What Would You Use To Properly Strip

Dorman Painting

a fiberglass door. This door has been stained with a wood stain. I told the homeowner that a gel stain was needed on fiberglass. The homeowner wants me to strip it down and restain it. Would MEK or Acetone work? This is a oil based stain on there now that was meant for wood surfaces. I'm going to give it two coats of Poly over the gel stain once finished. Could I potentially go over the wood stain with the gel stain? The door right now doesn't look bad, it isn't the color that she wants. They didn't even know the wrong stain was used until I pointed it out. But it was her idea to strip it and I said I could do it so what's the best method here?

Brushslingers

There is no way possible to strip a fiberglass door... can't sand it, can't use strippers or it will melt the door. Your best possible solution short of getting new doors is to get a non abrasive cleaner... can't use spirits, and rub the doors down, then go over it with a gelstain and cross your fingers. For you, I would say get some witch hazel and rub the ell out of it.

I have once... stripped a fiberglass with regular stripper successfully... but if you haven't done it before I wouldn't suggest it, you have to move FAST with the water and etc. Good luck.

I would however, just gel over it and go the luck route.

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Benn

fez-head

I have seen fiberglass doors stripped at a clients home using HD80 (sodium hydroxide based) deck stripper from Extreme Solutions.

Brushslingers

Hmmm, never looked at that... I suppose we need someone willing to toss some HD80 on some fiberglass and see if it eats it or not. Could be worth a try though...

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Benn

paint slinger

Is medium blasting an option?

Teetorbilt

There are a whole bunch of strippers for this app. Not only will they not damage the fiberglass but they are biodegradeable and approved by all of the big anagrams. Kwick Kleen is one http://kwickkleen.com/

Somewhere I have a file on all of the different ones that I tried for a boat bottom stripping business, I was too far ahead of my time.

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Brushslingers

Really? Sweet... i'll have to take a look at some then!

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Benn

Tberg

I have been staing fiberglass doors for over three now, and have a client that needs one refinished. I went to look at the door, and to my surprise the stain is bubbling up and chipping. I did NOT stain this door, and don't know what processes the guy used in the first place. I am assuming he didn't prep it properly and/or clear coat it. It is not in direct sunlight, and is located under a very deep overhang.

She has only had the door for three years, and since I have only been staining doors for three years I am not sure how these doors normally wear. Is this normal for a door to be refinished after three years? This seems pretty high mantainance to me.

I have agreed to do this job for her, and stressed to her the fact that I didn't know what the outcome would be. She is willing to go ahead with it in hopes that she won't have to purchase a new door. The house is in a wealthy neighbourhood and there are many many other doors doing the same thing (the same guy stained them all). I would DEF like to secure the business for all the other doors as well!!!

What are your recommendations? I have used a paint thinner to remove stain before, but this was while the stain was somewhat wet. Will this take a long time to rub the existing stain off? I want the job to go quickly, so that I can move onto the others, but don't want to use a method that requires skills that I haven't honed yet.

Also, why did the bubbling occur in the first place?

Thank you, T

CarlW

"I told the homeowner that a gel stain was needed on fiberglass."

Why do you believe this? I have been using wiping stains for fiberglass doors forever.

CarlW

In direct sunlight, I would recommend two coats of some finish each year. Under an overhang with no direct sun, the door will require much less maintenance...perhaps it can last for 8 years or more. You should always do at least 3 coats of finish initially. Yes, it will take a while to rub stain off with paint thinner....lacquer thinner would be quicker. I don't know why the bubbling occured....probably because the stain was not protected with something. I had the same type of deal in one of my neighborhoods....some painter went around and finished a bunch of doors with shellac and they all peeled in under two years. I would do the first one and see how you like it...restoring these doors sometimes can be a pain and the results are not always perfect.

Tberg

Thanks Carl. Just as I suspected. I'm sure it doesn't have a top coat at all! There is absolutely no sheen to it. I always apply three coats of Diamond Finish Exterior Semi Gloss (or satin) Laquer (from the spray can). It's the easiest to apply and doesn't run. I have not had any phone calls back from unhappy customers in over three years, so I think it's a great product!

JHC

Gel will turn out way better than a penetrating oil on a fiberglass door. It is harder to work with thou, and you may need to tape it off and work in sections.

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