That cypress front door has been in the family for fifty years.  It has lived from one generation to another.  It has loyally barred away intruders and harsh weathers.  But the elements and time has not been that kind to its exterior.  Varnish flakes clung to its woods, while everything else on its surface has turned rough and shriveled.  Ah yes, your faithful cypress entry door has suffered the assaults of life, and it might be time to put it to rest –in the trash.

Is this really how you’d want your historic front door to end up?  Are you willing to replace its genuineness with a mass-produced fiberglass and metal surrogate?  If you’ve answered “no” to these questions, then be ready to save your precious door, give it a face-lift, and bring back its verve.  This can be done through refinishing your old door. 

“Old finish off, new finish on”
If the exterior door incurred damage on its finish, yet mostly intact, you will need chemical strippers instead of sandpaper to remove its old finish.  You can use methylene chloride for stripping off the old finish, but be sure to protect your hands and lungs by using gloves and mask.

Pour out some puddle of the chemical, brush the door with two strokes and leave it.  Brushing the door many times with the chemical will only interfere with its capacity to strip.  After about three minutes or more, the chemical would have dissolved and it will be easier to scrape it off.  Remove the gunk from profiles and corners using stripping pads or a steel wool.

After you remove the sludge, neutralize the stripper by scrubbing the door with the use of a pad that has been dipped in “denatured alcohol”.  Wipe off the residue using a rag before it dries up.  Continue wiping the whole surface over and over using clean “alcohol-soaked” rags, till one of the rags stays clean when wiped.  Give it an hour or two for drying time, and then sand it using 120-grit paper.  After this has been done, the door is now ready for a new finish.

What type of finish to use
For practicality, nothing beats the use of paint.  Two coats of an enamel paint applied over a primer, provides wood doors with the most excellent and long-lasting protection against abrasion, sun, and weather –approximately eight to ten years of protection.  However, a lovely door with clear finish is more attractive, as long as it’s maintained with great devotion.

A good choice for an exterior wood door clear finish is spar varnish.  This is due to the finish’s elastic toughness and capacity to stand up against the sun.  Nevertheless, there is lots of different and effectual formulations available in the market today.  Make sure you find one that’s specifically formulated for exterior use, as well as loaded with “UV” protection.  Lastly, follow the product’s application instructions, as well as maintenance regimen to keep your door looking great.

Maintaining your refinished door
Clear finish usually requires a thorough sanding every couple of years to get rid of its sun-damaged and weather-damaged surface, followed by some new surface coats. Ignore this maintenance, and the door’s base coat will sooner or later lose its grip, and leave you with a peeling and graying mess.  When this happens, only another complete refinishing becomes the option.  Thus, maintain your exterior doors well, and take away the hassles of another “too soon” refinishing.

Giving your old doors a new verve and a new look is not only a great way of improving your home’s total appearance and functionality, but is also an excellent way of saving a most-loved door whose value remains to go beyond monetary worth.  Keep old doors alive and serving you for more generations to come through a good door makeover.