staining, deal with it first, as explained in how to remove mould from a wall.

Handles, hinges and locks should always come off if you can. Masking tape does not give the same result and leaves a hard edge in the paint. If you cannot take the hinges off, protect them with tape and cut the edge of the paint with a craft knife before you pull the tape off.

When to call a painter

A clean lacquer finish takes time, a dust-free space and good tools. If you have a lot of doors, a front door with heavy exposure, furniture with mouldings or a mirror finish you want to achieve with a spray gun, it is better to hire a painter. At Manitas Costa we assess it from a photo and give a fixed price.

We have no set price per door, because it depends on size, condition and whether there are mouldings. As a guide, painting a 12 m² room costs €180-300 and painting walls white costs €6-8 per m². A small lacquering job is quoted at the handyman hourly rate, €35-45 for the first hour and €28-35 for each hour after that, always with a fixed price before we start.

You will find more in painters in Valencia, Alicante and the Costa Blanca and in how much it costs to paint a flat. If you are interested in wooden doors that are not lacquered, see how to paint a wooden door, and for furniture, how to paint wooden furniture.

Coastal climate: damp, sun and salt air

In Valencia, Alicante and the Costa Blanca, the damp months (autumn, early spring) and levante days make lacquer take longer to dry. Paint at a temperature between 15 and 25 degrees, humidity below 75% and with a through draught. If the bathroom or kitchen has no window, leave the door off its hinges in a dry room so it can cure.

On the coast, doors near a sea-facing terrace pick up salt. Wipe them with a damp cloth before sanding, because the salt stays on the surface and lacquer will not grip it. An exterior or balcony door needs an exterior lacquer with a UV filter, such as the Sikkens or Xylazel lacquers for exterior wood.

If you look after a second home in Alicante or Valencia, lacquering the doors before you move in or let the place out is one of the improvements that does most for how the house looks.