finishing a north-facing garage door

[Uno]

I've really learned a lot about wood finishes lately, in particular in restoring them. I thank all for comments. Sometimes I don't show the proper respect of following up until an issue is resolved, but I'll ask for your forgiveness in that I've never been in a usenet forum with this much traffic, and my newsreading is sporadic due to having work (Yay!).

I have a new client who can afford my labor and whatever we need at lowe's which is nearby.

They have a few different brands, but the one that looked deepest in terms of selection is Olympic?

q1) Does anyone have any experience (good, bad, indifferent) with this brand?

So I'm gonna need to clean up the finish that is brittle and wood that is slightly rotting, I was thinking of just starting with pine sol and a bucket of warm warming and scrubbing it with a plastic-bristled brush.

Then another scrubbing with tsp and bleach. The bottom course is fairly dark. I wish there were a way to do a dutchman without it being evident in the finishes....

anyways, bla bla bla

What I really want to solicit is how others might finish it off. One has many possibilities here. Color will match existing, so that's not an issue.

The one that I was thinking would work best is to give the wood a regular old stain and then use a sealer.

Is there anything wrong with that plan?

[ransley]

Maybe, who can say without knowing what is on it, photos help.

[Uno]

I'll have a pic up soon. I brought my camera but forgot to use it.

(Fire your weapon, Othic!)

[HeyBub]

Consider a gel stain. If you have a slice of toast, a gel stain is more like peanut butter than regular butter in that it coats the toast rather than sinking in.

On wood, a gel stain provides an additional layer of protection against the elements.

[hrhofmann]

What/How is the door made of???????

[Uno]

I'm gonna guess that it's made of cedar. It's a popular and good choice here in New Mexico, and it wears just fine, as long as people stay up with maintenance.

This one has slipped a little bit in spots. I have more images and details, but I want to paint with broad strokes first, as it were.

The client's name is Dan Ortiz, a local realtor. So I'm hoping that a person with his name on billboards will like my work and use me for other things, as realtors have people they recommend.

He's gone for the weekend, so I've got some time to sit and think about what I'm gonna do before I do it.

Let me ask this question. Does someone look at this photograph and see a need to use a stripper?

[Uno]

So you

1) prepare the surface 2) Rub in the gel stain 3) get paid?