How do I protect the painted finish on my fiberglass door?

Question

I just purchased a new fiberglass front door. It's a beautiful door, factory painted, but less than 24 hours later, we're noticing that the paint can easily be scratched off, and the rain splashing off the deck has made the paint bubble up.

I've called the store where we made the purchase, and we can return it. There are other issues we had with this door, and we've received some discounts, so the door has ended up being very reasonable. It's such a beautiful door that I really want to keep it. But what can I do to protect the paint? The paint can be scraped off with a fingernail. Would I need to totally strip the paint off and repaint it? Is there some sort of protective finish that will work without having to strip it?

Answer 1

Unless the paint is only primer (not uncommon, actually, for painted doors - but I would expect the vendor or manufacturer to mention that in the instructions, or when you called about it) in which case a topcoat might work, the "peels off easily" aspect suggests that you'd need to strip it to get good adhesion.