How to remove protect layer of front door.?

Question

I try to repaint my front door. After I sand the top coat (looks like oil base.) I find there is a hard protection layer of paint. I do not know what kind material it is. (I used acetone and brush cleaner to see if it dissolves. It did not.) Since I must remove it or thinning it to make the surface even colored and I do not want to sand it again since it will cut into the wood too much. Any idea of what kind thinner I should use to wash it away or thinning it.

Thanks

Answer 1

. So many front doors in the last 30 yrs are mostly fake. It's probably some type of vinyl coat that's almost part of the door.

Lightly sand it and use several coats of oil base paint on it.

Answer 2

Since this "hard coat" is already sanded, it will provided grip for a primer coat.  The primer will give you the even color you want before you apply the finish color.  Since the wood is exposed in some places, you will need to apply two coats, prime and color.

The alternative is to strip the door to bare wood using a combination of chemical stripper, scrapers and sanding.  After that you still need to apply a coat of primer to seal the wood before applying the finish color.