How to Repaint a Heavily Rusted Appliance

Remove the top hinge screws to free the door.

Lift the door off the appliance and move it to a flat, open work area.

Set the door on two sawhorses so you can sand and spray evenly across the whole surface.

Plan to use multiple sandpaper grits because one grit usually can’t handle heavy rust and still leave a smooth finish.

Start with a very rough grit when rust is heavy, pitted, or uneven.

Use 60-grit sandpaper for heavy rust, or drop to 40- or 50-grit if it’s extremely bad.

Move up to around 150-grit sandpaper, then finish with 220-grit sandpaper for a smoother paint-ready surface.

Remove stickers, tags, and stuck-on residue before sanding.

Soak adhesive residue with a sticker remover, then scrape it off with a putty knife.

Use a degreaser before sanding if the surface has oil or grease on it.

Use a random orbital sander to help keep the sanding pattern even.

Sand the door with the lowest-numbered grit you chose, such as 60-grit, to remove rust and high spots quickly.

Keep the same speed and tempo across the whole door so the surface stays uniform.

Cover the face, edges, and sides, and expect the first pass to remove a lot of rust while still leaving some rust spots behind.

Switch to a higher grit disc, such as 150-grit, for the second pass.

Run the sander evenly across the door again to remove more rust and smooth out marks from the coarse grit.

Keep the same speed, keep moving, and don’t press down hard.

Switch to 220-grit sandpaper for the final sanding pass.

Sand the face, edges, and sides until the surface feels smooth and looks even.

Wipe the sanded surface with mineral spirits on a shop towel to remove sanding dust and residue.

Start painting shortly after cleaning so new dust doesn’t settle onto the surface.

Mask off gaskets, plastic liners, and any areas that shouldn’t get paint using masking tape.

Keep the door on sawhorses with a drop cloth underneath so you can spray at a consistent height and angle.

Spray a rust-inhibiting primer over rust-stained areas so the rust is less likely to bleed through the final paint.

Shake the primer can for at least one minute, and up to two minutes, based on the can directions.

Start spraying off the workpiece, sweep across the door, and stop spraying after you pass the far edge.

Hold the spray can about 10 inches above the surface while applying appliance epoxy spray paint.

Keep the can level and avoid arcing your wrist so the spray distance stays consistent across the whole door.

Apply light, even coats using the same start-off, sweep-through, and stop-off technique used for primer.

Use a spray can trigger handle to keep the nozzle press straight and reduce splatters.

Sand the painted surface with 220-grit sandpaper to remove raised blobs, droplets, and cracking patterns.

Hand sand any spider-webbed areas a bit more if they still feel rough after machine sanding.

Lightly sand localized defects using a high-grit sanding attachment on a rotary tool when needed.

Wipe the door again with mineral spirits to remove dust before spraying more paint.

Spray a general light coat over the entire door after sanding and cleaning.

Wait the required 45 minutes, then apply an extra light coat to any remaining problem area if needed.

Let the paint dry for four to six hours.

Remove the masking tape from the gaskets and edges.

Reinstall the door and secure the hinge screws.

Soak a shop towel with rubbing alcohol, such as 91% isopropyl alcohol, and scrub off overspray with a little elbow grease.

Apply the alcohol to the shop towel rather than spraying it directly onto the door.