Mikepier wrote:

Well, I finally got to strip most of the front door today. I think it
looks more like mahogany than oak.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mikerock...ppingFrontDoor

The Rock Miracle stuff did not work as I thought it would. It took a
lot of effort to take off the varnish and stain. I sanded down the
flat parts, but the moldings in the panels are almost impossible to
take off anything. I was thinking maybe paint the inside of the panels
and stain the rest of the door. Any suggestions how to take out the
rest of the varnish? thanks


I have tried other strippers a couple of times, with poor results, so I
always go back to
methylene chloride semi-paste, Strypeeze if I can find it. MC is nasty
stuff. Some of them have instructions
to use water wash, but I use mineral spirits. I have found no finish
that will not come off
with it. It also eats plastic, so take care. The door doesn't look
quite like oak, but the
pix not close enough for me to tell. Pretty. Now that you have sanded
the frame, stripping
the panels and molding may make them turn out a tad darker than the
frame if you stain. Strypeeze, a toothbrush,
lots of steel wool and mineral spirits should work. I went to using
little plastic sandwich
bags for the steel-wool/stripper scrubbing part because stripper eats
gloves so quickly.
Stripper burns like fire on skin, but I have never had it leave a mark
or irritation. I would
be inclined to paint the whole door, especially if it gets strong sun.
Personal choice. You
would still have to strip the remaining wood or do a lot of tedious sanding.

I'm not familiar with Rock Miracle, so I looked at their website. Which
product did you
use?