Painting hall door (timber)

ifconfig

Our wooden front door and surrounding frame has started to weather a lot (installed autumn 2007) and is well due a paint.

A handyman who was over fixing a lock/mechanism on our (differetn door) rear uPVC mentioned that we should not leave it much longer to paint as it will eventually let in moisture and warp badly if left undone.

He recommended that we give it a light sanding and apply grey primer to seal it and then overpaint with a chosen colour gloss paint.

My question is over the scheduling of the re-paint.
What are the exact ground rules requiring periods of dry weather ?

I know that ideally the weather should be dry from the time of sanding, application of primer, set time for the primer , painting of the door and allowing paint to dry.

To what extent can we get away with any wet weather occurring over the schedule of sand/prime/set/paint/dry ?
Where is the most vulnerable time ?
Eg. if we sand it tomorrow morning and it rains heavily shortly afterwards ?
If a heavy shower occurs after primer is applied ?
If heavy shower occurs after primer is set but before door is painted,etc,etc ?

Double Barrel

IF,
My tuppence worth.
Pick a fine day because the main cause of failure or deterioration is moisture, your first requisite for painting is a dry day.
Check the label on the can for the recommended drying time, especially if the weather is expected to change soon. Wait several days after a rain, and allow morning mists to evaporate before starting. It may not always be possible, but we are working toward best practices, right.
Surface must be clean and free of dirt, mildew, grease, excess chalk and loose or scaling paint. Any glossy areas should be dulled.
Remove all - as much as possible- dust.
Read the label.
Check the label or the topcoat paint to be sure you get the correct primer. Durable paint jobs depend not upon the number of paint layers but upon the adherence of each layer.
If the paint manufacturer recommends only one coat of each, follow directions.

Prime all exposed wood. Prime all exterior surfaces, top, bottom, sides and face.

It is a front door so I would prime with two coats of a high quality primer. Cut the first coat of primer at least 15-25% with appropriate solvent, for greater soaking and adhesion. Lightly sand. Apply the second coat of primer at full strength.

Always sand between primer coats and topcoats.

After that, one, or at most two coats of topcoat is sufficient. If is not necessary to sand between coats of exterior paint.

recipio

Good advice, primers will need about 4 hours to dry and gloss 6 - 12 hours.
I'd use a combined primer/undercoat paint to speed up things - you can't really put gloss straight on to primer.