Painting - Steel entry door

Just purchased a new steel entry door from Lowes and was wondering what the easiest way to paint it would be. My father-in-law has one of those wagner paint sprayers and was thinking that would be the easiest, bset looking way to paint it. Also what type of paint might I use in this application??? The door will recieve full, all day direct sun light.

Thanks for any help!!!
Mike from Big Flats

I think generally, the goal is to make a steel door look like wood, and thus, using a brush is your best bet. Since a steel door doesn't technically have stiles and rails, you have to creat them with brush strokes. Paint the inset panels (if there are any) first, then paint the horizontal sections, top, bottom, middle, etc. Paint the two vertical portions last. The brush strokes, no matter how noticeable they are, create the sense of wood grain....that you have a wood door, when you really just have steel.

The manufacturers generally recommend latex paint for steel doors.