staining a door and then polyurethaning it ?

[observer]

I have a red mahogany stained front door with a coat of polyurethane on it. Recently I had to re-stain it and put another coat of polyurethane on it but after the polyurethane dried I realized that the stain ran in a couple of spots. What is best to deal with those runs, steel wool or sand paper 220 grit?

Also if I don't like a spot where I stained and poly'd over that, what is the best way to prep that spot to stain it again and reapply the polyurethane over that ? One last question, based on your experience, what should the minimum temperature be for doing this stain/polyurethane outside (this might be on the can but just want to hear it from experience)?

[hobbes]

Not an expert on the stain thing. But I would sand down to the bit where you have your error and also some of the surrounding area. Then restain that larger area. The tricky thing is to try and get the stain to match up O.K. with the old existing stain. It may be better to leave as is. I know paint is sometimes difficult to match up exactly.

As for temperature, I use Minwax ClearShield, for that it works only if the temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit and up. So here just above New York city, this means April May time frame-ish.

Best, Mike.

[Hopkins]

The stain ran? Or the urethane?

If the stain, strip the urethane and read the back label on the stain can. Use whatever is recommended for cleaning. You may have to reapply stain if too much is pulled off.

If it's the urethane, sand the runs and then sand the entire door. Recoat with urethane.

Have you thought about stripping the whole door, fixing the stain spots, and then applying another whole coat of stain?

You have to strip the urethane to fix bad stain spots, preferably a larger area than the bad spot of stain. When you restain the spots, be cautious and leave the stain on for just a short time before wiping the excess. You can always re-apply if it's too light.

You may also want to invest in a good worklight. I don't envy you -- fixing stain after topcoat is applied takes a fine touch. And you'll want to feather the edges of the urethane before applying another coat.