gregz wrote:

What size is that door ?? I had similar setup with single pane, and 36
inch solid wood door. I installed insulated window pane, because it was
too cold. Wood was just painted, not stained, except I redid the rear of
the door back to stain.

The opening is about 7 feet by 7 feet. The glass is two pane thick.
The door itself is only 3 and one half feet wide and feels like solid.
I do not think I want to paint.
I want to stain to same color and then protect best.

In this picture taken right now you can see the two different stain color
at the bottom of the door at the "sill" on bottom.
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/aekp4

Tony Palermo wrote:
gregz wrote:

What size is that door ?? I had similar setup with single
pane, and
36 inch solid wood door. I installed insulated window
pane, because
it was too cold. Wood was just painted, not stained,
except I redid
the rear of the door back to stain.

The opening is about 7 feet by 7 feet. The glass is two
pane thick.
The door itself is only 3 and one half feet wide and feels
like solid.
I do not think I want to paint.
I want to stain to same color and then protect best.

In this picture taken right now you can see the two
different stain
color at the bottom of the door at the "sill" on bottom.
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/aekp4

I'd look here
http://www.sikkens.us/en/Products/Av...s/default.aspx

Sikkens make some very good products, but being all wood,
there is nothing that will last forever.
Prepping it properly then using Sikkens and doing regular
touch up and maintenance, it would hold up a long time

A metal storm door! - sunlight will never go through.

Martin

On 12/6/2012 7:27 PM, Tony Palermo wrote:
gregz wrote:

What size is that door ?? I had similar setup with single pane, and 36
inch solid wood door. I installed insulated window pane, because it was
too cold. Wood was just painted, not stained, except I redid the rear of
the door back to stain.

The opening is about 7 feet by 7 feet. The glass is two pane thick.
The door itself is only 3 and one half feet wide and feels like solid.
I do not think I want to paint.
I want to stain to same color and then protect best.

In this picture taken right now you can see the two different stain color
at the bottom of the door at the "sill" on bottom.
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/aekp4

On 12/7/2012 11:49 PM, Martin Eastburn wrote:
A metal storm door! - sunlight will never go through.

I think the problem is that the finish deteriorates because of the sun
exposure, not the sun light going through.

A steel door would have to be painted, you could paint a wooden door
with basically the same results as the steel door.

Clear finishes let sun light through, even those that block UV, and they
break down much more quickly than an opaque paint.

On 12/7/2012 11:49 PM, Martin Eastburn wrote:
A metal storm door! - sunlight will never go through.

Martin

On 12/6/2012 7:27 PM, Tony Palermo wrote:
gregz wrote:

What size is that door ?? I had similar setup with single pane, and 36
inch solid wood door. I installed insulated window pane, because it was
too cold. Wood was just painted, not stained, except I redid the rear of
the door back to stain.

The opening is about 7 feet by 7 feet. The glass is two pane thick.
The door itself is only 3 and one half feet wide and feels like solid.
I do not think I want to paint.
I want to stain to same color and then protect best.

In this picture taken right now you can see the two different stain color
at the bottom of the door at the "sill" on bottom.
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/aekp4

Personally, I think Tony may not be describing the scenario accurately. I think he is using terms not quite appropriately, as we understand them, though his intentions are obviously well meant.

That door, the sidelights and the sill are in bad shape, finish-wise. Someone mentioned mahogany. I can't tell if the wood is mahogany, Spanish Cedar or what.

It appears to me some finish is still on the woodwork, giving those areas the wet look, and Tony may be assuming these areas are stained areas. It appears the finish has been removed from some areas (no matter what removed it, if so) and these areas may appear, to Tony, to be raw wood or a different "stain" color. Other areas seem to have been silvered/grayed, from sun exposure.

If this above assessment is correct, then Tony needs to strip, sand, scrape or whatever it takes, to completely clean the doorway of all previous finish (and stain, if applicable), so that he has a completely raw wood doorway.. Once clean, he can wipe down some or all areas with mineral spirits to see how dark the woodwork will be, when a clear coat is applied, i.e., the wet look. We all know what this wet look is, but is Tony aware of this wet look effect? I'm suspecting not. This wet look may be the same "stained" look (darkness?) he is assuming is at the bottom of his door... and sill.

He needs to clean the door of all finish and whatever, then give it the mineral spirits wipe down, then assess if he wants a stain. I highly suspect he will not want a stain. I really think the wet look is the darkness he wants to achieve, that same darkness that is still on some areas of his door - way.

Sonny

"Sonny" wrote:

Personally, I think Tony may not be describing the scenario
accurately. I think he is using terms not quite appropriately, as we
understand them, though his intentions are obviously well meant.

That door, the sidelights and the sill are in bad shape, finish-wise.
Someone mentioned mahogany. I can't tell if the wood is mahogany,
Spanish Cedar or what.
snip

A look at the picture reveals what an "ugly on an ape" situation you
have.

If I were to attempt this job, I'd pull the entire door/sidelight
assembly and
lay it flat, say on saw horses in the garage and board up the opening
with
plywood to maintain security.

A Fein Multitool, while pricey, will pay for itself very quickly.

Also a 6" ROS, such as a Bosch 3727 will be worth it's weight in gold.

You are still going to have a lot of hand work with scrapers and
profile
blocks.

Expect to spend a month, probably closer to 2-3 months, stripping,
repairing, and finally refinishing.

Approach it this way and it won't hurt so much.

The only difference between this project and building a boat is
that this door project will take less time. grin

Lew