Hello,
the original varnish (water based) finish of the back door to the garden in my house, has begun to peel and in some places he door also has light scratches and cracks. The original finish was spray painted and had also a stain.
What type of varnish (water based?) could you recommend, in consideration that the door is exposed, and what I should do to fix the cracks/scratches and the small patches in colour that will be visible when I strip the door.
thanks,
M
You don't say what the door is made of. It sounds like a ply composite. Where is the stain.
You are not going to get a pristine finish with a transparent or semitransparent finish. Whatever you do you have to strip all the varnish off not just the bad bits.
Or you will have to paint it. If you do that you can just scrape the worst bits off and sand down the unlevel bits then after priming, use filler and then oil based paints.
I'd do the latter or replace it. How much is it to replace? The reason I would replace it would depend a lot on the security of the present one. And because I think it would be a lot of fuss for the sake of a 40 or 50 quid new one.
Of course my circumstances are a lot different to most on here. To pays your money and you takes your choices.
the best option for a durable finish on your door (or any exterior wood) is to strip it back to bare wood (sharp scaper sandpaper and a bit of elbow grease) and apply a half decent yacht varnish. thin the first coat 50:50 with turps, then the next coat with 25% turps, then apply two or three coats thinned 5-10%. you'll have to de-nib in between each coat with fine sand paper ,240 or 320 grit. With a decent thickness of varnish your door will look great for years, and if the finish dulls rub down with 240 grit and apply another two coats, much better than the plasticy finish you get with ronseal or sikkens
Question - I haven't used yacht varnish before, does it not tend to peel? And if it does, does the door have to be stripped down completely or it can be varnished on? Can the yacht varnish be mixed with a wood stain, or should I stain the wood directly?
sorry - cant do. Double Back door made to measure from chestnut timber
- costed me a fortune, can't replace it....I also think it'd be a great shame if I were to paint over it.......
Not if applied correctly over a clean surface - anything peels if the prep. isn't OK.
Clean it, perhaps key the surface if need be, but it should not be necessary.
Stain door. Let stain dry completely. Varnish.
Can't do *what*?
Strip it and apply linseed oil, then.
never use tinted varnish, because when it comes off you get a patchy appearance, and the only way to recoat is to strip every last little bit off, masses of extra work. A truly dumb economy.
NT
Perhaps if he had just happened to mention the door was a decent one and a one off, we might have had a running start at the answer.
But the world is full of fools, so nothing new there.
thanks for your replies, but don't you think you got a bit carried away? At least twice if I may say so.....
1) YOU recommended to replace the entire door in the first place - a bit extreme maybe??2) then called me a fool for failing to mention it was a good quality custom made door in my first post (I did it in my reply by the way...) - a bit too extreme again...were you having a bad day when you wrote the post??HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.