How to restore a front door on a period house
In this blog post, we will show you a step-by-step guide on how to approach restoring a front door in a period house using a heat gun and stripping agent.
Doors on period houses may be one hundred and fifty years old, and in some cases even older. In many cases, there are layers of paint applied over decades. In most cases, it is necessary to begin by stripping the paint from the door. This can be done in a few different ways, but for those who want to do it properly, one of the best ways is with a heat gun. Using a heat gun to strip paint off a door gives off a lot of noxious fumes, so it is always best to do this outside if weather permits, or a very well ventilated area if not. Wearing a mask while using a heat gun is also recommended.
So to begin, you need to have the following items:
- A mask suitable for fumes, not a dust mask.
- Eye protection
- A heat gun
- A power supply
- A paint scraper
- Paint stripper solution
- White spirits
- Lint-free cloth
- A cheap paintbrush
- Grade 100 sandpaper
- Grade 00 wire wool
Step 1
is to plug in the heat gun, and put on your mask and eye protection. The heat gun heats up the instant you pull the trigger. Holding the gun between 3 and 5 inches away from the surface, gently move it up and down over a space about six inches square. The paint will bubble and soften, and then you can draw the scraper across the soft paint. Every door is different and some can have lots of layers., so you’ll have to use your own judgement knowing when to use the scraper. Once you are down to bare wood, you can move on to the next section, and continue until the door is stripped of all paintwork.
Step 2
Next we will look at how we repaint a door, after we have stripped the door back to bare wood or as far back as you can go.
Then we prime the wood. We do this using an aluminium primer. When Dry we sand it down and give the door its first comprehensive filling with Ronseal two pack filler.
Step 3
Rub the door down with emery paper. Once this is done, you then need to clean it with a damp lint free microfibre cloth (link), and apply an undercoat.
Step 4
When this is dry, we apply another round of filler filling the less obvious holes and flaws.
This filler drys fast so you can then sand it back and wipe again with damp cloth.
Step 5
We undercoat the door once more. wait for it to dry, and caulk around panels to make all joints
and gaps disappear.
Step 6
Now you are ready for the first finish coat.
Step 7
Final finish coat, wait to dry, then you can put back on hardware.
And you are done!
One 200 year old new door.
