A quick tip for painting French doors without scraping, taping, or splotchy peeling paint. This trick saves SO much time and looks amazing like a factory finish!
This post has me singing a theme song courtesy of Coolio.
Been painting most our lives living in a French door paradise.
Because there are so. many. French. doors. in. this. house.
They made me fall in love with this place. The minute I walked into the living room on our first tour, I knew those pretty doors needed to be mine.
But then… we had a fight, those doors and I. Because painting the 8 French doors in that room took dayyyyyys of taping and scoring and scraping and maybe a little bit of cursing.
They sure turned out pretty. It was just a laborious process to get there.
(Some affiliate links are provided below. Check out my full disclosure here.)
So this time, now that we’re embarking on a new makeover adventure in the playroom, I was determined to find any way to avoid scraping more French doors for hours and hours all over again.
I almost went as far as to hire professional painters to come in and just paint the room, doors and all, for us, buuuuut it was going to cost $750 so that was a big ol’ NOPE.
But then I found the BEST trick ever! And it’s actually really fun to do. Yeah, I said fun. I know, that’s nuts.
This was where I left off with you guys when I shared all of our big playroom plans.
This pair of brown French doors on either side of the playroom fireplace:
And this set of French doors leading into the playroom from the living room that were still beigey-white on the inside:
We’ve since painted the walls with leftover Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee from our living room to eliminate the yellow and the beigey trim is now Benjamin Moore Simply White.
But the beige and brown on the doors still had to go.
Pardon the dimly lit evening/nighttime photos for this one. #WinterProblems (P.S. You like Olivia’s giant unicorn just chilling out watching TV in the living room?)
Here’s the magic: Masking Liquid H20.
*I pinky promise this isn’t a sponsored post or anything like that. This was just one of those tricks that was too cool and time saving to keep to myself, if you happen to have French doors or windows needing a paint job. Just passing it along friend to friend.
Taping is tedious and makes paint peel. Scraping is time consuming and will drive you absolutely insane. But Masking Liquid is almost as cool as glitter slime. (I think my mom life is showing.)
I just used a 3″ angled brush to apply a thick layer to all of the glass window panes, which took me about 10-15 minutes per door.
It looks like glue at first and will start out looking white.
After a few hours, it dries to look like this clear film:
Then, just prime (if needed) and paint on whatever color you’d like. (I brushed on our go-to door color, Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron.)
Let the paint dry, and then score the edges of the window panes with a utility knife blade.
Peel back a corner of the film on the pane and remove it as it comes off in one sheet.
If you have French doors and you try it out, you’ll see what I mean. Totally fun! It’s as satisfying as those charcoal peel mask videos, only less gross. (What’s up with those?)
It only took me about 10 minutes to peel all of the window panes on one door without a single paint flaw. Whaaaat?!
It ends up looking like a factory finish! The playroom doors put our living room doors to shame now. Totally kicking myself for not finding this stuff sooner because what took me roughly 48 hours before took me all of 45 minutes this time around.
We still have a lot more progress to do in this playroom that is quickly coming together, so I should have another update on this space next week.
But can we just talk about that fireplace for a sec? I painted the mantel in Sherwin Williams Tree Swallow and it is just the sweetest color for a playroom. Right now, with that red brick though, it’s looking kind of 1980s Williamsburg Blue to me. But I still have more changes to make to it, if you’re thinking, “Ewww no. That’s weird.”
I’ll be sharing a few sneak peeks of some of our progress on my Instagram Stories in the meantime too.
Are you going on a painting frenzy in your house right now since so many of us are locked inside from the frigid cold. If the Carolinas actually get snow, I’m libel to have the entire playroom finished before it melts (which in Southerner speak means about 30 seconds). 😉
If you want to save this little tip for later, you can pin it here:
Thanks for the tip! For the exterior French doors are the mullions plastic? The black paint you used stuck to that without a problem? Or did you need to prime?
Yes, they’re plastic, but I used Sherwin Williams Infinity paint (in semi-gloss), and it applied perfectly. I used primer on the beige doors, but only because they had oil base paint already on them. All of the other doors had latex, so I didn’t need primer for those.
Just wanted to say thanks for all the info. I am in love with your house!!! I have a very small house (with no French doors!), but many Windows. I will be using this stuff on all my doo rd etc! Anything to make the job easier?! Thanks again!
You are most welcome, Rita. Good luck and happy painting!!
You have saved my sanity! Our house has 12 French doors…on the first floor alone. And they all need to be painted since I changed the wall colors during a renovation. I’ve been dreading the task, I can’t thank you enough ?
So glad it helped!!! I’d been dreading this room for that reason too.
Awesome, Lauren!!! Thank you for sharing this. I have 6 French Doors in my house that need to be painted and I’ve been putting it off because it would be so TIME CONSUMING! I’ll use this on my windows, too. Love this hack!~
Glad to help. Game changer and time saver definitely. 🙂
This came today and I am doing just this today!! eeekkkk…I’m so excited this is going to save me so much time!
Thank you so much! We are building right now. We have a set of French doors to paint. This will come in handy!
Question: on brand new doors that haven’t been painted yet, do I need to use primer, or just paint?
Karen, not sure if you will see this response, I happened to be scrolling through this awesome post and the comments. My humble recommendation is always use primer on bare/new wood. The new wood literally soaks paint in, so you will be saving yourself some money by using primer, and the finished product will look much nice as well. Hope this helped 🙂
Oh, how I wish I’d known this tip 3 months ago when I re-painted 3 rooms with french doors and 6 over 6 windows! What a terrific solution (and sanity saver, lol).
I’m saving this tip! Thanks so much!!
Hi, do you have to brush it over the whole pane of glass, or can you just do couple of inches around the edges where the paint will be?
Thank you for the tip. Your french doors are beautiful.
I’ve seen that tip on Renovation Addict, but didn’t know exactly what stuff she used. Thanks! She used it outside and then it got cold and she had to scrape it off, so be careful where and when you use it.
I used to be an editor, and if you don’t mind a little hint, “I’m libel to” is spelled “I’m liable to.” Or you can say, “I’m likely to.” Libel is defaming a person in print.
Thank you so much for the painting tip!! I have French doors that I’ve wanted to paint black for a long time. However, the thought of all that taping and possibly scraping left me tired before I even started! LOL. Now I don’t have an excuse!
No excuse! Get on it. 🙂 Glad to help.
What an awesome tip!! I have French doors that need a touch up since we painted after moving in. And that color on the fireplace!! Swooning!!
Great tip. I always enjoy any painting tip that makes life easier. Do you have to be really careful to not get the masking liquid on the panes?
Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I need to paint the French doors to our pool area. This is awesome! (LOL, can you tell I’m excited?)
That is so neat! Never knew this stuff existed.
Game changer!!!! Thank you so much!
I wish I had known about this when I had French doors. They are truly a pain and this looks so very easy. Thanks for sharing this. I pinned it just in case I have French doors again someday! The playroom is looking good. Can’t wait to see what you do with the fireplace. Love the blue mantel!
Get OUT!!! (Insert Elaine shoving Jerry here)
What an awesome tip. We just bought a 100 year old house with giant floor to ceiling multi-paned windows and several French doors that all need painting. Girl, you just saved me a lifetime of scraping!
PS – I’m in High Point, NC and we got almost 8 inches of snow yesterday. Perfect day to stay inside and enjoy the thrill of painting kitchen cabinets 😉
WOW!
I actually have been stripping doors, which with Citristrip takes all of an hour or two, depending upon how long I forget I have stripper on . LOVE the stuff and it’s fun.
That said, I picked up a French door that has fire damage, so I will patch that and paint it. I was dreading the window part, because 10 years later, I still have stain on the front door windows I can’t seem to scrape off. I haven’t even thought about starting to paint, because I was dreading it. Can you believe I’d rather strip a door than paint it?
Thanks so much for posting this.
Oh – I’m using SW Iron Ore and BM’s Dragon’s Breath for 17 casement windows on my back porch. Your beautiful black doors are very encouraging and brought my mental picture to life!
Wow 17 windows! You have your work cut out for you! Good luck and enjoy. I am sure they will be beautiful. 🙂
Lauren you’re a lifesaver! This will make the daunting task of painting our French Doors for a whole house Shutter install so much easier. I’ve been putting it off & I’m so glad I did or I’d have missed your tip. How far will a quart go?
I have been doing interior painting for a long time, and I wish I’d known about this trick a lot sooner! Anyone who has done a lot of painting will know what a life and time saver this is. Thank you so much for sharing this, I will remember this, as I have future painting projects coming up, and will definitely be utilizing this!
Shut the French Door!!! This is fantastic! – Thanks and am saving this on my Pinterest 🙂
Omg this is fabulous!!! Thank you for sharing this! I will be using this!!!
I’m a professional furniture painter who’s also renovating a 1960s home in Western Australia and I’m hoping like mad that I can get this product at our hardware store. Would this work on mirrors do you think? I know it would be marvellous for cabinet glass doors. Thank you for sharing this post and your home with us! Your doors look beautiful. Monique from Shabby Duck Studio
I don’t see why not! It should work any any kind of glass. 🙂 Fingers crossed you’re able to get it there! Amazon will probably be your best bet.
I just came across your page. OMG! Thank you for introducing this product to my life. Cannot wait for our snowy Kansas winter to turn to beautiful spring so I can try this. Cannot wait t explore your site more.
Lauren
I have a number of french doors in my house and have spent hours preparing them. Would love to obtain this miraculous product for my next painting job, I live in Ontario, Canada. Would you have any idea ere I could could buy this here.
Hi Margaret. Your best bet would likely be Amazon. It looks to be much pricier for you there, but a little goes a long way, if that helps.
Where can I get this great product? I live in UK and internet searching hasn’t come up with a supplier?
Have you checked Amazon? They have Amazon in the UK.
Confused. If you get some on the wood, wouldn’t itcreate a place that doesn’t get painted? I don’t understand how you were able to paint this on without getting any on the wood.
If you get it on the wood and paint over it, it just acts as a primer and stays put. It only comes off if you score it and peel it off the glass, leaving a clean edge. I wondered the same thing but I’m telling ya, it’s awesome.
Thank you! I was wondering this myself… I have three doors to paint and this now gives me the confidence to move forward.
Sheila, I am so happy to hear this helps!!
Where can this be purchased? Local home improvement stores??
Amazon, the link is in the post.
I linked to it on Amazon in the post, if that helps. The only other place I know of that carries it is Sherwin Williams, and sometimes you have to ask for it there. It’s not always on the sales floor.
I came to your blog for the French door hack but oh my gosh…your living room fan is incredible. What’s the brand?
Thanks! We love it too. Here’s the link to it: http://amzn.to/2tiMWxC
Can you just come to my house and “fix” everything?! Wow! Your talents are astounding! Seriously though, if you’re ever in TX, I’ve got a house you can go to town with!
Lauren thank you for this information, however, I wish I had seen this post before I started painting the French swinging door that I had my hubby to install leading from kitchen to dinning room. Being so excited, with the plastic still on the glass, I painted the door white, not being concern about the pain getting all over the mfg plastic. Once a day had past, I tried to remove the plastic, what a nightmare. I am still trying to remove the plastic. I truly wish I had known about this masking liquid H2o (plastic in a can). This coud have ade life much easier for me. We will be picking some up. Thans against for this helpful tip.
Oh no! I ran into the same issue when I painted our French bifold door. I ended up using a utility knife blade to cut away the paint and plastic. Maybe try that?
Thanks for the tip. My problem…I ‘coerced’ my husband to hang a new French door. I sanded, stained, waxed the door. It looks BRILLIANT! Problem, the stain didn’t soak through the sashes (because of the plastic that was factory installed). When I peeled off the plastic…. naked wood between window and the wood grille.
I have been tediously using a q tip and squeeze stain in the edges. Help!! I can’t let my husband say ” I told you we didn’t need a new door’. Does anyone have any easier suggestions?
WHAT??? We have diamond-paned French doors in our 80 year old house. They are currently painted a nasty shade I like to call “Bandaid,” and yet I have avoided painting them for 5 years. This is genius! Thanks for the tip. And bless Pinterest for having this post pop up on my feed. Otherwise I never would have seen it!
Yes, Pinterest is the best! Glad you are here and good luck on your French Doors.
Couple questions…not particularly pertaining to the windows. Did you remove your doors to paint or leave them in place? How did you paint the edges (where the hinges and the door strikers are)? I am worried that the doors would have to be open or off for a long period of time for the paint to cure and not damage. Our french doors being our main point of entry I don’t have a solution for this. Any tips/advise?
Thank you!!
Hi Christine! These are technically windows; they really just look like doors. But we have painted other French doors in our house that lead to outside and we had to leave them open for an hour or two while they dried. After that though, they were fine. We were home the whole time and in the same room painting the rest of the space though.
Thanks for this tip it’s great. Can you advise if this compound can be used on other surfaces other than glass? Thanks.
It can only be used on glass as far as I know. I haven’t tried it on any other materials, so I can’t speak on how well that would work.
Thanks for the tip! Where can I purchase? I’ve tried my local home stores: Home Depot, Lowes, Sherwin Williams, etc but no luck☹️ I really want to paint my door without having to tape and/or scrape.?
Hi Toya! The only other place I know of is Amazon. I linked it in the post. Some Sherwin Williams locations do carry it, but you have to ask for it. My local store didn’t have it out on the main floor that customers could find themselves for some reason.
You know, tonight when I clicked onto this post, I was not shocked. My mouth did not drop. Why??? Because everything you do is 100%fabulous, so I knew this would be outstandingly Gorgeous, and it is. I love, love, and love everything you did here. Thanks! I will be painting my french doors black. Wanted to do it sooner, but was not sure how it would look, thanks to you, I think I know now!!!
Oh my goodness graciousness! You just saved a life! Mine or my husbands, not sure which. I’m the one painting. The thought of taping 8 windows has been haunting me for 2 weeks. Haunt no more you rascally little windows! Haha, I’m actually excited now!!! WooHoo! I also have a front door with the semi circle of pie shaped windows. Umm, can you imagine taping those? My brain hadn’t even tackled that thought…until now. Eeeeee!!!! I can’t wait!!!
P.S. I adore the color of your mantel in the playroom.
Thank you ever so much for sharing this genius product.
Oh my goodness! No! So glad you don’t have to tape those now! I wish I’d found this stuff before we painted 8 other French doors. Never ever again!
I love your home and the decorating. It is so beautiful. I had seen this product used on Rehab Addict but had forgotten about it. Thanks for the post.
Hello! Thank you for the tip. I’m wondering what happens if the masking liquid gets on the wood accidentally? I understand the scoring process to keep the glass and wood separate but does the paint adhere to this material if it is on the wood as well? Our French doors separate our kitchen from our back family room but tends to get beaten up by the dog constantly pawing at people coming in. Will this process have super good adhesion so if she knicks it that it won’t peel off like the stuff on the glass? Thanks so much!!
The masking liquid will not peel as easily off the wood. The paint does adhere yet the masking liquid will leave a rough unfinished texture to the door if applied in a large covered amount. I think I am catching that you would like to use it to protect the base of the door? While this could possibly work, it is not purposed to do so. I would be curious to see how it works if you decide to try it out. Oh, the things we go through for our fur babies.
This is fabulous tip for all of us who has no idea about that, I have heard and read about it but I forgot. Thanks very much for sharing this important trick with all of us. I really liked your blog and I’m waiting for your next blog. Keep Blogging
What material is your door? Think ours are steel with plastic mullions…
Thanks!
Joy
Same! We have metal doors with plastic mullions.
I’m one of your older followers (early 60s), but I’m still the designated painter in our house! So wishing I could have had this tip a year ago when painting just two (!) french doors 🙂 Now getting our house ready for possible sale in the Spring; so I appreciate all of your fabulous ideas in getting a house ready!
Lauren, you are so creative! Thank you!
Susan, Thank you!! I wish you luck in your sale!!
I’m not worthy (bowing, bowing). Best painting tip I have ever witnessed! And I thought the caulking tip while painting was the bomb…this one blows that out of the water! Thanks so much for sharing!
🙂 Thank you!! And, You are welcome! 🙂
Hi! You have done a beautiful job on those French doors! White paint does make French doors more airy which is one of the sought after aspects of these doors. However, the black give these definition, personable-ness and somewhat of a European flavor. Yumm. Also, wonderful combination with the lighter colors in the room: Relaxed, elegant and yes — still — airy. * Would you mind telling me where the English arm club chair (in the soft slate blue in the middle) is from? Thanks!
Hi, Stephanie. Thank you!! The chairs came from IKEA. 🙂
Can you use this on frosted glass?
Hi, Kim! Great question. You should be able to use this on frosted glass as well. However, I will suggest testing it on a small piece of the glass at the bottom before going through the whole process. Please let me know how it works for you. 🙂
Did you ever find out if it works on frosted glass? I am soon printing my French doors with frosted glass and was wondering if it works on those too…
Hi, Amelie. http://associatedpasiaynt.com/maskingliquidh2ofaqs/ This says not to use the liquid masking H2O on frosted glass.
Thank you so much for your quick reply!
You have great and beautiful Ideas. How do I share this particular tutorial with a friend?
What a great tip and invention! Do you happen to know if you can use this masking liquid on mirrors? If so, this would be even more amazing! Love your house!
Thanks for sharing! Can you tell me where you got your area rug in your living room?
You are most welcome! I found the rug on Wayfair, and it is on sale right now. https://rstyle.me/n/c7aakzb5ky7 🙂
Hi Lauren. great tip. Does it also stick to old paint? Most doors are of course already been painted before. so if you apply it to the old paint does it stick?
Thanks.
Hi! Our doors were had already been painted. It is sticking really well. 🙂
What if you get the h2o paint on the wood?
It is made to peel from glass. You should be fine. If you see that it comes off take a very small brush to touch up over it. However, this should not be an issue.
Would this work on windows with metal panes? Love your look!
YES!!! 🙂
Hi Lauren,
As many have stated before, great tip! Wish I had known about it before! We have just done a renovation and put in place Andersen Frenchwood Patio Doors that are protected with vinyl. Do you know if those doors can be painted?
Thanks.
Hi Stephanie, I’m not totally sure. I might reach out to the company who makes them or wherever you bought them. Sorry!
Thank you – I’ve stripped an old window of it’s paint and tried stain which turned out terribly. I’m gonna use this method once I paint over the stain.
Question – any tips for removing old paint on the glass? Previous owner had 5 layers of paint on this window and there are remnants on the glass still .. hoping I can get it to come off.
Ahh that’s so frustrating! I’d try taking a razor blade to the old paint to scrape it off, and sometimes even a cotton ball or rag dipped in nail polish remover works. It depends on what sort of paint it is though.
You can also use regular Elmers glue. I used my finger to put glue on my front door glass.
It has 9 panes and I didn’t like the fact that people could look in. I glued all but the center panel. It looks very good and if I ever want to change it, I just rip it, rip it!
Masking fluid! I wish I’d thought of this, as I’ve actually used masking fluid for many art projects (it also sticks to paper, so you paint a design on paper, paint over it, and then when you peel it off, it leaves a really cool image!) Kind of like using a white crayon to make designs on an Easter egg before you dye it. Great tip! I don’t know if it’s expensive for the big bucket of it that you bought, but I know when I bought a tiny bottle of it from Michael’s craft store, it was like $12 for just a few ounces, yikes!
Ooh! I totally want to try some DIY art now! You might have just given me a project idea. Haha! Yeah, a gallon is like $40. Pretty pricey. I’ll definitely keep the $12 bottle in mind next time because we barely put a dent in the gallon but there weren’t any smaller sizes available that I knew of at the time.
Where is the fan from? It’s gorgeous!
This idea is amazing! I am wondering though if I put it on my wooden french doors do you think it would hold up to paint stripper? I want to strip the paint off and go back to plain wood with a stain, but paint stripping chemicals can etch glass…Do you think the coating on the glass could hold up if I got paint stripper on the edges? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Hmm… I’m not 100% sure, but you could try testing it first on a small spot to see. I believe it’s only rated for masking paint though.
I just came across this tutorial and think I am going to give it a try this weekend! My question is about applying the masking fluid-how did you prevent it from getting on to the wood? My fear is that some will accidental get some on the wood panels and the paint will not go. Thanks for the input!
Even if some does bleed onto the wood, I found that by scoring the masking fluid before you peel it off, the paint won’t come with it!
I love your tip but was wondering how nuch you got with a quart of the masking paint? I have yo repaint out french doors…that’s a total of 180 window panes😯….I have only seen them available in quart and gallon sizes and wanted to get a better idea of what my cost would be. Thanks!
You do need to apply this stuff pretty thick, but honestly it goes a LONG way!
Too many comments to read if someone asked this already…but the stuff you used looked kind of cool for a blurry effect on the windows. Could you use the stuff like those films and leave it on? Or would it end up doing weird stuff after time has passed? This is assuming your doors are already painted, use the stuff, paint, then reapply to get that hazy effect.
Yeah, I don’t know that I would do that. It’s streaky and it peels off super easily.