In the old farm house I live in, the prior owners did not paint the back of the closet doors. Everytime, I see the unpainted door, I think to myself, what a half ass job !

Of course the person who decided not to paint the back of door, is long dead by now, so what difference does it make?

I would paint it, in this type of real estate market, you do not want to take any chances on selling a house. If a potential buyer saw the unpainted door, it may ruin the sale.

All I know is that for the past several months of painting doors (solid poplar interior doors) my husband has pestered me to get the other side painted quickly, so the door doesn't warp. I don't know if that's an old wives's tale that he believes, or if doors really do warp if only painted on one side. just another potential issue to consider, one that may not even exist with hollow core doors.

Ivette

If it's a sliding door and not a walk-in closet, would the back side of the door ever be visible? If not, I'd say save yourself the trouble.

Last year I painted seven 6-panel doors on both sides using a 4 inch roller and semi-gloss paint. It went very quickly and I got a great job. I feel good about diving into the 16 doors I have to re-paint in my new house. After painting all the ceilings, anything on the level seems easy!

A potential buyer would look at the back sides of the closet door. If I was that potential buyer, I would say, "Ah, they painted the front side but not the back side, what other short cuts did they take in their plumbing, flooring, insulation and HVAC?