Door Project

[Doug T.]

Hi !
I've gotten to the point where I can start staining. I did one side, and what a mess
In spite of pre-treating the door, the moldings are not taking the stain evenly, they look blotchy and horrible.
After much crying, gnashing of teeth, and prayer, I hit on the solution.
I've got some walnut colored spray paint with which I'll spray the moldings a uniform brown, re-sand to get any overspray off, THEN apply the stain to the rest.
That should do the trick.
I might even have to add some stain to the finish when I spray it on. That will give a much more even color.
I don't know why I do these things to myself
Doug

[mickeyobe]

Feb 18, 2011 16:47:45 GMT -5 Doug T. said:

Hi !
I've gotten to the point where I can start staining. I did one side, and what a mess
In spite of pre-treating the door, the moldings are not taking the stain evenly, they look blotchy and horrible.
After much crying, gnashing of teeth, and prayer, I hit on the solution.
I don't know why I do these things to myself
Doug

I think meeting those unexpected challenges and the satisfaction of overcoming them is a large part of what makes any job exciting and banishes boredom.

Mickey

[daveh]

Doug,

We normally use Sadolin stains. They have a body to them and do cover up some of the problems associated with the wood. You do lose a little bit of the underlying grain etcetera, but do maintain much of it. Our doors are 1930s. We did try with ordinary stain when we first did one (which was looked quite blotchy when done) but went to Sadolin and have stuck with it ever since. I'd have to look at the tin again to find which specific type of their stain we are using.

Dave

[Doug T.]

Thanks for the encouraging words
Dave,
Minwax, the brand of stain I used, also makes the same color in an "all in one" finish.
I'll get a small tin of that to blend the panels in with the rest of the door. It's the panels that look blotchy, the rest turned out ok.
Please let me know what type of stain that you used. The one I used has an oil base.
I think from now on, I'll stick to furniture. I've got an old sheet music cabinet that I want to redo as a camera showcase. It's in pieces now, but will look great when I finish it.
Doug

[Doug T.]

The doors are being given their final finish. I'll post a photo when they're done.
If I ever mention refinishing a set of doors for anyone again, please shoot me!
Maybe with the Konica machine gun camera!!
Doug

[daveh]

Doug,

make sure you have a polarising filter attached - we don't want the results to dazzle us too much.

Dave.

[Doug T.]

Hi!
After weeks of snow, sub-zero temps, and having to start all over again, the doors are almost done ;D.
The final layer was a milk paint, which is almost impossible to competely remove. I informed the owner of this, and was told that there was no rush, to take as much time as I need.
That's a way of saying they didn't have the funds on hand.
Anyway, the paint residue left some light spots and wouldn't take any stain.
They don't make an all in one color finish to match the stain she chose, so I ended up mixing a color to match as best I could.
This caused the panels to come out a shade darker. I like the slight contrast however, and am pleased with the results. I know that she'll be pleased as well.
I'm doing a clear coat on them (again :, which takes a while to cure, but I'll be able to post some photos in a couple of days.
I was also able to convince her to go with a satin finish instead of a semi-gloss, it looks a lot nicer.

Doug