Stripping doors

[sarahw]

I've got some lovely old Victorian doors and would like to strip these back to the wood and then treat them.

1. What do you folks find works well for removing paint? I've tried a heatgun but it takes forever so I've now tried Nitromors although this is really messy and takes a few goes.

2. What sort of teatment do you folks give the doors afterwards? Just varnish or some sort of oil?

 

[Burnerman]

I just send them away to be professionally dipped...they come back as good as they can be, and afterwards you can see if they are good enough to be oiled or repainted. Best to take the lock furniture and hinges off, naturally.

 

[sarahw]

What sort of cost do you pay per door and do I need to look for a company ho specialises in dipping, or is it a sideline offerred by certain companies? I did think about dipping, but I've heard it can leave the doors warped.

THanks

 

[Burnerman]

If you look in Yellow Pages under Paint Stripping you'll find such firms as Dip 'N Strip...costs around £30 in the dark back streets of Newcastle but they will collect. Warping is an issue that may or may not occur as they have a disclaimer but in practice things haven't been bad at all in my experience. The wood grain can be lifted quite a bit but time with a sander sorts that one. Cheers John

 

[EddieM]

they're often dipped in caustic soda, whilst this removes the paint, it can damage the door joints, so some remedial work can be needed. Also, as mentioned warping can be an issue, as the doors need to be "rinsed" after their custic soda bath, about £30 per door sounds ball parkish. Just remember, it can damage the doors. And yes, remove all the door furniture beforehand.

 

[xerxes]

The great majority of domestic Victorian doors were designed to be painted (often to imitate wood grain) and they can have quite a bit of filler in them to hide the cracks when they were made. Dipping in caustic soda is a quick way to remove all the paint and most of the filler, and can be a quick way to ruin the door, too. As Eddie says, the joints can be damaged and so can the surface of the wood.

 

[foxhole]

Dipping ruins the door , removed naturall oils and long term causes many problems including warpage and joint breakdown.