Painting A Wooden Exterior Door Black

I love a beautiful black front door, don't you (remember me painting mine?)?  And this party link is not only informative but beautiful!  Actually, I have to admit that I like both versions both the before and after, their door is just beautiful to begin with!  But look at what Christa from Modern Vintage Interiors just did:

This house was one of my inspirations from our summer trip:

Houdini himself couldn't get the Safe-T-Lock off, and I feel much safer knowing that. I sanded, primed, and painted with an interior/exterior paint. Twice. The first paint was SW All Surface Enamel. It went on rough, even with the paint sprayer, and I couldn't stand the smell. It is the stinkiest water-based paint ever.

I also don't like the smell of Behr Paint and Primer.

But I like lacquer thinner.

It's complicated.

I sanded it smooth again, and used SW Solo semi-gloss and it went on smooth. Phew. I didn't topcoat it with an exterior urethane because here in the desert, the heat will cause it to wrinkle within a year.

Here it is after spraying the final coat (Tricorn Black). It looked great, but we talked about it and decided to rub through the edges a bit. (I used a razor blade to be very exact and to get through the primer). 

If you do this after priming and painting something, some of the white primer will show through, and/or the wood may not be as dark as you want it, so remember this trick and just stain the edges with a brown marker or wood touch-up pen. If you use a wood stain, it will affect the sheen of the surrounding paint, and will not coat the white as well as a good old fashioned marker. Or, you could rub through the primer, then again after the paint is on.

Before:

 

After:

 

I realize it seems strange to paint a perfectly okay wood door. But this house is full of wood, and it needs some different finishes to break it all up. (I am aware of the over-use of black in this spot, which needs to be balanced.) Still need to make a frenchy pillow for the antique chair.

She did a great job don'tcha think?