Walk into a freshly painted flat with yellowed, chipped doors and the eye goes straight to the doors. Internal doors and their frames are the highest-traffic painted surfaces in a home — touched daily, kicked by decades, and repainted about once per generation. Refreshing them transforms a flat's age more than any wall colour.
Why doors are the hard part of painting
Walls forgive; doors do not. They are viewed at hand distance, lit by raking light down their panels, and finished in sheens that display every shortcut. The three technical realities:
- Old gloss must be keyed. Fresh paint over glossy surfaces peels in sheets — thorough sanding or a deglossing pass is non-negotiable, plus an adhesion primer on stubborn old oil-based coats.
- Yellowed oil paint versus modern finishes: decades-old oil gloss yellows with age (fastest in dark hallways). Modern water-based satins and semi-glosses stay white and low-odour but demand the right primer over old oil — the classic compatibility trap of Maltese repaints.
- Drips live in mouldings. Panelled doors — most Maltese internal doors — need disciplined sequence (mouldings, panels, rails, stiles) and thin coats. This, plus the drying logistics of doors people need to use nightly, is why the job rewards professionals.
Brush, roller or spray
Brushed finishes are traditional and forgiving of occupied homes; a fine-finish roller with laying-off gets close to sprayed smoothness on flat doors. Spraying delivers the factory-flat finish — but means masking half the flat or removing doors to spray elsewhere, which is why sprayed refreshes shine during the empty-flat window and renovations, and brushed work rules in lived-in homes.
The costs
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Door repaint, both faces, brushed | €40 – €90 |
| Door + frame + architraves | €60 – €130 |
| Whole flat (6–8 doors), brushed | €350 – €800 |
| Sprayed finish, per door (doors off) | €70 – €140 |
Batch pricing matters: a painter set up for doors does the flat's worth far cheaper per door than two doors alone — and hardware makes the finish, so budget the €5-per-door hour to remove handles and hinges-clean rather than paint around them. New handles on freshly painted doors (€10–€40 each, fitted in the same visit or a handyman batch) complete the transformation for pocket change.
Sticking doors deserve honesty: paint thickens edges. If a door already catches — common after humid winters — plane first, paint second, or the fresh coat seals the problem in. Note which doors stick when you post the job with photos on Qabbad's painter page, and get the comparison quotes against the same door count and finish spec.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to paint internal doors in Malta?
€40 to €90 per door brushed both faces, €60 to €130 including frames and architraves, with whole-flat batches of six to eight doors landing between €350 and €800 in 2026.
Can I paint over old gloss doors?
Only after keying: sand or degloss thoroughly and use an adhesion primer, especially when putting modern water-based paint over old oil gloss. Skipping the prep is why repainted doors peel within the year.
Should doors be sprayed or brushed?
Sprayed gives the flattest finish but needs doors off or heavy masking — ideal in empty flats and renovations. Brushed or fine-rolled done well is the practical answer in occupied homes, and a skilled hand gets remarkably close.