Part 4
Applying Wood Varnish to the Custom Entry Doors

The final step with refinishing these custom entry doors is applying a high quality wood varnish. The varnish of choice is McCloskey's Marine Spar Varnish with a satin sheen. The steps involved with applying varnish are quite simple. The main consideration for us was the weather, cool and humid.

The preparation is double checking the stain for uniform appearance and removing any dust.

Just like with the rest of the processes involved with refinishing these custom entry doors, remove all locks and any installed accessories. We applied the clear finish with the doors installed and with brushes. Quality white china bristle brushes were used.

Mix the varnish well and strain through a fine mesh paint strainer before using.

The satin spar wood varnish has a lot of solids that settle on the bottom of the can, so mixing took a few minutes. Never shake the varnish to mix; this will produce small air bubbles that will ruin the finish.

Since the weather was cool and humid the varnish needed Japan Dryers added to speed up the drying time. It doesn't take much, just a cap full mixed into a small amount of varnish. No additional thinning was required.

The application of the wood varnish started with the carved areas. These areas produced a couple of runs, starting here allowed us the opportunity to catch these runs as the rest of the door was varnished. The rest of the door was brushed in sections from the top down. Always finish the brush stroke in the direction of the woods grain.

The first coat was allowed to dry overnight. Before the second and final coat could be applied, the doors were lightly sanded with 180 grit sanding blocks and the dust removed with a tack rag. Never sand aggressively or risk breaking through the first coat. The second coat was applied in the same manner as the first.

The door knob and dead bolt were installed after a couple of hours of drying. The remaining accessories and weather stripping were reinstalled after a couple of days. Now that these custom entry doors have received the final coat of spar wood varnish they look great and will continue to do so for a long time.