Short answer
Garage doors in Naperville can be painted in a day, but the door has to stay put while the paint sets, since rolling it up too soon cracks the finish at the panel joints. HomeAdvisor's normal range is $200 to $500 per door, including two-car doors.
What it takes to repaint a garage door well
Factory finishes on steel doors chalk and fade after years of sun, and the bottom panel picks up road salt, standing water and dings from bikes and bins.
A good repaint starts by washing off that chalk, sanding rust to bare metal and priming it. Then the door is painted in sections, panels before stiles, so the brush marks follow the lines of the design.
Garage door painting costs, as published
HomeAdvisor publishes these ranges for planning; they are not our quote, which comes from seeing the door.
| Job | Typical range | Unit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garage door painting | $200 to $500 | per door (normal range) | HomeAdvisor |
| Two-car garage door painting | $200 to $500 | per door (two-car) | HomeAdvisor |
What moves the price
- Single or double door width
- Rust, dents or failing old paint
- Wood carriage door versus steel
- Trim, jamb and header included
- A full change of color
Painting a garage door yourself versus hiring it out
A single-car steel door in sound shape is a reasonable project for a patient homeowner.
Fine to do yourself
- Washing the door before painting
- A same-color coat on sound steel
- Touching up the inside of the frame
Worth calling a painter
- Rust spots and dents to fix
- Wood carriage doors with a failed finish
- Dark colors on doors facing full sun
Steel raised-panel doors
Raised-panel steel doors are standard on most suburban garages, and their factory coating holds up well until it chalks. We wash the door with a cleaner that lifts the chalk, rinse it, and sand any rust along the bottom edge back to bright metal before a rust-inhibiting primer goes on. Then we paint with a direct-to-metal acrylic or exterior enamel, panel faces first and flat stiles last, so the final strokes run straight. The weatherstrip and bottom seal are masked so they stay soft and flexible.
Wood carriage doors
Wood carriage-house doors look their best when the finish is kept up and decline quickly when it is not, because end grain at the bottom soaks up water from the driveway. We scrape or sand failed paint or stain, check the bottom rail for soft wood and repair it, and seal every edge we can reach. Stained doors get a penetrating stain and a sun-blocking topcoat; painted ones get primer and two coats. Overlay styles with applied trim need every edge brushed, which takes longer than a flat steel door.
Trim and jamb to match
A fresh door next to cracked, faded trim looks unfinished, so the casing, the jamb inside the opening and the header are part of the job. The stop molding along the opening carries a rubber flap that seals against the door, so we mask that flap and paint only the rigid strip. We recaulk where brick or siding meets the casing. If the door color is changing, the trim is usually painted to tie in with the rest of the house trim rather than with the door itself.
Attached garages in Ranch View and HOA color rules
Ranch View is made up mostly of New Traditional and Colonial-style houses, most with attached garages, on lots averaging around a quarter acre, so in Ranch View the garage door is a large part of what the street sees. HOAs also shape a lot of exterior choices in town: the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation, chartered in 1979, had more than 100 member associations at its mid-1990s peak and dissolved in May 2024. If your association approves colors, we paint to its approved scheme.
Garage door painting from wash to cure
- Wash. Remove chalk, grime and road salt, then let the door dry.
- Sand and prime. Bare and rusted spots sanded, then primed for metal or wood.
- Mask. Weatherstrip, opener sensors, hardware and the driveway protected.
- Paint. Panels first, stiles last, two coats where the color changes.
- Cure. The door stays in one position until the finish is firm.
How long the garage is out of commission
Plan on the door staying in one position for most of a day. Cars can come out first, and the door can usually run again by evening once the finish feels firm.
Coatings for steel and wood doors
Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore exterior acrylics on steel, Rust-Oleum primer over rust, and Cabot or Sikkens on stained wood carriage doors.
- Sherwin-Williams
- Benjamin Moore
- PPG Paints
- Behr
- Valspar
- Cabot
- Sikkens
- Olympic
- Zinsser
- Kilz
- Romabio
- Ready Seal
Jobs that often go with this one
Front Door Painting & Refinishing
Painted or restained entry doors
Exterior Trim, Soffit & Fascia Painting
Trim, fascia, soffits, shutters
HOA & Townhome Painting
Townhome rows on a set schedule
Garage & Basement Floor Coatings
Epoxy and flake garage floors