How can I make an old door look good?

Question

We want to use this door but it looks bad. I want to re-finish it to stay with that "old"look, but how do I? Do I stain it? With what? Do I sand it first? Then stain. What should I do? What product is best for t his project? Thank you.

Answer 1

not seeing the door ,kinda makes it hard to help you,but,just go by the basics,if its painted to start with,you can either sand it back down to the wood,(a lot of work)or you can strip the paint and then sand the remaining spots of paint,this will also let you get in the cracks and corners of the door.after all the paint has been sanded,then take steel wool and go over it several times,this will take the wood to a level and good staining base.always remember,your finish coat will only be as good as your prep coat.so make sure you get the door back as close to the original look as you can before starting any staining. now depending on how you want the door to look,is what you do next,if you want it to look new,or if you want it to look weathered,either can be obtained with the next step.

         the new look,use a good stain clearcoat mix,in other words use somthing like minwax,that has the stain&clearcoat together/

  depending on what you are after as far as the shein, to get a soft look use a satin finish,if you want a bold look use a high gloss finish. make sure you always make all your brush strokes in the same direction after each complete coat,be sure to give it enough time to dry,then use a 400 grit sand paper,or even a smooth steel wool & go pver the door this will remove any bubbles and debris from the stain.depending on how dark you want the finish to be will depend on how many coats of stain you will need to apply.

when you get the door to the finish you want,you can either use a couple of coats of clear coat only or you can,wait for a couple of days to a week,and put a good coat of wax on the door.one way or the other you will have a beatiful refinished door that will last for a long time.  hope this helps you.

Answer 2

simple, better homes and garden,  you strip the old dorr sand it or using stripperpaint, then stain to liking then sand again to "wear" the color, take a look at better homes and gardens.com

Answer 3

Remove any hardware from door.  Clean and reserve for later installation.  Strip the paint from the door.  Zip Strip works well, just follow the directions.  Make sure kids and pets can be kept away from where you are working, this stuff is caustic as lye.

When you have removed all traces of paint, sand any rough area with 150 grit sandpaper. ( I use a Black and Decker Cyclone for this process.) When it is smooth to the touch, select the color of stain that you prefer.  Spread stain with paintbrush, brushing only with the grain.

Wipe off excess if the color is too dark.  When completely dry, brush on first coat (Remember, go WITH the grain.) of Deft Satin Wood Lacquer.  When dry, rub entire surface with 0000 steel wool. to remove any specks or bubbles.  Wipe off surface with a tack cloth.  Repeat this two more times.  After final session, spray surface with Deft Satin Wood Spray.  Spray WITH the grain, only.

If you are refinishing both sides of the door, do them in sequence. (Strip one side, then strip the other side.  Lacquer one side, then lacquer the other side. Etc.)

Make sure surface is completely dry before proceeding to next step.

The satin lacquer looks so much better than the high gloss.  You should end up with a good looking door.

Answer 4

If it is painted, use paint stripper first. Then sand a little, then stain it.

Answer 5

There are many options to achieve the effect you are looking for graining which can be done with tools easy bought in most shops.Waxing the door which leaves an excellant finish and protection.However i would suggest staining the door then using fine grade sand paper to rub the door this leaves an aged effect.Finally in many up market places a common effect is grazing this can be achieved by rubing the door with a candle before applying your chosen paint and leaves the door looking aged and old.Brand wise for varnish or stain johnstones gloss dulux ps if u choose to stain ensure you varnish over the stain for a sealer.good luck

Answer 6

a piture of the door would help

Answer 7

Go to Home Depot, and tell them all the questions you want. They're help you. Or even a Hardware store.