Refinishing Exterior Doors

[brad clemens]

First time poster, long time reader. I have found a lot of help from this forum. I appreciate all the posters who give their advice. Now it is time to ask for some advice. I bought this house about 6 months ago. I want to refinish my exterior wood doors.

First Question: Would it be best to take them down from the jam, or refinish while hanging? The house is about 90-100 years old. The doors are BIG. 90" tall, and about 2.25" thick. I am very happy the way they close now, and am worried that if I take them down, they will never close right again. Am I worried over nothing? Any thoughts?

Second question: What is the best finish to use? The doors appear to have a film finish now, and it looks terrible. I am not afraid of maintenance like applying new oil. The door faces north, under a porch roof, north central IL.

Here are a couple pics, Thank you in advance
Brad
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[Scott Holmes]

Take them down they, will go right back up with out an issue. Working on a door laying down is much easier. I like to close off the opening with plywood while I'm doing a front door. Use a chemical stripper to remove the old finish then color and top coat. OIL only will NOT provide any protection for your door. A quality non poly marine varnish will be very durable and long lasting.

[James Marshall]

I second Scott Holes suggestion of blocking off the doorway. I did my cherry entrance door the hard way, sanding it down to bare wood. I used Smith's epoxy sealer as a first coat and then added three coats of Epiphany two part urethane[IMG][/IMG]




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[Jamie Schmitz]

Someone that knows how to sandblast would be a good candidate for the prep work. There looks to be a lot of dirt accumulated in the grain,so if you do plan on using a stripper wire brush it before (brass only). Oak looks really cool sandblasted as long as the doors are not to dried out. Also if you use urethane thin your first coat by about 30%.

[John TenEyck]

Yes, take them down and close in the opening so you don't have to hurry the restoration process. Chemical stripper, then maybe oxalic acid or bleach if there is still discoloration. Then sand whatever needs to be to get everything smooth again. For finishing, use an exterior stain if you want to alter the color, followed by Epifanes Marine Varnish or General Finishes 450 Exterior Poly (which is very durable even though it has polyurethane in it). The 450 Poly is WAY easier to apply.

Make sure to do the whole door, including the four edges. You want a continuous film around the whole door. Under a covered, North facing porch, either of the two finishes above should give you at least 5 or 6 years before you need to do any maintenance. If that sounds like too short a time frame, then you would be better off painting it.

John

[brad clemens]

Thanks for the suggestions. Marine Varnish it is.

[Jack Schmidt]

I apologize for the hi-jack.

We have a mahogany east facing door that just gets baked by the sun. Many years ago I gave up trying to keep a finish on it and we ended up with the exterior faces painted with latex. I hated doing that but no matter where I went (SW, etc) no one had an answer that worked. I did get some product at that time from a marine store, but with the lack of experience with a stain or dye that would hold up to sun I just backed off.

I'm up for trying to get this entrance-way back to wood, but would you guys have any suggestions for this demanding situation? Epoxy and 2k finishes are not out of the question for me. This "mahogany" when sanded is light in color. The door is heavy so I don't think it is luan mahogany.

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> Marine Varnish it is.

Not just any marine varnish. Those sold at the big boxes are very poor and have no durability. Go to a marine supply store and look for NON-POLY exterior varnishes. Avoid poly as it rapidly deteriorated when exposed to the UV in sunlight. Brands like Wolsey, Interlux and Man O' War and, best of all, Epifanes are what you want. These are expensive but will last the longest and present the best appearance.

[Alan Lightstone]

How do you cover the door opening with plywood without marring the surrounding frame?

[John TenEyck]

How do you cover the door opening with plywood without marring the surrounding frame?

Put the plywood on the outside. Use carriage bolts through the plywood to a couple of 2 x 4's across the inside, with a piece of foam, etc. under them where they contact the inside molding. Reasonably secure with no permanent marks, holes, etc.

John

[Scott Holmes]

Similar solution... I attach 2x4's to the door frame screwing them in where the hinges and locksets are located then attach plywood filler to cover opening. I painted my "plywood door" brown and from the street it is almost not noticed.

[Jack Schmidt]

>>>> Marine Varnish it is. Not just any marine varnish. Those sold at the big boxes are very poor and have no durability. Go to a marine supply store and look for NON-POLY exterior varnishes. Avoid poly as it rapidly deteriorated when exposed to the UV in sunlight. Brands like Wolsey, Interlux and Man O' War and, best of all, Epifanes are what you want. These are expensive but will last the longest and present the best appearance.

Thanks Howie. I'll probably dust off what I have on the shelf from the marine store and see what it is. Anyone have suggestions of a stain or dye that would hold up under this direct sunlight?

[brad clemens]

Door are finally done. They were off the house for about 3 weeks. I spent about 5 hours per door stripping. General Finishes Exterior oil Stain, Mahogany color. 4 coats of Cabot Spar Varnish with light 220 grit sanding between coats. The doors look great from the sidewalk. I should have done a better job with my final sanding. I can see some swirls from the random orbital sander. i had to remove a piece of the door skin about, 8" wide X 3" h, it had come unadhered from the hardwood below. I think the patch is hardly noticeable.
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[Daniel Becker]

I know this thread is pretty old, but answers are still relevant. I have very similar case of a heavily weathered oak door(original was very expensive). Original treatment was stain and varnish (probably not a good marine varnish) The door now has a lot of small cracks and checks in the face, deeper than what I can sand out. Do I need to do anything about the cracks and checks after sanding? or just fill them in with the marine varnish? Would it be useful to use tung or lemon or some other oil treatments after sanding, but before putting the marine varnish on it? I dont want to paint it, but just want it to look as good as possible in stained or natural wood. Thanks.

Dan

[David B. Morris]

Dan, if your checks and other openings are big enough to let in moisture (and practically any such flaws would be) then I suggest you fill them with an epoxy-based filler like Abatron's Woodepox. You can easily dye this to match the finished color of the door. I have used this product to restore 100-year old window sash and it has performed extremely well.
About 10 years ago I finished a new solid mahogany door for our front entry. At first I used marine varnish as you are planning to do. That didn't last long. This is a west-facing door, not covered by any overhang, and faces beating sun in the summer, as well as the extremes of temperature and humidity we get here in DC. When I refinished the door after the varnish failed, I applied a clear catalyzed acrylic-urethane finish formulated for marine brightwork called Honey Teak, made by a small outfit in Florida called Signature Finish. For about 7 years now, it has held up well to the punishing conditions this door faces. It is not easy to apply, and when I refinish the door again it will not be easy to prep, but it protects against sunlight (the main enemy of an exterior clear finish) and effectively prevents moisture from entering bolection moldings and joints. If your circumstances are in any way similar, I highly recommend this product or a similar coating.