Door Project

[Doug T.]

Sorry Mickey,
There was a British comedy ca. 20 years ago called "Allo, Allo", it centered around a small cafe in Paris during WW2. The Resistance had a radio underneath an old ladies bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Whenever there was a message coming in, the knobs on her bed would flash, and she'd start yelling about the flashing knobs.
It was a great show, and is still shown here in the States.
Like I said, my brain follows some very twisted paths.

I got the hardware off, and started stripping the door. This is how far I got after 3 hours.
Not too bad, considering I got a late start. I'll get a lot more done tomorrow
Doug

[photax]

Doug,

A very interesting project ! Thanks for sharing it with us, possibly we can learn something from an expert

MIK

[daveh]

Yes, a window on the world of door restoration!

[PeterW]

Hi Doug,

Been following your door project with interest because we've got three large Victorian interior doors (the house was built in 1884) which have got to be stripped. Also three of the panels in them are badly split and will need replacing.

We've started, using a heat gun and scraper like the ones you show. It's been a little messy because underneath several coats of paint there is a Victorian "grained" finish in oil-bound scumble and varnish. It doesn't want to lift off cleanly like old paint,, it just goes into a sticky mess, but we're winning.

The big problem is that the panels are held in by ogee mouldings, and no way does the old grained varnish want to come off these.

Can I ask your opinion? would it be better to remove the mouldings and soak them in a paint stripper or would it be better, and easier, to replace them?

Our local DIY supermarket has some very similar reproduction mouldings in stock in 2 metre lengths which we could mitre and fit. I know they wouldn't be original, but we intend to paint the doors again, and I don't think anyone would notice.

What course would you take?

PeterW

[Doug T.]

Hi Peter!
Luckily, moulding shapes haven't changed over the years. If it's an ogee, you should be able to get an exact match.
I'd take them out, and replace them. I use heat for as far as I can get, and finish off with a chemical stripper.
It's a lot of work refinishing a door, but when it's done, you'll see it was well worth the effort.
I'd rather refinish furniture, but with our economy in the shape that it's in, I have to take whatever work comes my way.
After the doors, I've got a drum table in walnut that I'll be working on. Much easier and a lot more fun.
Doug

[PeterW]

Thanks, Doug,

I was geting round to that way of thinking myself. Nice to have it confirmed. We'll follow your advice and give it a go.

PeterW

[daveh]

What a wonderful thread this is!

Peter, our house is a 1930s semi with solid four-panel doors. Obtaining the door furniture tends to be a problem too. The latches on our doors are about 4¹/₂" from door edge to centre of handle. Most have help up well but a couple have had to be replaced. Most modern latches are 2¹/₂", or thereabouts, and they look wrong on the old doors. The latch shape is different too. With a bit of searching round we did find the correct throw of latch - and virtually the correct shape too thus minimising the amount of work to fit them.


Dave.

[Doug T.]

I've finished scraping the door and have applied a chemical stripper to remove anything I may have missed.
The stripper ( I use a gel, it's not quite so messy) has to set for at least 20 minutes before it's ready to be scraped off.
I came in for a break, and told my wife that I had to wait for the stripper. She may have taken that the wrong way
Doug

[Doug T.]

Hi All !
Got the doors all stripped, and am in the process of sanding them. I had to start with a belt sander and 40 grit paper, then 60 grit on the palm sander. I'll then switch to 80 on the belt sander again and finish with 150 grit.
I'll take a shot when I'm finished sanding & post it before I begin staining them.
The customer wants them stained "Early American Walnut". That's fine with me because it's darker than originally planned, and will look better.
Doug

[daveh]

Doug ,

I was wondering where you were up to with the door. I wasn't sure if you had lost interest in it or you were just dawdling.

Is there a late American Walnut too?

Dave.

[Doug T.]

Dave,
There is, but they aren't quite as nutty.
Doug

[daveh]

Perhaps we can have a peek an' see what we think.

[mickeyobe]

Doug,

This is a great thread. Having an expert tell exactly how he works is a rare treat.

Thanks,

Mickey

[Doug T.]

Hi!
Here's a photo of the color chart that I sent to my customer. They live about an hours' drive from here, so to get the color right, I sent them this with a SASE and told them to circle the color they wanted and send it back to me.

They had originally wanted Colonial Maple, but decided on the Walnut instead. I'm pleased because the maple has a reddish cast to it, and I don't think it would have looked as good on the pine.
Doug

[daveh]

Doug,

I read the first part of what you had written and looked at the colonial maple sample and thought to myself "too red". Then I finished off reading and saw that you had thought the same.

My brother made a coffee table for us. The wood was (I think) cherry, which was stained and matt varnished. All is fine till you put a hot cup of liquid on it. It almost welds itself on - and yet does not leave a mark when you finally prise it off.

I might take a photo of it and post it later.

Dave.