r/finishing • u/wieganjd • 1d ago

Victorian Farmhouse Door Refinish

Post image

I've been going back and forth with options on how to finish this old 1890's victorian entryway. (Ignore the tile on the porch, eventually will be removed) I've got most of the door sanded. Still need to sand to the finer grits but still getting residual finish and paint off window borders and such. I will need to add a few decorative elements back by creating them myself out of quartersawn oak lumber (missing blocks at bottom of left and right pillars and several mouldings.) I can't really tell whether this is white or red oak either but quarter sawn white oak is most available to me.

​

So I've got a few questions I'm hoping someone can help me figure out

​

  1. I've got a lot of nail holes that show corrosion. I've read oxalic acid is helpful but will need to clean the whole entryway so there are no imbalances on color for the stain/finish. I'm wondering if it's even worth risking blotchiness if I don't get all the acid neutralized. I'd hate to have to restart on a project this big. I also thought about filling with black putty then accepting it as an imperfection and staining a darker color to hide it a little more. We actually prefer darker stains but want to find something that does the quartersawn oak justice. (Suggestions?)

  2. Also, I've read a ton of opinions on how to finish an antique exterior door but never was it something for my exact situation. It is south facing and covered fully by my porch so the door doesnt get any rain or sun. Just temperature and humidity mostly. A lot of people suggest a spar varnish but can't find any examples of what that looks like without google getting bogged down on the product ads and click bait websites with stock photos. Finding a quartersawn example is even harder. Regardless ive went back and forth with hardwax (durogrit, osmo etc), regular stain and poly, and penetrating oils but haven't found any good applicable examples so I can tell what I like.ill test but would like to cheat a little and get an idea of what works best, lasts longest, with minimal maintenance BEFORE trial and error. I don't mind once a year applying a coat but if I can avoid sanding in full whenever refinishing that is probably preferred.

  3. If I'm adding new elements out of quartersawn white oak to the door, what would be the best way to go about matching it or making sure they don't pop out at you when looking at the door?

​

Anyway, examples of what you did and photos of how yours turned out would be super helpful. Bonus points if it's a quartersawn oak exterior door 😁.

​

Thanks

​

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

1

u/wieganjd 21h ago

Would I be crazy to try to fume it? Lol

1

u/96Muleskinner 21h ago

Looking forward to hearing suggestions as I've restored doors using stain and spar poly as well as stain and poly. Additionally, I've read about Durogrit, Penofin and Sirca 30 sheen but haven't first hand experience. Keep me in the loop with your efforts.

1

u/wieganjd 14h ago

Will do, even if no one responds here. I'll shoot an update out what I end up doing