Door paint calculator
A typical interior door is 21 sq ft per face, 42 sq ft both sides, and panel doors run ~30% higher because of the panel reveal. One quart usually covers four interior doors. Use semi-gloss for cleanability and durability.
Estimates round up to the nearest quart and are based on Kompozit's published coverage. Buy slightly more for touch-ups and color changes.
How much paint per door
- Flush slab interior: 21 sq ft per side. One quart paints ~6 doors with 2 coats.
- 6-panel / shaker: ~28 sq ft per side (panel reveals add area). 4 doors per quart.
- Exterior front door: ~25 sq ft per side, often only one side needs paint.
- French door: 18 sq ft per side (less because of glass), but more brushwork.
- Garage / barn / utility: 21 sq ft per side; both sides usually painted.
Why semi-gloss for doors
Doors are touch-points. They get fingerprints, scuffs, kicks, and pet scratches. Semi-gloss wipes clean and resists wear; flat or eggshell on a door looks tired in two years. The one exception: barn-style sliding doors painted as a feature wall — those can match the wall finish (eggshell or satin).
Pull the door, lay it flat
Painting a hung door creates drips and visible brush marks on the panel reveals. Pull the door off its hinges, lay it flat across two sawhorses, foam-roller-and-tip-off (or spray). Hang back the same day.
FAQ
Yes. Steel and fiberglass exterior doors paint cleanly with a bonding primer (PRIME) under PRO. Don't skip the primer — paint will scratch off the bare factory finish within a season.
A quart covers ~100 sq ft at one coat. Two interior flush doors (84 sq ft both sides) at two coats = 168 sq ft, just over a quart. For two doors, plan a quart-and-a-half or buy a gallon if you have other trim to paint.
Yes — and the matching color is the side facing the room you stand in when looking at it. The latch-side edge gets the room you push into; the hinge-side edge gets the room you pull from. Door tops and bottoms get any color (rarely seen).