Front Door Make Over
5 Materials
Southwest facing front doors in Texas take a real beating from the sun and elements, mine especially! Every year I would lightly sand and add several coats of stain sealant (1 product). Over time this really began to build up and not look as neat as I would like. Because it was easier to hide this with a darker stain, I eventually wound up with a very dark door that was badly in need of a complete refinishing. I looked into purchasing a new front door and WOW, they are expensive! I am so glad I went to the work to restore mine.
I first attempted to use my palm sander with very coarse paper, but it really was slow going.
Then I attempted a stripping product, Citristrip. This is all natural and can be used indoors with no ventilation, it smells like oranges.
I applied the Citristip three or four times and found that some areas needed more attention than others. I also did some sanding between each coat of Citristrip. Citristrip works great, but I do think that it made the wood a little less porous, which required multiple coats of the stain to take any color. My original goal was to end up with an almost pine-like finish where the wood grain would be very visible.
Once I was getting pretty close and knew that I could finish the stripping/sanding process that day, I took the door off the hinges and finished sanding. This was a lengthy project taking around 10 hours with all the steps. The bottom weather strip needed replacing, too. This was a much-needed item and it has made a big difference in the tightness of the door when closed. After sanding, it was time to stain and seal. I chose two separate products and feel that the additional step is well worth the extra time. I started with a Pecan colored stain but moved to a few shades darker (Cherry) to get the desired shade. Finally, I covered the door with Spar Urethane, specifically made for front doors.
The finished product, complete with spring flowers and a new door hanging!
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 18 comments
-
Gorgeous
-
Wow, what a difference. I love it, its very warm and inviting. You are so right, doors are very expensive!! I am looking for one with a window. My opening is an off size and a door would have to be modified or specifically custom ordered. We visit our Habitat for Humanity Store quite a bit to see if there's one that fits our needs. Anyway I just wanted to comment and tell you how wonderfully it turned out.
-
Thanks Tess! Is there any way to add a window or an interesting accent piece to your existing door and/or paint a cool color?
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?