UV-Resistant Precision Door Ideas for Your Home

Having a UV-resistant precision door is amazing because it ensures the door will last a long time while adding value to your home. The good news is that you can either apply protection to your current garage doors in Southern California or anywhere else, or you can install a completely new garage door. This will give you some tips and tricks to ensure your garage is resistant against the sun.

Why Choose UV-Resistant Precision Doors?

You might be wondering why you need UV-resistant garage doors in Paso Robles or anywhere else. The truth is that the sun can do significant damage to your garage over time. From requiring more Santa Maria garage door repair to your garage doors having markedly lower longevity, this is a problem you really need to consider.

The most obvious problem is fading. The sun, whether you live in a harsh or cool environment, will beat down on your garage door nearly every day for many years. This wears away paint and the natural color of wood or metal. Your garage door will look dull and lifeless, which reduces its value and can even weaken it.

If you live in a harsher area, then the sun might damage the garage door as well. Your precision door might be more prone to denting, bending and breaking after years of being heated by the sun. As you can see, stopping the sun is essential to improving the longevity of your garage door.

Wooden Garage Doors

One of the best UV-resistant precision door ideas is choosing a material that is naturally resistant to the sun. This means that it can avoid sun damage with little effort on your part. Many types of woods, especially harder woods, are quite resistant to the sun. They will still fade after many years, but it will take longer than with most other materials.

Wood is naturally resistant to the sun and it can absorb moisture, which makes a buffer to keep it protected. At the same time, this is a double-edged sword as the moisture can also lead to mold damage inside the wood if it doesn’t dry out.

If you choose wood, then it’s best to seal it with a UV-resistant seal. Another benefit of wood is that the material is fairly easy to repaint, repair or otherwise fix so that the sun damage is removed.

It’s common for wooden garage doors to last for many years without any obvious sun damage. This is especially true if you keep up on maintenance to give your garage door the best fighting chance.

Vinyl Garage Doors

You may not know it, but vinyl garage doors tend to do quite well against the sun. This isn’t natural protection like with wood. Most vinyl doors come with a protective coating already applied to them. If you get a very affordable door, then this coating may not be applied. Keep this in mind when shopping around for vinyl doors.

The majority of vinyl doors will last about one or two decades before there is significant sun damage. The coating acts as a buffer and it prevents the sun from actually touching the vinyl. It will instead slowly burn off the coating. If not maintained, then you can expect the coating to disappear and the vinyl to then slowly fade.

Another thing to consider is scratches and dents. These will remove or disrupt the coating, which means that those specific areas will be quickly affected by the sun. Be sure to repair these areas quickly to avoid any problems.

UV-Resistant Finishes for Your Precision Door

One of the best things you can do to keep your garage door UV-resistant is to use a special finish or coating. This coating can be applied to nearly any type of garage material, and there are often specific finishes for each material. For example, there are some coatings that do better on wood while others are better on vinyl or metal.

The truth is that most modern doors already have this finish applied. The finish will act as a buffer while also deflecting the sun’s rays so that they don’t damage the door. While the coating might already be applied, it will need to be reapplied every few years.

Not only that, but the coating has other benefits that your garage door will love. This can reduce any cracking, peeling or other cosmetic issues that might be caused by the sun or overall use. The coating is typically easy to apply and should take longer than an hour or so.

Reflective Paint

Something else you can use to avoid sun damage is to apply reflective paint. These paints are most often made for wooden garage doors, but they might also work on other materials as well. The reflective paint is able to deflect the sun’s rays just like with UV-resistant coatings.

There are some other things you can do as well to ensure the best sun protection. Start by prepping the door. Clean and dry the door first. You should then apply a good primer for an extra layer of protection. The primer will also hold onto the paint better. It’s best to choose light-colored paint as this will absorb the least amount of heat. You can use darker colors, but it’s a little less protective than lighter colors.

Much like with UV-resistant coatings, this should take long to apply. It might be about an hour or two, and most of that time will be waiting for the paint to dry. You should apply the primer layer and then two or more layers of reflective paint for the best effect.

Precision Door Protective Window Film

Many people forget to make their garage windows resistant to the sun. Just like how the sun can damage the rest of the garage door, it can also damage the windows and their frames. For example, excessive sunlight can loosen the windows and cause the glass to break or fall out of place.

You can easily protect the windows by applying a protective film over them. You usually just need to apply this to one side of the glass, but some films cover both sides. This should only take a few minutes to apply, but the benefits will last for many years.

Make sure that you apply the film correctly to avoid any air bubbles. Take your time and keep your hands steady while doing this.