# Refinish oak door



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

It's time to "revarnish" the front door again. It's about 4 yrs old and was last varnished with Min Wax Clear Semi-gloss polyurethane. It just doesn't seem to last. This is a Northern exposure, under a 5' overhang. I found that I also have a can of Minwax indoor/outdoor Helmsman spar urethane clear semi-gloss. Should I use either, or try something entirely different, and if so what brand?
I'd like to just scrape and apply new finish over the "bad" areas rather than re-sanding the entire door.
If that's not a good idea, can I use a finish "restorer" or scrub with a solvent, rather than strip the whole door? I'd rather not do that if possible. Any advice will be appreciated. :thumbsup: bill


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

woodnthings said:


> It's time to "revarnish" the front door again. It's about 4 yrs old and was last varnished with Min Wax Clear Semi-gloss polyurethane. It just doesn't seem to last. This is a Northern exposure, under a 5' overhang. I found that I also have a can of Minwax indoor/outdoor Helmsman spar urethane clear semi-gloss. Should I use either, or try something entirely different, and if so what brand?
> I'd like to just scrape and apply new finish over the "bad" areas rather than re-sanding the entire door.
> If that's not a good idea, can I use a finish "restorer" or scrub with a solvent, rather than strip the whole door? I'd rather not do that if possible. Any advice will be appreciated. :thumbsup: bill


I wouldn't use a film finish if I could help it, especially Helmsman. Any film finish (including spars) will fail sooner or later, and are a PITA to refinish. They dry out and get crispy, and have to be sanded or stripped to freshen up.

The older I get, the more I look for the easiest and best finish. It's much easier to just give a quick oil wipe a couple of times a year. You might look into Penofin Red Label.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I'm with you..the older I get*

So to follow your advice (I usually do) I guess I'm stripping the door!:furious: This sucker weighs around 200#, 42" x 78" x 2 1/4". I'll weigh it just for grins. It'll be easier to lay on the stripper unless I spray it on....hmmmm. Still thinking. :laughing: Thanks C Man :thumbsup: bill


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

woodnthings said:


> So to follow your advice (I *usually* do) I guess I'm stripping the door!:furious: This sucker weighs around 200#, 42" x 78" x 2 1/4". I'll weigh it just for grins. It'll be easier to lay on the stripper unless I spray it on....hmmmm. Still thinking. :laughing: Thanks C Man :thumbsup: bill



*USUALLY* what does that mean...what happened to *ALWAYS*:laughing::laughing:.

Anyway, what my drift was, and I'll qualify my opinion, is that a film finish pretty much seals the door. Air can't get into or out of the wood. Now, you and I both know that even disregarding humidity, temperature alone can change the vapor content within the wood. If air can't exchange, the finish will suffer and begin separation from the surface due to escaping or drawn vapors.

Right now you probably have your forehead all wrinkled up thinking...can this be true? Quietly, you ask yourself, "What about all the high gloss finishes on marine woodwork?" Well buddy, they do fail, but their owners don't care how often it needs finishing.

So, what's the alternative? My thoughts are to use an oil finish. Although it has no impact resistance, it's an easy care finish, that can be done in short order. All you need to do when necessary is clean up the surface by wiping down with mineral spirits and re-oil. Penofin has quite a bit of UV protection, even though your door isn't in a high exposure setting.

So, for refinishing a door with a film finish, lotsa sanding, or stripping and sanding is necessary, just to do it again in a few years...if you're that lucky.

Just a short story. I must say I really like long stories, but I'm kinda tired right now, so I'll keep it short. Years ago, I made a new front door out of 10/4 Honduras Mahogany, and the final machining left a full 8/4. It was a beautiful door. I wanted to put an absolute gorgeous finish on it and decided on Interlux Schooner, which at the time was equal to buying gold bullion. Anyway, the directions stated 5-6 coats minimum. Actually, the door did look good for about 10-11 months and then it started the crispy critter thing, and got foggy and flaky. 

Most people don't have an extra 3'-0" x 6'-8" piece of plywood or an extra door to hang while refinishing. Well I did hang an extra door I had during the interim. I went to an oil finish after that and decided that a periodic wipe down while hanging was a much better deal.

Keep in mind that all this yak is just my opinion.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Yah. opinions are like bellybuttons*

Everyone one has one, inny or outy. that's the big difference!:laughing:
But as you well know, that's why we pay you the "BIG BUCKS" here, for those one of a kind opinions. Now I'm probably askin' for trouble, but what's a good chemical stripper? I tied a product tonight call "Refinisher" it kinda works, but I would give it only 5 stars out of 10.
I've got some Zip-Strip I could try that tomorrow. I didn't "think" of hangin a temp door, but that's a great idea. Maybe just a plywood sheet covering the jamb inside, to keep the AC inside. Thanks, bill


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

woodnthings said:


> Everyone one has one, inny or outy. that's the big difference!:laughing:
> But as you well know, that's why we pay you the "BIG BUCKS" here, for those one of a kind opinions. Now I'm probably askin' for trouble, but what's a good chemical stripper? I tied a product tonight call "Refinisher" it kinda works, but I would give it only 5 stars out of 10.
> I've got some Zip-Strip I could try that tomorrow. I didn't "think" of hangin a temp door, but that's a great idea. Maybe just a plywood sheet covering the jamb inside, to keep the AC inside. Thanks, bill



For all the nooks and crannies and end grain you have, stripping is the way to go. There are basically two types of stripper. The best and most efficient is an MC (methylene chloride) based stripper. It's very toxic, right up there with Agent Orange. Use only outside, or in highly ventilated areas, with maximum body protection (full combat gear would help). I like what's called Aircraft Stripper. I get it at a dedicated auto paint and body supply store that deals with the trade (they sell retail too). Actually, those stores are a plethora of finishing goodies, like spray guns and parts, sandpaper of all kinds, thinners, and believe it or not, some of the urethane auto paints finish looking as good or better than lacquer. Of course, that is if you wanna paint something.

A less toxic stripper, and one that can be used indoors is a waterbased stripper, that smells like oranges. You'll actually be humming Anita Bryant songs. I like Citristrip. It's a good stripper, but may take a few applications, but much safer than an MC based stripper. It stays wet and works for extended periods, and clean up is with water. Grain raising isn't that big of a deal.

There are times that a "wash" of lacquer thinner, or acetone may do some wonders. That is true. There is also the possibility that dissolving the finish into a more fluid form may seep into the pores which would make you madder than all heck.

Just allow enough time for any stripper to do it's thing. With either type, more than one application may be necessary. And always follow directions, and wear THESE.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*C Man you're gonna slap me*

But I didn't use the oil finish you suggested. I put 5 applications of stripping agent and countless paper towels and rubber gloves. I sprayed the Min-Wax Red Oak stain on after sanding and washing with laquer thinner. Then I did something crazy... I had some
Min-Wax Ureathane Floor Varnish Ultra Durable Fast Drying .....
We'll see how that works. I will recoat it every year, however.:yes: bill


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## LouLewyLewis (Sep 2, 2009)

Very nice job. :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Dejure (Sep 2, 2009)

*Make it last, but do it easily*

The floor finish will go south pretty quick, if subjected to any honest weather. The surace coat is going to flex at a vastly different rate than the wood. 

Seal coats for marine finishes tend to run fifty a gallon and up. They use harding oils and resins in combination. The oil (usually tung, but also lindseed or soy) makes for a softer finish, but also allows the finish to flex with expansion and contraction of the wood. The more oil, the more flex, but the softer the finish. Your door isn't going to get wear from hand or foot trafic, so a softer finish will not be a problem and will allow you to go longer between stripping projects, since you won't suffer as much separation of the finish from the wood.

Your floor finish probably uses oil too, but a lesser amount to insure more durability with regard to foot traffic.

The end story is, you're going to have to work to keep the door, no matter what treatment you use. The question is, how hard? The advice, that you use oil, is sound, but not carved in stone. You can do like the big boys and add resins, or even a small percent of polyurethane (e.g., ten percent).

Oil is probably the easiest finish to both apply and maintain. After the initial treatment, all you have to do is wipe a lite coat on, as the door appears to need it. A maintenance coat every year, or two, or three, would only take five to fiteen minutes, plus five to wipe off the excess after it's allowed to set and soak in.

If you do use oil, you need a hardening oil, rather than, say, petrolium based oil. Consider raw/pure tung oil. It polymerizes, giving you a water repelling, flexible finish coat and doesn't feed mold. It isn't that expensive. A gallon would take care of the door for fifty or more years.

Another consideration: Wood dries and, as it does, it shrinks. Shrinkage results in splits and cracks. Tung oil, if allowed to penetrate on the initial coats (e.g., thin up to twenty-five or thirty percent and add more to areas that soak it in) will not only make the wood harder, but will replace dissapearing moisture and inhibit cracking and splitting. For example, cedar shakes and shingles that are oiled (in that instance, with a non-hardening oil) don't split, and they remain resiliant, even in the hot days of summer, so you can walk on them without breaking them)


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## Dejure (Sep 2, 2009)

*On decks and exterior walls*

By the way, looking at your deck, consider the oil tricks there too. A deck that is showing wear (cracking and splitting from drying) from mositure loss and weather (leaching of natural oils) can be treateed with penetrating oil, which will swell up the wood, just as rain does, and will cause many of the cracks to disappear. As noted before, tung oil will harden the wood too. If you desired, you could treat the deck with non-hardening oil, let that sit for a while, then do a final coat with raw tung oil (it's significantly cheaper than treated tung oil and just doesn't dry as quick).

The same principals apply to your stained siding. You could thin the first coat, or two, to allow them to soak into the wood, then do a final coat of straight stain.


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