Take a closer look at YOUR doors ... especially the lower third on the outside! Is the varnish getting dull, faded or gray? Does the wood feel dry or rough? Any stains, cracks or bare wood? Any white areas showing? Any signs of mold or mildew? Is the glass "foggy"? Do they close properly?
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"Greying" varnish | 
Serious cracks starting | 
Water penetrating the unprotected wood | 
Swollen joint |
If any of these signs are visible your doors need urgent attention! OUTLINE OF the actual process involved ... When a FULL refinishing is required I first remove the doors then install a temporary plywood covering to ensure both your security and comfort. | 
| Then I take them to my workshop where a lot of preparatory work is of course required (scraping, sanding and staining) after which the varnish should be sprayed on in a 'dust-free' environment to avoid any foreign bodies, or moisture, in the finish! |
Temporary Covering 
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| Step 1: Remove all the hardware and scrape off all the old varnish | Step 2: Sand everything back to completely bare wood | Step 3: Mask off the glass and edges | 
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| Step 4: Wipe on the stain - evenly (Not as easy as it sounds!) | Step 5: Spray on the sealer (Varnish applied with a brush can not give a smooth 'glass-like' finish!) | Step 6: Sand all surfaces again, till they are totally smooth | 
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| Step 7: Spray on the varnish | Step 8: Sand again (very lightly) | Step 9: More coats of varnish ... |
The best effective way to remove the old damaged varnish is by hand using specialized scrapers, especially in the case of ornate doors with raised panels and complex moldings. Paint stripper can help soften the varnish, but it still has to scraped off, very carefully. Then everything needs to be well sanded using successive grits of abrasive paper before they can even be stained. Obviously such a FULL refinishing is a very time consuming process ... which can be avoided by having your doors correctly refinished before the varnish gets too dull or faded, or worse ... The good news is that it is actually quite affordable to have your doors lightly sanded and re-varnished so long as this is done before they are "too far gone". If done every few years this will of course protect them ... and make them last indefinitely! I specialize in refinishing hardwood entry doors, using ONLY the best quality EXTERIOR GRADE varnish, ("Catalyzed Urethane") that truly stands up to the harsh elements! "Engineered" Doors Beware - many door manufacturers build "Engineered" doors which are actually not "solid" hardwood, but rather a 'Stave Core' with a thin layer of hardwood glued on the outside!  
While this type of door does have some advantages, notably the cost and the fact that some types are insulated, they also have distinct disadvantages - especially that the thin outer ‘skin’ often detaches itself from the interior wood core, it also dents quite easily and can not be repaired, plus which this type of door can usually only be refinished about twice. These doors are extremely difficult to detect once stained and varnished, usually the only way to make sure is to remove it and strip/sand either the top or bottom. Refinishing this type of door is complex and more time consuming because one has to be extremely careful not to sand through the thin outer veneer, plus which they often don’t “take” the stain or varnish as well as a piece of solid wood. Consequently I believe they are not nearly as good an investment as a door constructed from solid pieces of thick, properly dried hardwood, which when well maintained should last a lifetime, or more. |
Of course I also do all types of: FURNITURE and CABINET REPAIRS, restoration and refinishing If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me: don02@frontier.com or call  (931) 210-3676 
   © 2006 - 2011 Art All About Home | My Profile | What the clients say | References | Refinishing Doors | Refinishing Details | Building Doors | Custom Built Doors | Custom Furniture | Wood Species | Interior Woodworking | Stairs, Bathrooms... | Oriental Screens & Furniture This site was last updated 01/31/12 | 
