looking for the most recommended paint for interior doors.

painting over new lowe's pre hung interior doors, not sure if they are primed.

ideally, no chipping, pealing from opening/closing of doors.

must be HD or lowe's brand, that is all i have around us.

 

I don't know if any big box store carries an enamel that I would recommend. You don't have any paint stores near by?

Oil base enamels wear the best but they are smelly, take longer to dry and whites will yellow over time. Waterborne enamels dry just as hard as oil base [means long wear, no chipping] and dries a little faster than latex enamel. There is a wide quality range with latex enamels. The cheap latex enamels are prone to blocking - will stick, then peel when the door is closed tightly. The top of the line latex enamels fair better. My personal choice is SWP's ProClassic waterborne enamel.

While it doesn't hurt to reprime the doors [use a latex or oil base enamel undercoater] they don't have to be reprimed. You will need to sand the toe/heel edges of the door first. There is also a nail hole in the toe edge that will need to be filled with putty.

 

Sorry, I can't recommend any paint from the stores you mentioned. Like Mark, I buy my paint from paint stores - used to be a Benjamin Moore guy but I've moved and Sherwin Williams is closer now so I would be using the same waterborne enamel Mark mentioned.

 

Look in your yellow pages phone directory and see if you can find any of these paint store chains in your area:

Colorwheel Paint
Frazee Paint
Kwal Paint
Parker Paint, or
if you live in Canada, General Paint

Those are all paint store chains operated by the Mexican paint manufacturer "Comex".

All of these paint store chains will sell a Comex paint called "Monamel".

Monamel is essentially an alkyd paint resin suspended in water. So, what evaporates from the paint film is water, but what remains behind on the surface is effectively an alkyd paint.

I would try to find Monamel Paint in your area, and use it on your door to get the same durability as would be had from a conventional alkyd paint.

 

While I've never used or even heard of Monamel - it's a waterborne enamel.