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Posted by Steve on May 3, 2008, 3:20 pm
> Mikepier wrote:
>> Here are some pics. Unfortunately these were taken after dark
>> tonite, but you can get an idea.
>> http://picasaweb.google.com/mikerock92/FrontDoor
>
> They aren't closeup enough to tell for absolutely sure, but from the
> grain characteristics I see, it's highly unlikely imo that the door
> is oak. Looks more like a stained pine or fir; outside possibility
> it's another hardwood but it doesn't look at all like oak.
>
> Unless it's solid (that is, not veneer over core) I'd not take it to
> a dunk-type commercial stripper--their process is liable to lift the
> veneer.
>
> As someone else says, varnish stripping isn't that bad compared to
> paint--there are quite a number that are good for the job.
>
> Overall, this doesn't really look like that tough a job other than
> time fiddling around the panels, etc.; it isn't _that_ weathered from
> the picture I looked at.
Based on what I can see in your photos, since you didn't post any close-
up photos, I can't say much about the current condition of the finish. I
wouldn't bother stripping the door. I would give it a good sanding, then
put on a couple of coats of spar varnish.
Yeah, the sanding's a bitch of a job, but you won't have to do it again
for another three or four years. There's no such thing as a permanent
finish for outdoors. Ultraviolet light destroys every finish we've been
able to invent. Since your door is behind a storm door, the heat in
there makes the finish degrade even faster. My church has 10-foot tall
solid oak doors that face west. The best I've been able to suggest to
them is to replace the polyurethane with some kind of penetrating oil
finish, then put a new coat on every six months.
--
Steve B.
New Life Home Improvement
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