Door Number 4

The fourth home improvement project involving a door. This one is my backdoor from kitchen to the back yard.

This is another project that has been long in the making. I bought the replacement door many years ago. I wanted a panel door that matched the style of the house and a larger window to let more natural light in the kitchen.

The photo to the left is the final stained and polyurethaned door from the kitchen side.

The staining came out kind of blotchy and removing all the old layers of paint kind of beat up the door. But overall I am very happy with the end results.

Here is the previous door with the hardware removed. This door would not have been original to the house.

The replacement door with some of the layers of paint removed. The door was painted on both sides. Also it was hinged to open in a different direction than needed.

I succeeded in switching the hinges and the door knob mechanism.

You can see a hint of all the paint layers. There was a pink, a green, a white and a beige paint. I used the heat gun technique to remove most of the paint.

Third door project

This one I'm a bit embarrassed by. The door from the kitchen to the basement was stripped in 2001 during the kitchen renovation. I never stained and polyurethaned it! Well now it is. The photo is after on the left and before on the right.

This was a comparatively quick project. The door was so dried out though that I had to do some repair to the veneer. I didn't want the door all that dark so I thought one coat of the stain I used on the front would do. It is actually darker with just one coat but it is fine and matches the other doors in the house.

The basement side of the door was never completely stripped. I liked the "shabby-sheek" effect actually so just sealed this side with a coat of polyurethane.

Finished and hung.

Basement side with spice racks on. 

Front Door Project Completed

Before (L) Stripped (C) Completed (R)

I knew this project would be challenging. I just didn't know how challenging. I am super happy with the end result.

The photo to the left shows the door in its before state. Full of dirt and grime and very dark with seriously messed up lacquer.

The middle shows the door completely stripped. I believe it is oak.

The right pane is the stained, polyurethaned and cleaned finished door.

The stained, polyurethaned and cleaned door.

Here's the completed door in a photo on its own.

I decided on a mahogany stain. I wanted it somewhat red but not as dark as the trim inside the house. I used a rag to do two passes with the stain.

The inside side of the door is definitely a lot darker but it is in good condition and don't feel I need to tackle that.

There are three coats of outdoor polyurethane. It was rainy during the sealing steps so it tool longer to get all three coats on.

Detail of the window panes

The biggest challenge were the 12 panes of glass. There is an inset or gap around each pane of glass. I still don't know how this is achieved. Cleaning up that gap took the most effort and time. I ended up using skewers (basically toothpicks), a toothbrush and several passes to get it out. It isn't perfect but it is definitely much better.

A similar process had to occur when applying the stain and then the polyurethane. I didn't want an accumulation of product or I would be back where it all started.

The windows got a few scratches from my cleanup and I cracked one with the heat gun. I hope to polish them out...the crack is gonna have to be what it is.