Refinishing solid wood exterior doors

[RPetry 564]

Closed on a nice deck job yesterday. When getting ready to leave, up comes the "Oh, by the way, would you look at this".

Very upscale house, nice customers. Solid wood entry doors, am not sure of the species. As can be seen from the pics, they need a sanding of the poly and stain, and complete refinishing, including I would guess numerous coats of exterior poly over the new stain for protection.

One side only. Of course, the interior side of the doors is nearly perfect. Temporary doors will be installed so that I can remove these two to restore. I have access to a heated workshop.

A few questions. I would assume that sanding is the only option, especially given that only the exterior side will need work. Are there any detail sanders that are effective in removing poly and stain? There are 32 panels on each door, with numerous surfaces, including rounded, in each panel (see closeup). The labor to hand sand effectively, and try to clean each corner, would be prohibitive.

Any suggestions on process and real good, effective sanders or tools would be appreciated. I purchased a cheap "detail sander" sometime ago that is basically worthless, even for decks. I do not mind spending money for good tools that will actually work and speed up the job.

Pricing advice would also be welcomed. I know this will take a ton of time and have no clue as to how much this type of work is charged in the marketplace. Thanks.

Edited September 12, 2008 by RPetry

[Kirk 14]

Wouldn't you need to sandblast it to get into the nookies and cranny's?

Kirk

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Rick,

I have not done this, but everything in me tells me that you want to treat this the way your would a hardwood floor, and sand it with different grits then finish it. I'll ask Rod to look at this thread too, I think he did a set of doors a few years back, but I was not there to see what he did.

Handy Hints

Beth

[RPetry 564]

Thanks for the replies, Kirk and Beth. If Rod has any input, I'm all ears.

Emailed the pictures and info to a friend in Maine who is an accomplished woodworker. His response has given me pause. First thing, he thinks the replacement value of these doors is ~ $8 - 10K. What happens if you mess them up and they look worse than when you started? Second, he does not think that any sander or sanding method can adequately restore the detail work in the panels. Finally, he is concerned about the bottom of the doors (pic #3). He thinks there is a possibility that mold/mildew has gotten into the wood and will be tough to remove.

Kirk, the idea of sandblasting never occurred to me. If it can be controlled with small, detailed nozzle tips, that could be an option. Beth, you guys do cob and other media blasting, is there a possible application to this type of job?

My friend and I decided that the wood is some species of high quality pine or fir, possibly Douglas fir, if that makes any difference. There is a Dip 'n Strip franchise about 20 miles away. I'm going to call them this morning to see if their chems can remove polyurethane.

Thanks all, and keep the suggestions coming!

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

If you blast that door you'll really have a sanding project on your hands. I would not blast it.

Beth

[RPetry 564]

If you blast that door you'll really have a sanding project on your hands. I would not blast it.

Beth

Beth,

Makes sense. Had a tele. call from a contractor suggesting dry ice blasting. Sounded like it had potential, but found this bit of info from: Remarkable dry ice blast cleaning - Enviro Blast

Can CO2 be used to clean wood?

Dry ice blasting will raise the grain on the wood, leaving a finish similar to that of sandblasting. If you need a smooth wood finish, dry ice blasting is not the answer. The primary interest here has been in lead paint abatement. We are currently working with the Air Force to develop a program to remove lead paint from wooden buildings. Most other removal methods create too much additional toxic waste. Because dry ice disappears as it strikes the surface, the only waste that must be disposed of is the paint itself.

[drdoor 14]

Beth,

Makes sense. Had a tele. call from a contractor suggesting dry ice blasting. Sounded like it had potential, but found this bit of info from: Remarkable dry ice blast cleaning - Enviro Blast

Can CO2 be used to clean wood?

Dry ice blasting will raise the grain on the wood, leaving a finish similar to that of sandblasting. If you need a smooth wood finish, dry ice blasting is not the answer. The primary interest here has been in lead paint abatement. We are currently working with the Air Force to develop a program to remove lead paint from wooden buildings. Most other removal methods create too much additional toxic waste. Because dry ice disappears as it strikes the surface, the only waste that must be disposed of is the paint itself.

This would not be a good idea .

The doors you are working on are douglas fir veneered .

Veneered doors require finese so you don't go through the surface. blasting them will ruin them.... period.

I do these all the time. You must chemically strip these before you touch them with a sander. I remove ALL finish before anything else. Put them on Saw horses, Remove hardware, chemically strip the exterior face of the door. I apply a semi paste stripper liberally and let it lift the surface. The scrape the old finsih (only with the grain) . Using a nylon brush I scrub the insert areas thouroughly. sand the flat areas with a quarter sheet sander or even a nice half sheet sander, 100 grit norton 3x is what I use. Use sanding sponges to smooth out the insert areas. Blow off the door to remove any grit left from the sanding sponges. Then sand it with 220 grit . You will need to take a small razor knife and clean out all of the corners as well.

I have probably refinished better than 1000 fir doors, I do them onsite and complete them in 1 day. I have better than 12 years experience with just doors so what I have explained to you works well, but my experience makes it work.

No detail sanders, wire brushes, belt sanders, gouging tools none of that is either necessary or recommended.

thanks

Don

Edited September 13, 2008 by drdoor

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Don,

WELCOME to TGS and thank you for joining us and for posting! :)

Looking forward to more from you.

Beth

[RPetry 564]

DrDoor,

Holy Smokes, you are the real deal! Appreciate all of your suggestions, and am amazed that anyone could restore doors such as these in a day. Then again, I guess after a few hundred....

As far as a finish that will both be attractive and last a while, any suggestions? Just poly, stain and poly, or something entirely different? The doors reside under an ~ 4 ft. roof overhang so aside from moisture wicking from the bluestone, I do not think they get wet much. As can be seen from the pics, the upper half of the exterior has not degraded as it is in shade most if not all of the daytime.

Thanks so much for your help.

[drdoor 14]

Thank you for the welcome. I didnt want to come off like a know-it-all. This just happens to be my bread and butter. I love working with doors because this is becoming a lost art. I end up being the cleaner so to speak. I have to try to repair doors that other have almost ruined. I see there is a gallery area. I am not sure how the rules are about posting my projects or my company information because of vendor rules. I would just like to share my knowledge, without giving the farm away. I have a niche and when you specialize like I do you have to be careful of creating new competition.

I do need to gain some knowledge about exterior wood treatments, fences, decks, gazebo's , garage doors ETC. I get those requests all the time from my clients

Thank you again for the warm welcome.

Don

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Please add your info and signature. Are you a vendor? All members are welcome to use the gallery, the biz links directory and to post. If you are a vendor, there is a special area for you to promote what you sell. I am sure our members would benefit greatly from your expertise. I believe Rick just did.

Beth

[drdoor 14]

I tried to add a signature but it isnt coming up on previous posts. Maybe it will come up on the next one. I am not selling anything. my service is area specific for now

thank you

Don

Edit now that I posted again it has appeared

[James 625]

I have been doing allot of research most recently in the area of doors . Welcome

[MudDuck 20]

Whats the odd's of that Rick,,,post a door issue and "Whamm" theres a door guy...LOL....:lgbow:

Don't worry about being a know it all Dr. Door we like lurkers that show up just at the right time... :lurker:

Edited September 14, 2008 by MudDuck

[James 625]

Talk about Ironic. A couple of days ago a client excepts my quote by email. In the quote I said; I have to stop by and look at the Koi pond again before i start the job to review the precautions I'm going to take. I'm at the house and My cell rings and its the owner of the house asking when do I think I can start the job? Spoooky

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Don,

Glad the signature is working now. You do beautiful work. ( I peeked at your web site)

Again, welcome! Glad you found us, and decided to join TGS! :sunshine:

Beth :cup:

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Sorry to have missed the post but been busy...

Rick, the door dr has basically described what I have done to restore and refinish exterior doors in both hardwood and cedar.

On garage doors though, the getting them off the track is not as easy as one would like so I did them hanging.

This has been a tough niche to get into as more are likely to just replace it than pay the cost to have it restored. Starting costs for a ready to hang door are around $250 and the only time you have a chance really is when the door is custom sized. Those are a bit more expensive to replace and the cost for restoration is actually affordable in this case.

I have one suggestion though, in some situations you may need a router with various style tips to re-define the pattern in the frame of the panels. Sometimes they can get a little fuzzy with the strip process and trying to glean (yes, this is the correct term) them without rounding the corners/edges of the style pattern with sandpaper is tedious at best in my opinion. Matching them with a pattern jig (wire set that adjusts to duplicate a pattern) is the easiest way to find the right bit.

I am interested in more of what door dr (name?) has to share with us in the future as well.

Rod!~

[plainpainter 217]

How about asking your resident door expert....

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/wood-cleaning-restoration-decks-fences-etc/9345-refinished-my-neigbors-front-door.html

[Celeste 341]

Welcome Don!

We've done a few doors here in the Carolinas - your experience will be very welcome!

Celeste

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Dan, I didn't remember that about you, but I'm glad to know it and glad you chimed in! :)

Beth

[drdoor 14]

How about asking your resident door expert....

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/wood-cleaning-restoration-decks-fences-etc/9345-refinished-my-neigbors-front-door.html

I definitely wasn't trying to steal anyones thunder. Your refinsih job looks awesome. I know you can appreciate the detail required in door refinishing. thanks for sharing your talent. Later I will try to post a few projects I have done recently.

Thanks

Don

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Don,

There is always room for another member. Can't wait to see your work. There are many talented folks here who thankfully for us all, enjoy sharing with one another and raising the bar. Networking rocks!

Beth