Varnishing the Front Door

NoseyMike2010

I want to varnish my front door and have never done this before. It hasn't been done either for a while. What steps do I need to do .......... sand it, undercoat???

Thanks in advance!

paulyt33

A quick sanding , and then a good quality varnish , prob 2 coats , check on d tin , there are alot of good brands out there , BOL.

NoseyMike2010

When you sand ........ do you need to make sure all the old varnish has been removed? Do you need (or would it be recommended) to use some sort of varnish remover on the front of the door?

And after sanding ... do you need to put any undercoat before you varnish??

Boxoffrogs

You could sand it all the way back but that's not really necessary. I've recently varnished my own. Just lightly sanded away the loose stuff and gave it two coats of Ronseal Outdoor varnish in Clear Satin, looks superb now.

NoseyMike2010

What colour does it turn out? Or door is dark and I will probably keep it dark again.

Boxoffrogs

The varnish I used is just clear but it looks quite dark because of the wood itself. I always steer clear of darker varnish as they can be very messy.

NoseyMike2010

I'll give it a go ..... Thanks for the help. Hopefully I won't end up wrecking the door?

NoseyMike2010

Just to update ... the door is a Mahogany door.

Do I

1) Need to remove all the old varnish that has been previously used?

2) If I do remove all the old varnish would Ronseal Outdoor Varnish clear Satin. The colour is like Vhttp://www.globalleathers.com/interior/marrakesh/lg_dark_brown.jpg

Or what type of varnish would I need to get it around this couour. Would I need an under coat of some sort??

Boxoffrogs

NoseyMike2010 wrote: »

Just to update ... the door is a Mahogany door.

Do I

1) Need to remove all the old varnish that has been previously used?

2) If I do remove all the old varnish would Ronseal Outdoor Varnish clear Satin. The colour is like Vhttp://www.globalleathers.com/interior/marrakesh/lg_dark_brown.jpg

Or what type of varnish would I need to get it around this couour. Would I need an under coat of some sort??

NoseyMike, it's really down to your preference. I've never sanded a door back fully before and I've varnished some which have been really very weathered in the past and still got very good results.

I suppose it really depends on what has been applied to the door previously, if it was a very dark varnish or stain, you may need to sand it all the way back. If you do go all the way back to the bare wood, a primer would be advisable.

The reason I mainly stick to clear varnish is that it just reacts to the natural colour of the door i.e. on your mahogany door it will look quite dark, if you start messing about with stains or coloured varnish, your door will no longer look like natural mahogany, which to my mind is a real shame.

NoseyMike2010

If you don't remove all the varnish .... will the new varnish stick to the old or will it start to blister?

Boxoffrogs

That won't happen if the wood is prepped i.e. clean and dry and any loose stuff sanded away.

NoseyMike2010

1st Coat applied .... Guess now I just sit and wait!!! The wood have some scrapes on it bit hopefully the varnish will sort it out a bit!!!!

Boxoffrogs

Well, how does it look? Hope it worked well for you

NoseyMike2010

It has come out ok. There are a few streaks but they are not too bad. It was a really messy job though!