Doors: Return to stain

Fevvahz

I've started stripping some doors in my 1930's semi. They're caked with thick paint, and I expected bare wood underneath. I decided to strip it back, and repaint them. However once I'd started to strip it back with a hot air gun, and noticing at how easily it stripped off, that below was a dark stain.

Click here for images.

Now I'm rather taken by this stain, and the wood grain and pattern showing theough, and would like to change my plans. However I'd got a bit of a conundrum. I'm wondering whats the best way to maintain the colour, but get a nice finish?

I've started sanding one door lightly with 120 grit, and the surface is quite uneven, more character than imperfections, perhaps due to the age of the wood, and its caused the high spots to return to the natural wood colour. I assume with the age of the doors, that its probably an oil based stain. So do you think if I just lightly keyed the surface then I'd be able to apply a suitable finish? I dont want to have to sand everything back to bare wood and start again, if thats the case I might as well paint them

phill99

Its most likely to be shellac, which is a product used extensively in the first half of the 20th Century. Shellac is made form dead beetles (and still has certain uses today, mainly in the food industry).

No0t sure how easy it is to remove from timber, but I'm thinking it could be the devils own job!!

I would be tempted to sand it with a fine sand paper and then varnish it with a clear satin finish varnish.

muskoka

Interesting pictures. We had old doors caked in paint and under the paint was this stuff. Looks exactly the same. We had it on ALL the woodwork in the whole house caked over with white paint.

We dipped/stripped the doors (it did take the brown stuff off), but everywhere else we used a hotair gun and when the brown stuff was heated up, it became gooey.

Theres still some residue (brown staining) on the doors which we'll be taking off with the sander - going to be a time consuming task still though.

Dont know if it is the same stuff, but it certainly looked the same.

martinthebandit

removing shellac is fairly simple, you need a alcohol based thinners and a bit of elbow grease, it doesn't exactly wipe off but it shouldn't be too bad a job.

I would then sand and varnish to the colour I want. I don't think you will ever get a good finish varnishing over it.

jcb208

That was the stain they always used in those days,Best bet would be to have the doors dipped and you will then have a clean base to re stain.It will take ages to get that lot off with stripper or hot air gun as it always goes sticky

Fevvahz

I think that this may be slightly different to shellac - as I think shellac was under a lot of the paintwork elseware, and it came of really easily with the hot air gun. It left a residual pink colour which was easily sanded off.

I think I'm going to have them dipped and see how it goes. At least this way I'll be able to sand them smooth, and then stain them. I hope they're good enough to stain and varnish after the dipping though.