See how we restored an antique door, that had been painted three times, to its original wood finish. It was a lot of hard work, but it was worth it!
It Takes Effort!
As far as tedious projects go, this one may have been the worst.
Wait. Actually, the time I decided that every five panel door, window, baseboard, cabinet and crown molding in this ENTIRE old house should be RE-painted from off white to bright white, that was the worst.
But this, THIS, dear friends, comes in as a close second.
I don’t actually recommend doing this project at all. I bet that is the first time you have heard that from a DIY blogger.
But for real, I love the transformation, and I am glad we did it, but ask me if I will ever be able to convince my husband to do the other side of the door.
The Before Picture
Somehow, in my rush to get this done, I didn’t take a proper before picture.
Yeah, I regret that.
But here she is laying on a couple of saw horses in our garage.
At this point we didn’t know how many layers of paint we were up against. If this door is original to the house, which we suspect it is, you are looking at a piece that is five years short of a centenarian. I imagined it had been painted a lot over the course of its lifetime.
I also stole a picture from an old home tour so you could sort of kind of see how it looked before.
I did like the white, because, you know, I always like white, but I didn’t like that it had no contrast with the white house.
Such a beautiful old door should really stand out and be a focal point, right?
How to Strip Paint Off an Antique Wood Farmhouse Front Door Instructions
- We started out by painting on a thick coat of Citristrip.
- We let it sit for about 30 minutes and then took a paint scraper to it, to peel off as much as we could the first go-round.
- So, it actually took another round of Citristrip and several hours of elbow grease.
- We did another coat of the paint stripper, and let it sit for several hours, to see if that would encourage the paint to come off a little better.
- I would recommend the third round of paint stripper, but only leaving it for 30 minutes to an hour, not all day.
- How to Strip Paint Off an Antique Wood Farmhouse Front Door Tutorial
- We ended up taking a very thin flat head screwdriver, and running it along the grooves, one by one to scrape of the paint along the grooves.
- We wiped it down a few times with Mineral Spirits to remove any residue from the project.
- At this point you could stain the door. We were tossing around the option of staining it a different color, but I just loved the natural wood so much, we decided to leave it.
- And that’s it!
Spreading on Citristrip
We started out by painting on a thick coat of Citristrip.
So, then, we just took a cloth to it and all the paint wiped right off.
I wish that were the case.
We let it sit for about 30 minutes and then took a paint scraper to it, to peel off as much as we could the first go-round.
It was Painted 3 Times Before
It appeared that the door had only been painted three times. First, white, then purple, (from the same lady who painted our home like a Mexican restaurant), and then white again, by me.
Yes, me. Guilty. I didn’t want a purple door.
Spreading on More Citristrip
So, it actually took another round of Citristrip and several hours of elbow grease to get to this point right here.
But, it still didn’t look great and, because of all the grooves on the strips down the middle, I knew we had a looooong way to go.
We did another coat of the paint stripper, and let it sit for several hours, to see if that would encourage the paint to come off a little better.
Well, that proved to be a bad idea, because it kind of dried up, and we ended up having to scrape it off with the paint.
I would recommend the third round of paint stripper, but only leaving it for 30 minutes to an hour, not all day.
At this point, we were finding that there was going to be no easy way to get the paint off the details in the middle, by the glass.
Using a Screwdriver Helps
We ended up taking a very thin flat head screwdriver, and running it along the grooves, one by one.
Wipe down with Mineral Spirits
We wiped it down a few times with Mineral Spirits to remove any residue from the project.
With A LOT of hours of work, over a couple week’s time, the beautiful wood beneath the paint, was finally revealed.
Good thing we had a locking screen door, and mild weather, to get us through this!
We were tossing around the option of staining it a different color, but I just loved the natural wood so much, we decided to leave it.
Updating the Hardware
The next obstacle we were up against was the door hardware.
It was all scratched up and rusty, and we couldn’t find the right replacement.
I did what any other impatient DIYer would do…
Spray paint!
Making It Match
To make the lock match, we taped it off and hit it with a couple coats of spray paint also.
I may eventually dig around and find different hardware, but for now, this solution will do.
I Love It!
I just love the way the door stands out against our white house.
It is the perfect addition to our new and improved farmhouse porch.
Look Out for the Big Reveal
If you are new to my blog, you can read all about the farmhouse porch renovation we are in the middle of right now, and see the before pictures, HERE.
The big reveal will be happening very soon, like next week!
I can’t wait!
But for now, this is your little sneak peak. 😉
As you will see in the photo below, our door wasn’t free from scratches and imperfections, and the paint solution wasn’t ideal, but I still think it adds so much curb appeal for our little farmhouse!
Thank you for stopping by, friends!
Roxanne says
I love how this turned out! Pininng for future reference!
Julie Blanner says
There’s nothing prettier than revealing natural beauty! We once stripped 65 years of paint off of our door in Kansas and thought it was gorgeous – the new owner immediately replaced it with a prefab inexpensive metal door. I would have loved to have taken it with us.
Lisa Bass says
I agree, Julie! Its a lot of work, but worth it in the end. Why would anyone ever replace an antique wood door with a cheap metal one?! Crazy!
Jessica says
I love your antique door! Turned out beautifully, and looks so warm and inviting. I am in the process of stripping my own antique door. Did you sand and stain the door after you removed the paint?
Lisa Bass says
Thank you! We did quite a bit of sanding, but we didn’t stain it. I like the original color. 🙂
Brittany aka Pretty Handy Girl says
Oh I feel your pain! I had to strip our two front doors a few years ago and although it was tedious, I discovered a few tricks and shortcuts. Hope you don’t mind if I share the link here: https://www.prettyhandygirl.com/strip-paint-off-door/
Lisa says
Oh thanks for the tips! 🙂
Donna says
The door is beautiful natural. I have heard to clean the hardware soak in hot vinegar and clean with fine steel wool.
Emmalynn says
Great post as usual! Black Iron Door Hardware
Emmalynn says
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Steph says
I’m guessing the windows on the door are single pane. Did you do anything to winterize the door? I love these old doors, but they aren’t the most efficient when it’s freezing outside 🙂
Lisa says
No, we never did. We heat with wood, so we never worry too much about it.
Jordan says
Probably would work better of you left the stripper on longer, like overnight which is what the directions say and cover with plastic or wax paper to prevent the gel from drying out. And since it is an exterior door don’t you want to at least seal it with an oil finish to reduce the amount of water it absorbs during humid times??
Devin says
We have a 125 year old home and I too would love to get the original door back to its gorgeous wood roots. I read your story and my question is (since it sounds like it took a few weeks), what did you do with your front door in the meantime while it was on saw horses?! Did you find a temporary replacement door, board it shut? So curious!