Wood front door refurbishing.

by Pat
(Salt Lake City, UT)

Close up of worst area on the door.

We are about to put our house on the market and realized how faded the front door is. It has been protected from the weather/sun, but has probably been on the frame 50 years. The top is O.K. but the vanish on the bottom half is gone or faded and a bit of the wood is showing through in spots.

I don't want to spend a lot of money or time on this and wondered what you thought of Restorz-It. Do you think that would be a good option? Do you have any other suggestions?

• Lightly sand the door with 150 grit sand paper or a fine sanding sponge. You don’t have to strip the old finish, just clean it up and produce a smooth dull surface.


• Find a matching wiping stain and apply it with a clean white rag to the entire door surface. Pay special attention to the faded bottom of the door and apply a little less to the top half. In other word, blend the bottom with the top using the wiping stain.


• Allow the stain to dry for 24 hours, or over night, and then apply a good spar varnish.