Top coating polyurethane with marine varnish on exterior doors.

by Dale W. Palmer
(Cincinnati Ohio)

I have been a professional on site woodwork refinisher for 33 years. It drives me nuts to see people buying new exterior front doors and three years later the finish is turning white and peeling. There is a simple and cost effective method home owners can do. Sand your door lightly with #220 sand paper. Tack it down with a rag soaked with paint thinner and a little varnish to make a tack cloth. Buy two quarts of Marine varnish one gloss and the other the sheen of your choice.

Take a bristle or preferable an ox hair brush, and brush the varnish on brushing in one direction going from dry to wet. You have to lift and back brush only, because marine varnish will dry so fast you will have a mark every where you set your brush down. Let it dry 24 hours and repeat. You can choose gloss semi gloss or satin.

This method works great,and will last for years. My clients look concerned when they pay me saying "how long will this last". They are overjoyed when I send them a reminder message after four or five years that it's time to re-coat. Home owners can do this themselves. It is just real important to use a true marine varnish. I use McCloskey's Man-Of-War, but there are other company's that make it. You just have to make sure it is a true marine or spar varnish. Submit questions or success or failure stories or photos.