What is Door Refinishing?

Doors undergo a lot of stress, especially those that provide entry into your home or business. In addition to regular use, sunlight, extreme weather, and pests can do a number on your once welcoming door, both aesthetically and structurally. But unless your door has completely fallen apart, there are measures you can take to restore its beauty and preserve its integrity for years to come. This process, offered by most professional home painting services and commercial contractors, is known as door refinishing. Here we’ll break down the door refinishing process so you can decide if it’s time to get it done yourself.

Inspecting the Extent of Damage

Door refinishing covers a range of tasks, from stripping old stain and applying new coats to completely removing the door and replacing its hardware. The work required to refinish a door will depend on how much damage the door has undergone. For instance, a door that is still structurally sound and simple in design may only need to be sanded, stained, and sealed. On the other hand, doors that are falling off the hinges might need to be temporarily removed, taken to a shop for repairs and new coats of stain, and then reinstalled with new hardware. Whatever the case may be, you’ll want to hire commercial or residential painting services that can handle all aspects of door refinishing.

What a Full Door Refinishing Job Looks Like

While not every door will need the full-service treatment, outlining the steps to fully refinish a deeply worn door helps clarify the full scope of door refinishing. Let’s go over these steps taken by a contractor to bring a badly beaten up door back to life.

Remove the Door

Even if the door is sturdy, taking it off its hinges makes the refinishing process much easier.

Lay the Door Flat

Next, the door should be placed on two elevated platforms (typically padded sawhorses). This way both sides of the door are easy to access and won’t get marked up any further.

Take Off Hardware

Whether or not the existing hardware is still any good, taking it off will give you full access to the door for sanding, staining, sealing, and/or painting.

Sand the Door

The next step is to sand down the door to both remove any old stain or paint and create a smooth surface. Contractors often begin with lower-grit sandpaper (i.e. 80-grit) and then switch to finer grits as they go.

Stain or Paint the Door

Now, it’s time to restore your door’s beauty with some new coats of stain or paint. Both coating options will protect your door from damage, but it typically costs more to maintain a stained door than a painted one. Your local painters can help you make this decision and then apply the necessary number of coats to refinish your door.

Put New Hardware In

When the door is properly coated and fully dried, it’s time to either install brand new hardware or reinstall the old pieces. It’s often best to go with new hardware as it will be a better match for the freshly refinished door.

Reinstall the Door

Finally, your refinished door can be placed back on its hinges, once again serving as a sturdy, welcoming entryway into your home.

Bring Your Door Back to Life

If you’re looking to repair and restore your entry door or just want to increase its longevity in general, door refinishing can go a long way. For the best results, make sure you hire a Nashville painting company with knowledge, experience, and an eye for detail. Nash Painting has more than 15 years of painting experience, both general and specialized. For more about us, our services, and our values, call us at (615) 829-6858 today!