How to Paint Car Door Jambs
- 1). Gather your blue painter's masking tape and an old bed sheet. If possible, park your vehicle outside on a slanted driveway. Tear the bed sheet into sections large enough to cover a door opening. Open your driver's door, then enter the vehicle through the passenger side with your tape and bed sheet section. Block off the door entrance by taping the sheet to the top, sides and bottom of the door edges. If possible, tape the sheet edges to the trim pieces. Roll up any excess sheet and stuff it out of the way, like down under the edge of the seat and between the dashboard and front window support. Exit the vehicle.
- 2). Spray the door jamb down with carburetor cleaner, particularly at the hinge locations and locking mechanism. Heavily soak any area that has grime and old grease on it. Let the carburetor cleaner sit for a few minutes, then scrub the areas with a cleaning brush.
- 3). Use a portable pressure washer equipped with a high-pressure nozzle to clean the jambs. Run the nozzle over the top, side and bottom jambs. The high pressure will remove all grease, dirt and oil from the seams and crevices.
- 4). Dry the exterior of the car body near the door jambs with a clean, dry towel. Use the masking tape and the masking paper to mask off any part of the door exterior that does not include the jamb area. Take it slow so you can precisely achieve straight and curved lines. Tape off at least 3 feet of the front fender area, 3 feet of the roof area and 3 feet of the driver's side rear door (including the glass window), if so equipped. This taping procedure will keep overspray off the body panels. The taped bed sheet will protect the interior from overspray.
- 5). Use the 400-grit sandpaper to scuff up all of the door jamb areas, sanding back and forth with a crosshatch pattern. Wrap sandpaper around two fingers to reach into the difficult areas. Wipe all sanding residue away with a rag dipped in acetone.
- 6). Take the paint can and use up-and-down spraying strokes for vertical areas such as the door sides and side-to-side strokes on horizontal areas such as the tops and bottoms of the jambs. Apply at least two or three thin coats. If you use a spray compressor setup, follow the same painting stroke procedure but adjust the spray output down to a finer mist, and use two passing coats. Let the paint air dry for an hour.
- 7). Remove all of the masking tape from the interior and exterior of the door, including the bed sheet. Pick the next door for painting and prepare it in the same fashion as you did with the first door. Use a new, dry section of bed sheet.