I purchased a new mahogany door. A new painter stained it and left brush marks! Please help, how can I remove these?

Tami Burns
by Tami Burns
The painter told me that brush marks are "easy to remove" by rubbing a soft cloth with mineral spirits. I am not having luck using this method (old white dishcloth with odorless mineral spirits) Please help me, my new door looks awful and the painter left us high and dry after I complained about this and other issues
  7 answers
  • 3po3 3po3 on Aug 16, 2012
    Have you tried lightly sanding the wood, then adding more stain?
  • Peace Painting Co., Inc. Peace Painting Co., Inc. on Aug 17, 2012
    Tami, because stain is a transparent material there is no repairing it after the fact. To get the nice stained look back, the old stain needs to be removed completely. This is a job but can be done by first scrubbing with lacquer thinner then sanding by machine and hand. Best, Charles
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Aug 17, 2012
    Can you post a pic? Mahogany is such a nice looking wood to begin with, I normally just use a clear finish over it to bring out its natural mahogany goodness. you could notch up the effort by using some fine 220 or so grit silicone carbide sandpaper and "wet sanding" with some mineral spirits. Silicon carbide is the black water proof kind of sand paper. Mahogany is a open grain wood and the fine slurry this sanding will produce will help fill the pores and make the wood much smoother for a clear protective top coat. do you know what kind of stain or finish the painter was using? I normally stain with a small piece of cotton rag...this way there are never brush marks. when applied properly stains will not leave "lap" marks which are a bit different than "brush marks" Brush marks are normally due to a "surface" finish...regular stains are NOT surface finishes but a penetrating finish this is why you need to sand away the wood to make it lighter.
  • Tami Burns Tami Burns on Aug 17, 2012
    Thanks all, I will post a pic. The stain is a natural hue, just meant to bring out the beauty of the natural mahogany.
  • Tami Burns Tami Burns on Aug 17, 2012
    I need a clarification about a response. I will post the pictures and keep working on the door.
  • Trixie63 Trixie63 on Jun 01, 2015
    I think you need to call the painter and have him come back and fix his mess!
  • Capernius Capernius on Jun 02, 2015
    First off, you got shafted by this painter. you could try suing him in court, but that's not going to get your door looking like it should.Granted, I am not a painter, professional or otherwise, so I will never claim to know everything about painting or staining. one thing i want to mention is, I have never heard of being able to remove brush marks after the paint/stain has set & dried...but as I said, I don't know everything. I think the only recourse you may have, is to remove the stain(if that is even possible) sand the door completely, & then restain. Also tell everyone in your area how this Bozo shafted you. Madam, I wish you the best of luck in this adventure. Peace