varnishing front door tips

novarapid

the front door in our house need new varnish, some of it has come off and the bare wood is showing with the result that it is now discoloured.

Any tips on how to varnish it?

pics attached
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52313656@N08/5051510056/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52313656@N08/5051511138/

Thanks

Buford T Justice

Give the whole thing a proper good sanding with plenty of elbow grease and re-varnish, or stain the door, whatever your preference is.

novarapid

i'm thinking a stain, will give better protection, how much of a sanding will i give it, will i go harder where the bare wood is exposed?
thanks.

slimjimmc

You need to sand enough to remove all loose varnish and provide a good key for the new coat. Sand along the wood grain not across it where possible to get the best finish. You could use a fine wire wool instead of sand paper.

I suggest you use a stain unless you strip the entire door and frame back to bare wood. A few coats will give a consistent colour whereas with varnish the colour difference between the bare area and the old varnish will be more obvious. Wipe the wood down with white spirits to get a good grease-free base before varnishing/staining.

CarrickMcJoe

Only way to do a proper job is to strip the door with nitromors, sand it off, clean down with white spirit and apply a coat of teak stain, then finish it with 2 coats Sadolin Extra or 2 Coats Yacht varnish depending on your preferance, (satin or gloss finish).

If you stain it now as it is there will be dark and light patches.

Buford T Justice

CarrickMcJoe wrote: »

Only way to do a proper job is to strip the door with nitromors, sand it off, clean down with white spirit and apply a coat of teak stain, then finish it with 2 coats Sadolin Extra or 2 Coats Yacht varnish depending on your preferance, (satin or gloss finish).

If you stain it now as it is there will be dark and light patches.

You could use a heat gun either to remove the existing paint. Not as messy or nasty as the nitromors

handydandy

If you don't want to strip the whole door, some light sanding followed by a couple of coats of a cedar stain will make it a whole lot better looking.

mad m

Fingers McGee wrote: »

You could use a heat gun either to remove the existing paint. Not as messy or nasty as the nitromors

Under no circumstances use a heatgun, you will scorch the wood.

Buford T Justice

mad m wrote: »

Under no circumstances use a heatgun, you will scorch the wood.

If you don't know how to use it it will yeah