Painting front external door.

[needawin]

I intend to paint the external front door as the days get hopefully warmer.
It is in a pretty bad state with cracking etc. I intend to strip it down to the wood with a hot air gun. Some filling is required and as a front door gets a lot of banging etc I want a filler that will not fall out after a few weeks. Also do I need to put primer on before the undercoat? Thanks in advance.

[kevinhugh]

Once the door is stripped, use a good wood primer and the a two pack filler such as plastic wood. The two pack filler contains a paste and a hardener. Don't put the filler on too heavily because it is tough and not easy to rub smooth

[The Builder]

Yes, a 2-pack polyester based filler is probably the toughest.
Think about using "microporous" paint or stain. (It lets the timber "breathe, without letting moisture in. "Newer" thinking now suggests that simply covering timber with a coat of impervious "plastic", as in traditional paints, gives a much shorter lifespan before doing it all again.

[heathfield]

I've come to the conclusion that 'breathable' paints are something of a con - the paints are inherently microporous, so the producers had to come up with a ploy as to why we should use the stuff. 'It's good for wood to breathe!', they say. I'm sorry, but the last thing exterior wood needs is to inhale and exhale water vapour. Years ago I was very pleased with a sash window I'd made, and painted with 'breathable' paint. It lasted two years before having to be completely stripped and sanded down. I then applied Butinox solvent-based paint (totally non-porous!), and that window, years later, is still as good today as the day I painted it. Same with my brother-in-law's double garage, wood-built and twelve years old, which has been painted twice with Butinox solvent-based wood-stain from new, and looks like it was put up yesterday. Water-based breathable paints have several advantages, not least their quick-drying properties. I use them indoors where, with central heating, the humidity tends to be low and fairly constant. But I would never use them for exterior work. Rant over! ;-)

[needawin]

Many thanks all.