Re-painting a Door

• Question:

Hi charlie

                  My husband wants to paint my front door, its oak, and has a few layers of shellac
on it, what should he do to prep the door, to be able to paint it?  - Christine from South Philly

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•  Charlie's Solution:

Hi Christine from South Philly!  

Thanks for responding and your question is one many homeowners have come across. Oak doors are beautiful and extremely durable and resistant to the elements. And considering the foul winter weather which Philly gets, your door should be holding up well. 

I like that you think the door has a few layers of shellac on it. If it is really shellac, you're not in too bad a shape. Shellac is pretty easy to remove. First you need to remove the door from the frame and hinges. Then remove any hardware on the door so they do not get damaged. The you need to get denatured alcohol which, when applied to the shellac on the door, should remove it pretty easily. Once the shellac is removed, you should go over the door one more time with mineral spirits to clean it up and then run some fine grit sandpaper over the door just for finishing. At this time, since you are painting the door, you could get some wood filler and fill any damages, gouges, or holes in the door and then sand that down as well. Your door is now ready for painting.I would use a primer which is tinted the final color desired for the door. Then I would go with the finish coat on the door. 

Now if you do not have a shellac finish on your door (which is what I suspect), but the finish is polyurethane or a varnish, I would remove all the hardware and sand the door first. You don't have to sand the finish off, but rather just rand into the poly to score the finish in order to help the primer bond to the door. Fill any holes with wood filler and sand down the wood filler. Then get an oil based primer (see my recommendation below) and a latex top paint is fine over this. Paint the door whatever color you like and re-install the door and the hardware.

For either application I always like to use the Zinsser BIN 2 Primer.

Christine...be sure to take "before" and "after" photos so I can see the finished product and post how nice your "new" old door is looking. Good luck and contact me if you have any questions.

Best Wishes,

Charlie Frattini

-Charlie Frattini
TV Host/Master Builder of A&E's Sell This House Extreme

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                 UPDATE: Here are pictures of the Before & After - good job, Christine!

BEFORE

AFTER