How to Restore an Old Door

2 Materials
Medium
We live in a historic home but our front door was painted on the inside. I really wanted to bring back the original wood. That is what I did and I'm so happy with the results.
Our house is an antique home. It is a 1927 Dutch Colonial with original woodwork through out. Trim in some of the rooms have been painted like the kitchen and the sunroom but the majority of the home has the rich woodwork. I fell in love with this wood the moment I stepped inside.


Our home has a very heavy (heavier than me) old door and I love the color we used on the outside. Buxton Blue.
I did not love the color of the door inside. My heart sank every time I looked at the paint.
It took some time and effort and elbow grease. I used my HomeRight heat gun:
Gel stain by General Finishes.
The full tutorial on how I restored this door is on the blog and also a chance to win your own HomeRight Heat gun.


So much better don't you think?
Finding Silver Pennies
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  3 questions
  • Angel Angel on Nov 16, 2015
    Just wondering how long it took to do the whole job?
  • Patty Gill Shaver Patty Gill Shaver on Sep 05, 2018

    My front door is in need of paint and repair. I love the door but the previous owners never painted or protected the wood. The grain is raised. Can I just sand it down and paint it?

  • Twa43140753 Twa43140753 on Jun 21, 2019

    Luckily, my older homes front door was never painted. But, it is in need of some love. I will be taking it down, removing the finish, sanding and restoring much like yourself. I wasn't aware I could strip it with heat instead of chemicals. Do you worry about breathing particles in doing it this way?

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  • Joanna Smith Joanna Smith on Jan 24, 2018

    THANK YOU for doing the opposite of what everyone seems to be doing these days! Wood is natural beauty and every board is unique. Painting over it is a decorating sin in my book! Looks great!

  • Teresa Teresa on Mar 07, 2018

    Thank you for making your door beautiful again, We did the same thing in out 150 year old home ( before we built this one)

    It is beautiful!

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