Refinishing Wood Panels & Doors

Parent Q&A

Select any title to view the full question and replies.

  • Craftsman Kitchen Door

    Jun 15, 2022

    We have a 1916 Craftsman Bungalow home and a gum wood kitchen swing door that needs to be stained and varnished by someone who knows their stuff. Thanks! 

    I have the exact same swinging door in my 1916 craftsman!  Most any licensed painting contractor can do this. I really like Stahlschmidt Painting www.stahlschmidt-painting.com   - they've painted my house inside and out several times over the years and they did a beautiful job refinishing my gumwood-paneled dining room. 

  • I am looking for recommendations for someone to strip and refinish our original 1920s hardwood exterior front door. It has been refinished a few times over the last 20 years, but it gets a LOT of sun exposure and needs work again. The old varnish has worn off, and it is getting very dry and cracked on the surface. Please help us restore this beauty! Thank you.

    I recommend that you use marine varnish. You have to buy it at a boat supply store, not at a paint store. Any painter should be able to do it for you. 

    You should try our amazing guy Ted Crocker. He's a wonderful person and so careful and meticulous in his work. Can't speak highly enough about him! 650-740-3295 Please tell him that Mailisha sent you! 

Archived Q&A and Reviews


Questions  

 


Refinishing and repair for front hall panels

Feb 2012

Hello, I'm looking for someone to do some on-site refinishing and light wood working. The front hall of my 1906 Craftsman has some douglas fir panels, battens, and moulding/picture-rail details. Previous owners removed some parts and I'm trying to put it back so it looks as it was originally intended. Does anyone know a skilled craftsman willing to take this on? This is not my only project so I can't spend a fortune on it. Thanks, Berkeley Home-owner


We have used Color Touch Painting for such repairs, with great results! Found them on Yelp. Not only are they great painters, but they do some restoration as well. They are fantastic at minor dry-rot and wood repairs, using a variety of methods, and even have a precision carpenter on hand. Also perform clean staining and paint work. I would definitely have them look at it. They can be found online, or at colortouchpainting.com. Phone 415 469 7261 Roberta


Stripping paint from old growth Douglas Fir door

May 2005

I am interested in removing the 10,234,304,209,203 layers of paint from my beautiful old growth Douglas Fir door. Does anyone know of a service that would strip the paint? Leslie


This is for both the person who wanted to strip and refinish a doug fir door, and for the person who has a piece of carved wood furniture she wants to strip. There is a place in the Bay Area that does stripping by dipping. You can find them at www.strippingworkshop.com. We had them strip several of our interior doors; we wanted to do it off-site of our home because we knew they had lead paint on them. They pick up and deliver. It was about $100/door. They cannot guarantee what your door will look like afterward because they cannot know what is underneath all of the paint. A couple of ours had deep gouges and stains that were revealed once the paint came off. Also, they return them unsanded, just stripped. You still have to do the refinishing part yourself. That said, it saves a huge amount of work and works pretty well. They specialize in carved wood items where dipping works the best. I found them to be a reliable and friendly company. xialiu


I've noticed a number of people asking about furniture refinishing or other types of restoration or even paint stripping. I haven't personally used these vendors, but I know that they can do refinishing and restoration of antique furniture or even doors and cabinets.
Clever Fellows Woodworking Christopher Merrifield 4076 Halleck St. Emeryville, CA 94608 510.923.0591 cleverfellows [at] sbcglobal.net Richard Morton Fine Antique Restoration 610 Coloma Street Sausalito, CA Phone: 415-331-1451 E-mail: rmorton [at] richardmortonfineantiquerestoration.com http://antiquerestore.net/
Elizabeth