Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - refinishing a wood front door

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Oregonboy
08-11-09, 01:11 AM
Hi, I have a 42 inch fir wood front door that needs refinishing. It hasn't had any attention for some years by the looks of it. I'm not sure what to do with it as its had what look like some light stain put on the wood with a coating of something over it. I have started to sand the door with 120 grit sandpaper. It seems like there are light and dark areas of the wood. What would you suggest I do. I was going to finish sanding the door and then put a colored polyurethane finish. Should I take door off and strip it and then go ahead with what I was going to do or? Whatever help you could give me would be appreciated. I want to do WHAT SHOULD BE DONE AND NOT TAKE ANY SHORTCUTS THAT WILL AFFECT HOW THE DOOR WILL ULTIMATELY LOOK AFTER ALL OF MY LABORS.

Thanks, Oregonboy

marksr
08-11-09, 05:10 AM
Welcome to the forums!

It's no easy task to refinished a neglected exterior wooden door. It would be a lot easier to just prime and paint.

It would be best to take the door down and chemically strip the door and then sand. Always sand with the direction of the grain. Cross grain sanding scratches can show when finished:eek: Tinted poly isn't recomended for exterior use. It would be better to use a seperate stain, let dry and then apply 3 coats of spar poly, sanding lightly between coats of poly. While the door is down - apply a coat of poly to the top and bottom edge.