Steel garage doors usually experience a higher degree of rust than garage doors made of fiberglass composites. These rust issues can quickly start affecting proper operation of your garage door – and they need to be handled as soon as possible in order to prevent costly damages. Here’s a guide to removing garage door rust, as prepared by the garage door repair experts at Garage Door Repair Chicago.

First Step

Wash the garage door by spraying a mix of 5 drops of liquid detergent mixed with hot water. Wipe the door down with a clean rag, and hit tough spots with a scrubbing brush. By removing buildup and dirt you can more easily identify what parts are rusted. Then, dry the door as you wash it, so you don’t create any sudden rust.

Second Step

Sand off all rust. This will likely require a good deal of force. Sand off the entire rusted area including paint, at least 2 inches past the rust that you can see to make sure you get all of it. You can do this with sandpaper, or even better, with a power sander.

Third Step

Clean all sanded areas, and use a bristle broom to remove dust from the sanding. Then wipe the whole area down again with your cleaning detergent solution, and dry it, to make the paint stick to the metal more easily,.

Fourth Step

Apply a thin even coat of primer with a rag or paintbrush. Make sure that the primer overlaps the painted parts that were not sanded, as the primer’s oil will stop water or moisture from hitting the metal garage door. You may want to apply two coats, however, let at least 1.5 hours elapse between coats to let the primer dry completely before recoating.

Fifth Step

Use paint that matches the existing paint to cover up the primer and the areas that have been sanded. Apply thin even coats – as many as necessary to ensure that the parts that were sanded perfectly blend it with the painted parts of the door that were not sanded; again, ensure that at least 1.5 hours elapse between coats, so that the paint can dry fully.