My front door needs a total refinish as I have let it slide too long without regular maintainance.
My questions:
1. Can/should one use a shellac coat on an exterior door as a first coat?
2. The door is some sort of softwood, varnished with a dark varnish. It is very elaborately patterned and faces South. I remember there was some filler between the planks and some of it is now cracking again. In the past I have used PVA based white filler (stains a treat). Should I stay with PVA or is there a better solution?
3. The door is about 40 years old, I’ve had the house for 20 yrs. It has always been varnished with oil-based varnish. I would happily use Epifanes but it only seems to be available as a clear finish.
Is this a viable system:
1. (Maybe) a shellac seal coat.
2. 2 or more coats of Sadolin Quick Drying stain. This is an exterior, waterborne, stain,
3. (If I am advised to) Shellac.
3. Multiple coats of Epifanes.
The objective is a beautiful finish which will only need a quick light sanding and another coat of varnish for the next few (2 or 3?) years.
Replies
Shellac doesn't do much for you in this context, since I don't see where in your schedule you need a barrier coat. As I see it, you are stripping the old finish. Fixing filler between planks? Then restaining to a dark color, and applying a top coat of a good varnish.
I don't understand the filler. Can you describe the planks and construction of the door. What is the wood from which it is constructed.
You should need no more than 2 coats of stain, and the second coat would be only to ensure even coverage. Trying to make stain darker by applying more coats, or by not thoroughly wiping off excess can lead to a weak finish, since the binder that holds the pigment to the wood is relatively weak and not made to hold up as a film on the surface. Waterborne stains are a lot harder to use when applying by hand because they dry too quickly to apply and then wipe off on surfaces larger than a box. Oil based stain is generally a lot easier. For exterior use a stain will all pigment won't fade while the dye component in many stains will fade in fairly short order.
By the way dark colors don't hold up as well in the sun as it contributes to heating of the surface that ages finishes prematurely.
Steve,Thanks for the response. The wood is "Red Deal" AKA Scots Pine, or something quite similar. Not terribly pretty but very suited to outdoor work, at least in this climate.The gap between boards can be seen in the pics (I hope). There is one in each leaf, towards the top. I had forgotten about the crack!The actual colour is Mahogany but it did not reproduce very well in the photo.
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