So by now you all know that there isn't much that Michael and I don't at
least try to do ourselves first before going to the "professionals" and
this time it was our front door. After 20 years of wear and tear, it
needed a little sprucing up. The stain had faded and the wood needed some TLC.
The first thing to do is sand. Yes, the most fun part of any job...sanding. All the little cracks, curves, and crevasses. I want to say, "Awww, but mom do we haaavvve to?"
Yes, you have to. If you are painting or staining you have to give the new product something to hold on to. Here is the door sanded.
We decided we wanted to stain the door instead of painting it. We used a great product from Minwax called Polyshade. It is a colored stain with a sealer in it. I used foam brushes to apply and then you have to wait 6 hours to dry. Here it is with the first coat. Pretty color, but thin and not black. Second coat is required.
After the six hours of drying you have to take a very soft steel wool and lightly sand the door, then apply second coat. I actually decided to apply a third coat also.
During the drying time we were deciding whether or not to update our hardware. It was a little dated and the color had faded. Well, needless to say, doorhandles aren't cheap! Ugh! Close to $100!!
No thank you. So here is our knob sanded with 220 sandpaper ready for paint.
So....for an $8 can of spray paint (Rust-Oleum Universal Paint & Primer in One Oil Rubbed Bronze) we had ourselves a brand new door handle. Whew!
So there ya go! Our new door. Isn't she a beaut?
