Refinishing Mahogany Door

ChuckEA

Have a customer with a a weathered front door and sidelights that need to be refinished. Will need to do all the work in place since I don't have another door to install if I took his to my shop. The door is mahogany but the sidelights appear to have some fiberglass/plastic trim around the glass. Also, the weathering of the door is not uniform; it gets worse from top to bottom because of the way the sun shines on it. What would you guys recommend using to be able remove the old finish and also what to use to give good protection against moisture and UV. Also, do you advise restaining? TIA

Teetorbilt

Correct me if I'm wrong!

The door is from SA or Indo. It has two coats of thinned out 'varnish' that's 'alligatored' or peeling. The bottom 1/3rd is suffering from UV, water damage or both. How am I doing so far?

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You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

DelW

Hmm, This problem sounds familiar. I've got a customer with the exact same problem, sounds like a quality control issue.

Teetorbilt

There isn't any quality control on cheap doors and nobody is going to like the options for fixing them.

I've been dealing with them for 35 yrs. They look great on install!!!!!

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

ChuckEA

Teetor, that's a pretty accurate description. Not sure where the door is from but the house is about 6-7 years old and my guess is that it has never been recoated since it was installed. What's the fix?

eastend

we will usually chemically strip (unless the existing finish is paper thin, then you might try sanding) Once the wood is free of old finish, try using oxalic acid to get rid of the weathering, and return the natural mahogany color. If you need to stain to a particular color use a pigmented stain (more lightfast than dyestain).

What to coat it with is the most important question. You could try a good quality spar varnish (with UV blockers). You should put on 5-8 coats for decent protection. You could try clear paint base ( what they mix the color into) -that offers protection, but doesn't enhance the wood that much. Or you might try Cetol (Sikkens), which to me seems more like a deck or fence finish. Or you could try something like Bristol Finish which is a two-component acrylic urethane. Much more durability and uv protection, but much more expensive too.

For the foam/plastic bits, the best you can do ,is try to blend them in using a gel stain, or heavy pigment stain.

www.RefinishNY.com

Teetorbilt

I'd hand scrape. This might be tricky for a novice on a soft wood so you might be better off with chemistry and 3M pads.

I use only marine products for exterior varnish. Bleaching and staining will depend on the condition of the door. Don't forget to do all of the edges and double up on the bottom a few times, this is where the trouble usually starts.

Depending on the exposure, the door should be recoated about every 3 yrs. Just a quick scuff and coat, don't forget to sell this.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein