Door Restoration - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Guardi Pro · 06-05-2007, 06:20 PM

What's the best wat to approach re-staining doors? Have two doors to look at. Owner wants ext. sides only, and wants them re-stained. Both have 12 small window panes. One has scratches form dogs, thinking there to deep fix. Don't work with alot with stain, but trying to find out some info, what to do, what not to do... I'm under the impression to re-stain... the doors must be taken down to the raw, by sanding or chemical stripper, washed down with lacquer thinner or something equivalent then okay to stain and seal. Would this be the correct procedure? That's a lot of man hours, if client not willing to pay for that amount of time, could you steel wool and give a coat of spar varnish?

What do you guys look for, or test for when looking at stain work? Any thoughts would be grateful!

Brushslingers · 06-05-2007, 08:32 PM

I posted a responce to a simular thread not too long ago... ya i'd take it down to bare and restain, if they can't afford it.. oh well.

plazaman · 06-05-2007, 09:05 PM

I could soda blast the 2 doors for $100, but im in NY

Find a soda blasting contractor near by, they should be able to remove the stain from the door without any damage to glass.

KellyPainting · 06-06-2007, 07:45 PM

What type of soda do they use exactly?... diet soda?

KellyPainting · 06-06-2007, 07:46 PM

You probably got to shake the can a bunch before you open it huh?
Then is it just pointed at the door?

plazaman · 06-06-2007, 09:51 PM

??

Not sure what you meant, but i was referring to Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate

pstorey · 06-07-2007, 07:28 AM

Plazaman, do you know anyone in the SF Bay area who offers this service?
I hear it's kinda messy.

KellyPainting · 06-07-2007, 09:52 PM

Just kiddin bro...

Dave Mac · 06-08-2007, 05:46 AM

stripping and restaining is a long process and requires several trips usually, i really dont think their worth messing with, imo

KellyPainting · 06-08-2007, 07:46 AM

I agree, sometimes it's cheaper to buy a new door and start from scratch.

aaron61 · 06-08-2007, 07:54 PM

We specialize in door refinishing.Complete strip restain and 2 coats of urethane. Exterior side only, and a few extras. 2 guys 6 hours

Frankawitz · 06-09-2007, 05:38 AM

We use to have a company here that had a dip tank you could take doors or windows to them and they would strip them down and they would remove paint or stain. what they used in their tank was Red Lye I use it to clean paint and caulk off my painters pants. This company would charge $125.00 per door.

Terrence · 06-10-2007, 01:50 AM

I don't know of a good fix for dog-claw marks in the wood, and nobody addressed this issue. Sanding the claw marks away would take you down past the arris of the door edges, and probably look uneven and bad.

>plazaman
>??
>Not sure what you meant, but i was referring to >Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate

Dood, that was humor. You should try it. Sometimes it makes you laugh.

++++++++++

>Dave Mac
>stripping and restaining is a long process and requires several trips >usually, i really dont think their worth messing with, imo

>Kelly
>I agree, sometimes it's cheaper to buy a new door and start from >scratch.

I DONT agree. I say tell them what the labor is like for the project, and sell them the job.

Frankawitz
Red Lye?

You mean like Sodium Hydroxide?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide

I think you mean Red Devil Lye... same as Drano or Liquid Plumber. AND that would work wonders!! Sometimes it's used to pressure wash with also.

plazaman · 06-10-2007, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terrence

I don't know of a good fix for dog-claw marks in the wood, and nobody addressed this issue. Sanding the claw marks away would take you down past the arris of the door edges, and probably look uneven and bad.

>plazaman
>??
>Not sure what you meant, but i was referring to >Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate

Dood, that was humor. You should try it. Sometimes it makes you laugh.

++++++++++

>Dave Mac
>stripping and restaining is a long process and requires several trips >usually, i really dont think their worth messing with, imo

>Kelly
>I agree, sometimes it's cheaper to buy a new door and start from >scratch.

I DONT agree. I say tell them what the labor is like for the project, and sell them the job.

Frankawitz
Red Lye?

You mean like Sodium Hydroxide?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide

I think you mean Red Devil Lye... same as Drano or Liquid Plumber. AND that would work wonders!! Sometimes it's used to pressure wash with also.

lol, i didnt take it personally, i seriously thought he was talking about something else.

Joewho · 06-10-2007, 03:34 PM

Sounds like a job to pass on.

My only method would be to take the door off. That means there has to be a temp. replacement.

I've always stripped by hand, out of an oil tank cut in half. This is because I've always done old peices and dipping may dissolve the old hide glue. At any rate, the oak door stripped, would then be patched with a liquid wood type product, patching any type of furniture or doors requires at least 3 applications and sanding. This makes the area completely indetectable after being finished.

Then comes the stain, then the finish.

Would it be cost effiecient to do this? Solid oak door is pretty expensive, and stripping one side would make it more time consuming.

Yup, I'd pass on this one.