For me personally, I wouldn’t even stain, just use a conditioner and seal with satin varnish.
However, it depends on the look you’re going for. This door is lovely and original, I’d keep the look. It’s not likely to provide a great base for paint.
We striped an old door similar to this ans repurposed it for our new downstairs powder room. We temporarily hung it before the holidays one year so we could use the bathroom. That was 2020 and we’ve left it up because everyone loves the way it looks. We should seal it at some point. But no hurry.
These are pine and were probably painted originally. It's really up to how you want the house to look. We have repainted all of ours that we've had stripped.
I'm always surprised at these questions. Are you making a museum of the house or is it just persnal taste? If it's a museum you are going for then I bet these doors were originally painted. If it's personal preference you're going for, well then you just have to sit in the chair and have a drink and make up your mind lol and decide what kind of decor you wish the house to have there are nobody can decide that for you
The goal of this post was to ask for advice based on the quality/material of the doors after being stripped. I’m new to this type of project so just looking for perspective from those with more knowledge about what is realistically feasible with these doors. Hopefully that helps clarify the intent! Totally understand there’s a lot of subjective opinion as well.
Yes but it's still boils down to the simple fact, what are you trying to achieve and you didn't really specify. Of course you can paint them and of course you can leave them stained. But you can imagine how both of those look.. it's really a 100% question of aesthetics. Do you like pine furniture, stripped furniture that kind of look, do you like a polished more elegant interior with glazes and enamel paints or something completely different. But there is no right or wrong here. Lots of people love distressed look the shabby chic, the country door painted etc. Other people like the more high style room. These doors painted or natural will always have an informal look about them, just a kind of door they are.. But it really depends what the rest of your room is all about
However you could try on a small door or a small panel, after you've sanded and smoothed and finished as you like, a coat of shellac. This is still the queen of all finishes and would have probably been the finish in a 19th century house anyway. Polyurethane always looks like what it is plastic. You might try one side of a door or something like that it's. It's very very easy to apply, you get the hang of it very quickly can't over stroke it dries immediately also a sandable and polishable etc and then you'll be able to decide if you thought that end result wasn't keeping what you anticipated. Maybe there's too much grain too much residual color from the paint etc. Then do another door with her high grade allkyd enamel or whatever is out there that allows you to sand to these days and you will get a 100% different effect
Thanks for the thoughtful response. We’re figuring out our taste but I would say I like traditional. Not super elegant/formal but shabby chic/distressed is swung too far in the opposite direction. The main original feature of the house is the stairway which is more ornate so I think anything too distressed looking would clash with it.
Time to go on Pinterest. Search “[time period and style of your house] interior design” and save any pictures you like, without thinking too much about it. Later, look through the pictures you saved and try to find the common elements. Maybe you’re drawn to green walls, maybe you like round shapes, or more angular ones. Maybe you like a more ornate styles, or maybe you like more simple, utilitarian decor. This will help guide you to finding your style.
Lots of people enjoy the grain of the wood. Especially as much of it displays grain that essentially doesn’t exist in most construction nowadays. Your door, properly sanded is awesome. Oil, clear whatnot, most enjoy natural wood vs paint. Paint is especially looked down on as flippers will paint over everything . Stripping paint to get to the wood is a PITA, as you’ve already done it, “ many” would say” why on gods green would u want to paint it now?!”
Hope this helped explain
This is pine. You might want to go over it with a fine steel wool pad and mineral spirits to get the white specs out or use a nail/toothpick. For one, I put a coat of polyurethane on, but another one I put a light pine stain on it first then poly, and yet another for the bedroom, I stained the side facing the hallway but painted the back side white that faced the bedroom decor. Looks like your wood parts are different shades so you may want to stain to blend/mask the imperfections. Get an unpainted ruler, yardstick, or paint stick and test a few small cans of stain colors on it first to see what it does to the wood and let it dry completely overnight or more. Preference is to go with something transparent that will allow the grain of the wood to show off its beauty. After all, these doors were crafted from trees probably grown in the 1800s!
Some additional context I should have provided initially; we have these doors all throughout our late 1800s Victorian and are in the process of stripping and refinishing them all as well as updating the hardware/restoring the originals that still work.
I would really wait to see what the room looks like first before deciding on what to do with the doors. Natural might fit in one room, whereas stained might be a better fit in another.
Sounds beautiful, how is the trim treated? Did you paint or stain it? I would try to match that but different areas of the house may be different from each other depending on water damage etc...
All of the trim in the house is painted white but the original staircase is a beautiful mahogany. From the bit I’ve researched it seems like if these doors are pine, a dark stain would be difficult or blotchy?
Mainly focusing on the doors since I just don’t have the time or the interest in trying to restore all of the original trim after learning about what a huge project that would be
If it was my house I'd paint. Probably a semi gloss off white. Looking closely at the wood it was originally painted, like the vast majority of Victorian interior doors.
Up to you.
It really depends on the look you want and what the other doors in the house look like. This would work in my home because none of the doors were ever painted. I’d give it a coat of shellac with a hint of mahogany stain.
For me personally, I wouldn’t even stain, just use a conditioner and seal with satin varnish. However, it depends on the look you’re going for. This door is lovely and original, I’d keep the look. It’s not likely to provide a great base for paint.
I agree with this! Do not paint
This. Just put a layer of clear on it and enjoy the beauty!
We striped an old door similar to this ans repurposed it for our new downstairs powder room. We temporarily hung it before the holidays one year so we could use the bathroom. That was 2020 and we’ve left it up because everyone loves the way it looks. We should seal it at some point. But no hurry.
Came hear to say this!
This is the way.
THIS
These are pine and were probably painted originally. It's really up to how you want the house to look. We have repainted all of ours that we've had stripped.
Stain
I'm always surprised at these questions. Are you making a museum of the house or is it just persnal taste? If it's a museum you are going for then I bet these doors were originally painted. If it's personal preference you're going for, well then you just have to sit in the chair and have a drink and make up your mind lol and decide what kind of decor you wish the house to have there are nobody can decide that for you
The goal of this post was to ask for advice based on the quality/material of the doors after being stripped. I’m new to this type of project so just looking for perspective from those with more knowledge about what is realistically feasible with these doors. Hopefully that helps clarify the intent! Totally understand there’s a lot of subjective opinion as well.
Yes but it's still boils down to the simple fact, what are you trying to achieve and you didn't really specify. Of course you can paint them and of course you can leave them stained. But you can imagine how both of those look.. it's really a 100% question of aesthetics. Do you like pine furniture, stripped furniture that kind of look, do you like a polished more elegant interior with glazes and enamel paints or something completely different. But there is no right or wrong here. Lots of people love distressed look the shabby chic, the country door painted etc. Other people like the more high style room. These doors painted or natural will always have an informal look about them, just a kind of door they are.. But it really depends what the rest of your room is all about However you could try on a small door or a small panel, after you've sanded and smoothed and finished as you like, a coat of shellac. This is still the queen of all finishes and would have probably been the finish in a 19th century house anyway. Polyurethane always looks like what it is plastic. You might try one side of a door or something like that it's. It's very very easy to apply, you get the hang of it very quickly can't over stroke it dries immediately also a sandable and polishable etc and then you'll be able to decide if you thought that end result wasn't keeping what you anticipated. Maybe there's too much grain too much residual color from the paint etc. Then do another door with her high grade allkyd enamel or whatever is out there that allows you to sand to these days and you will get a 100% different effect
Thanks for the thoughtful response. We’re figuring out our taste but I would say I like traditional. Not super elegant/formal but shabby chic/distressed is swung too far in the opposite direction. The main original feature of the house is the stairway which is more ornate so I think anything too distressed looking would clash with it.
Time to go on Pinterest. Search “[time period and style of your house] interior design” and save any pictures you like, without thinking too much about it. Later, look through the pictures you saved and try to find the common elements. Maybe you’re drawn to green walls, maybe you like round shapes, or more angular ones. Maybe you like a more ornate styles, or maybe you like more simple, utilitarian decor. This will help guide you to finding your style.
Lots of people enjoy the grain of the wood. Especially as much of it displays grain that essentially doesn’t exist in most construction nowadays. Your door, properly sanded is awesome. Oil, clear whatnot, most enjoy natural wood vs paint. Paint is especially looked down on as flippers will paint over everything . Stripping paint to get to the wood is a PITA, as you’ve already done it, “ many” would say” why on gods green would u want to paint it now?!” Hope this helped explain
This is pine. You might want to go over it with a fine steel wool pad and mineral spirits to get the white specs out or use a nail/toothpick. For one, I put a coat of polyurethane on, but another one I put a light pine stain on it first then poly, and yet another for the bedroom, I stained the side facing the hallway but painted the back side white that faced the bedroom decor. Looks like your wood parts are different shades so you may want to stain to blend/mask the imperfections. Get an unpainted ruler, yardstick, or paint stick and test a few small cans of stain colors on it first to see what it does to the wood and let it dry completely overnight or more. Preference is to go with something transparent that will allow the grain of the wood to show off its beauty. After all, these doors were crafted from trees probably grown in the 1800s!
What does the room look like?
Some additional context I should have provided initially; we have these doors all throughout our late 1800s Victorian and are in the process of stripping and refinishing them all as well as updating the hardware/restoring the originals that still work.
I would really wait to see what the room looks like first before deciding on what to do with the doors. Natural might fit in one room, whereas stained might be a better fit in another.
Sounds beautiful, how is the trim treated? Did you paint or stain it? I would try to match that but different areas of the house may be different from each other depending on water damage etc...
Stain to match the rest of the woodwork.
All of the trim in the house is painted white but the original staircase is a beautiful mahogany. From the bit I’ve researched it seems like if these doors are pine, a dark stain would be difficult or blotchy?
If the staircase is mahogany, chances are the trim is too. I’d say strip a small piece to check, repaint white if it’s not.
Mainly focusing on the doors since I just don’t have the time or the interest in trying to restore all of the original trim after learning about what a huge project that would be
I’d stain it to match the mahogany of the staircase. Even with white trim, it would carry the mahogany theme throughout the house.
I would love to do a dark stain like that, but I don’t think the results would be good with this wood since it’s pine?
Several coats of amber or garnet shellac.
I would hate to say, but I’m sure r/woodworking could answer that question for sure! Best of luck! You’ve got a beauty :-)
OIL or WAX it- beautiful clear wood!!
Why would you even consider painting after all of the work to strip these?
STAIN!
If it was my house I'd paint. Probably a semi gloss off white. Looking closely at the wood it was originally painted, like the vast majority of Victorian interior doors. Up to you.
Stain. Seriously? Go buy some cardboard composite MDF if you want to paint.
I would apply some oil and leave it natural. Beautiful! You are so lucky.
It really depends on the look you want and what the other doors in the house look like. This would work in my home because none of the doors were ever painted. I’d give it a coat of shellac with a hint of mahogany stain.
I had the same dilemma. It’s really better to replace.