If you’re looking for a simple way to repair your entry wooden door or even just changing up the color, refinishing your door can be an easy task if you follow the correct procedure. Your entry door can take a lot of damage over the course of time from the natural environment (rain, hail, and sun). Your wooden door may begin to look cracked and dull.

Steps

  1. You will want to unscrew and remove the door from its hinges, thus making it much easier to sand and refinish the door. It will help if you have someone to hold the other side of the door. Now, you need to take out the hinge pins either tapping the pin with a screwdriver or by hammering them out from the bottom.
  2. Once the hinges have been removed, carefully pull the door off the hinges and rotate it on its side. You will need to carry the door to the area you are going to sand and refinish it.

If you need to put a temporary door up while you’re working, a large piece of plywood will do the trick. Place the door on top of padded sawhorses in order to avoid damaging the door while sanding.

  1. Remove the hardware, which will most likely include a deadbolt, lockset, and extra hardware. Remember you need to remember how these fixtures were attached.
  2. Begin sanding off the old finish with an orbital sander (80 grit sandpaper), and of the cracks and moldings will need to be sanded by hand. After you have sanded to bare wood, you will need to remove the marks left by the coarser sandpaper, now use a finer grade sand paper (100 grit then followed by 120 grit).
  3. Now it’s time to stain and refinish the door, wipe off any excess dirt or dust with a towel or vacuum.  When the door is finally ready to be stained, begin by painting or wiping the stain onto the door. Next, remove any excess stain with a clean cloth, after you have allowed the stain to sit for a few minutes. Next, apply UV resistant exterior polyurethane with a brush or sprayer. Once, the finish is dry, very lightly sand the door with a 220 grit sand paper before applying the second coat. Allow the door enough drying time before rehanging.
  4. Your door is finally ready to put up! Realign all the hinges up, and using a hammer, tap the pins back into the hinges. Install the rest of the door hardware (deadbolt, lockset, and extra hardware) back onto your door.