Removing Varnish From a Door

Removing varnish from wood in general is not difficult. Removing it from a door is a completely different story. If you have a solid wood front door that has been exposed to the elements for a few years (2-5) you are probably looking at a door with a faded or clouded finish.

This article is not about stripping a door down to wood, reconditioning the wood, correcting surface damage. I am talking about your old worn out door.

First, you need to go to the local hardware store. Get yourself a few things while you are there.

• 220 Grit Sandpaper
• 400+ Grit Sandpaper
• Fine/Super Fine Steel Wool
• Tack Clothe
• Mineral Spirits
• Shop Clothes or Paper towels if you wish

I will say this now, stripping, re-staining, and refinishing a door of original or even refinished varnish/polyurethane down to the wood is a MAJOR job. I will post later if you are interested in this, or you can leave a comment below.

OK. Now that you have the tools, lets take stock of the door. Are you going to finish it on the hinges or are you going to take it off the hinges and do it right?

If you are going to do it right, you have to get a "shop door" to take the place of the door you are removing, it is going to take at a minimum 24 hours if you are just trying to update the outside finish.

I am going to give you the right way to do it, although the same applies if you leave it hanging on the hinges. The difference is you will have a poor final finish because gravity will pull the finish down and expose details in the sanding work you did. Laying a door flat allows the finish to level out.

Go buy high-quality POLYURETHANE or some SPAR-VARNISH; and after years in the business I am just going to remind you buy cheap, expect cheap. I know it is green to use water based products, but responsible usage of an oil based varnish finish actually is less impactful on the environment because you only have to refinish it but every five years versus every year. Think.

Lets get down to brass tacks, here are the steps in quick order:

Sand the door with a hand sander or block sander with the 220 grit sandpaper. MAKE SURE you sand WITH the grain. Wipe it down with mineral spirits and remove as much of the gunk as possible.

Change out the 220 grit for 400+ grit. Smooth sand your previous work and sand WITH the grain. Wipe it down with mineral spirits and remove as much of the gunk as possible.

Change out the 440+ grit for steel wool. Smooth sand your previous work and sand WITH the grain. Wipe it down with mineral spirits and remove as much of the gunk as possible.

Wipe down the door again with mineral spirits. Let it dry and take a tack cloth to pick up all the other gunk left on the door. Did I mention you need to be in a windless environment when you do this? No. Well make sure you are.

Coat number one must be applied with a high-quality brush. I do not care if you want to save ten buck on a cheap brush. Go ahead, you will be sorry because bristles will tear off into the paint and you will have a spaghetti finish.

Apply the varnish thick on the first coat. You are in a dust free, cool environment right? Let this dry overnight, heck, go 48 hours. If you apply it thick it needs time to cure.

When you are ready for the second coat, pull out the steel wool. This is critical. You had dust in your area? YEP. Lightly go over the finish and sand out all those dots. You will see. You do not have to remove them completely, but steel wool them out. Reapply another coat of varnish/poly. REPEAT one more time.

Final coat should "lay down" smooth. If you were Door Smart, you now have to rehang your door.

You just refinished a door.

Source: Door Smart

Please feel free to contact me regarding removing varnish from your leaded glass or french doors, I would be happy to give you tips and answer your questions.