Hiya. I've moved into a "renovated" 1921 house. I tried to wipe away dust and grime off the newly painted (2 months ago) exterior metal door, and when I rinsed the damp sponge, the wash water turned raspberry from paint that had bled into the sponge. Now the spot where I "spot cleaned" (ahem) is a bit lighter than the rest of the door. What the heck did the painter use on my door?

I want to repaint it with a new color and heavy duty glossy finish. I've no idea what the original paint is. Can I just paint over the existing paint, or prime and paint, or should I strip it down to the metal then prime and paint?

BTW, I also want to repaint the vinyl window wrapping to match. Not sure what problems I might run into there too.

Thanks for your help. For what it's worth I got some info from an old Gardenweb post (see link below).

Here is a link that might be useful: Any experts? Painting metal front door