There are certain products I think you come across being a home owner that are, quite simply, game changers. Able to transform the item in your home that you really didn’t wish you had into something that actually doesn’t offend you anywhere near as much. I’ve just completed my second project with Frenchic paints and honestly? I’m sure they exist just to make those of us with uPVC doors SO much happier.
Before we go any further in this post, I do want to add a disclaimer that for this particular project the lovely Frenchic team sent me two pots of Al Fresco paint free of charge in return for some coverage. However, I bought and loved their paint entirely independently when I was renovating the kitchen to paint the inside of the back door and spoke effusively about them on Instagram at the time. Thank you Frenchic for enabling me on this little project.
If you see the front of our home you could be forgiven for thinking that we’ve got it all going on. We DO have a good façade at the front since we worked on the outer structure fairly early on in the renovation with so much of the inside still to do. The back is a complete ugly mishmash of old and new but we really didn’t see the need to do anything since we’d be extending and changing the whole back appearance of our home.
Now since we’ve decided not to go ahead with the extension after all, its freed me up to have a bit of fun with some previously unloved areas and try and make the most of what we have until we’re ready to do some of the internal restructuring to rearrange the flow. And it wasn’t too difficult to decide where to start – the back door.
We’re so lucky to have the original 1930s front door which we’ve lovingly restored. The back door by contrast is definitely a uPVC eyesore. I knew though that it could look much, MUCH better with fairly little effort and a bit of fabulous Frenchic Al Fresco paint. The colours I chose were ‘Dazzle Me!’ for the woodwork, plinth and window and then ‘Dusky Blush’ for the door itself because my relatively newfound love of pink isn’t going anywhere fast.
The Al Fresco paint is super easy to use and honestly requires minimal effort. You need to make sure the area is clean and dry first. For the concrete plinth, I chipped off any flaking paint and washed with warm soapy water. For the frame I gave a quick sand to the sill only and for the window itself I washed with sugar soap (same for the door). I hadn’t intended to paint the frame but as soon as I started to paint the frame around it, it went from looking white to cream against the fresh white paint and I couldn’t quite deal with that…!
I find the paint is really easy to apply and just the right consistency. Some chalk-finish paints can be quite gloopy but not so Frenchic. Obviously with wood you’ll need at least two coats, but if you have time and wanted to prime first that would help with absorbency. It dries quite quickly so you can definitely do more than one coat in a day, another reason why I love it.
When it came to do the door, I washed it all down with sugar soap (obviously please don’t sand uPVC) and then you’re ready to get painting – you don’t need a primer. I use brushes for most of painting and the finish comes up really well but you can also use rollers which would achieve an even smoother result. I’d say again it’s definitely a two-coat job but you can easily achieve that in a day, even within a couple of hours. I think with our back door I’ll probably do another coat too. You can paint the hinges, handles, seals etc just be mindful to keep moving the mechanism so it doesn’t seal in one position. If you get any paint on the rubber seals around the window pane, just use a sponge/cloth and warm water to remove the paint.
I’m so so pleased with how this turned out. It took about a day and a half so virtually no effort at all but has made all the difference. I also decided to paint the downpipe to the right of the backdoor with some drainpipe and gutter paint (I wouldn’t recommend Frenchic for this just because the finish you’re after should be one with a slight sheen to it) and OH MY GOODNESS I love painting drainpipes. I can’t believe how much better it looks. The paint is from the brand Fortress that I ordered online at B&Q and is suitable for plastic but not for metal so we’ll need to get a separate one to tackle our original 1930’s cast iron ones.
Finally, just to finish off I came across these brilliant drain pipe pots from Wilkos. HOW good to they look and especially idea for any of you which may have limited outdoor space. They come in two separate parts with the ring just slotting onto the pipe and costing about £2.50 and the pots were 80p each. Now I’ve got the drainpipe painting/decorating bug and want to work my way round the neighbourhood!
I think you’ll agree it’s such a great little DIY project and super affordable – if you get using your Frenchic paint or decorating your drainpipes do tag me on Instagram I’d love to see what you get up to.
Thank you again to Frenchic for providing the paints for this project. As mentioned, I’ve used them previously and paid in full for my paint and really rate them to work with. I want to be honest and transparent in my reviews and hope you find them helpful.