How to remove old paint from a wooden door?

If you decide to repair and update the interior of your home, then get ready for serious financial costs. But in order to reduce costs, during the repair process we pay attention to everything, with the help of which, with skillful use, you can reduce the cost of this difficult undertaking. For example, an interior door fell into your hands. It is not new, but what prevents you from making it like that? To add eccentricity or to give a classic strict look to your door will help an alternative way - painting. You should never be afraid of updates to your old interior. With a skillful approach, you can reduce the cost of repairs and add a touch of extravagance and comfort to your home.

But, as a rule, old doors are already painted. And here you need to think carefully about how to remove old paint from a wooden door. To achieve a good result, you need to prepare the door for painting, for this you need to wash it from paint and sand it. And how to do it with a minimum investment of money, energy and your precious time, we will tell you now.

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Do it yourself door repair

To understand the complexity of this procedure, you first need to determine the nature and type of colorful materials. Specifically, you need to know the answers to such questions:

1. What material was the paint applied to?
2. How many layers of paint were put on the door?
3. What kind of paint was used?
4. What is the period of time since the last update of the appearance of the product?

You need to take into account all these factors and, using various means to remove paints and varnishes, bring the surface of your door into a homogeneous structure.

Important! If you decide to apply a new paint on the old, then you will not achieve the desired result. You will not achieve contrast of color scale and gloss. It is precisely for this purpose that it is necessary to remove old layers of paint.

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Preparatory work or the basics

The whole process of updating the door will be conditionally divided into 3 stages:

• direct paint stripping;
• preparatory surface cleaning and repair;
• new door coloring.

Why remove old paint?

Try to remove old paint properly. To do this, we will offer you several ways. No previous paintwork materials should remain on the work surface. This is a very important point, otherwise all your work will go down the drain.

Old paint under a new layer will begin to swell and the surface will be damaged. You will perform all this preparatory work on your own, therefore, treat the process in good faith, with enthusiasm.

Why do a door trim?

After completing the procedure for cleaning your door from paint, proceed to the pre-painting preparation of the wooden product. The quality of the work performed at this stage will determine its smoothness, strength and aesthetics at the end of your work.

For this:

1. Use a spatula to remove any remaining pieces of paint from the surface.
2. Remove all irregularities, roughness with sandpaper.
3. Cracks and potholes close up putty.

Important! When closing cracks, pay attention to the color of the putty and the color of future doors. There should not be a big discrepancy in the color scheme.Otherwise, the putty will appear from under the paint.

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A few ways to clean the door from old paint

There are three main ways to remove old paint from a wooden door:

1. Thermal.
2. Mechanical.
3. Chemical.

If the door was painted in one layer, then this will facilitate your work. You will only have to “grind” the surface slightly, and you're done. But we will consider an even more complex option, with several layers of paint, where an integrated approach is needed to bring your door to the proper look.

Method 1 - Thermal

It is reasonable to apply this technology if it is necessary to remove old paint from a wooden door, and 2 or more layers of paint were previously applied to the surface. Under the influence of high temperatures, the paint softens and becomes malleable.

Therefore, take an industrial hair dryer and heat the surface of a wooden door. Modern building hair dryers are equipped with a temperature controller. This will come in handy if glass is installed on the door and you cannot or do not want to remove them.

Then, using a spatula, scrape off the old paint from the wood.

Important! Manipulate carefully without damaging the structure of the wood in complex areas.

Method 2 - Mechanical

A very good way to remove old stubborn paint. Scraping and grinding will bring your door to a proper look. In this way you will achieve the desired result, but in return it will require your diligence and effort. To implement this method, you need to have a few tools:

• Knife.
• Chisels.
• Scraper.
• Grinder machine.
• Sandpaper.
  

The whole essence of this method is to scrape off thick layers of paint with subsequent processing of the grinder. In doing so, take into account such features:

1. The use of sandpaper on the grinder is better to start with a coarse grain and move on to a finer one. This eliminates the roughness on the surface of the tree.
2. In hard to reach places, use a knife, a chisel, a scraper, depending on the complexity of the site.
3. If the paint is applied in several layers and holds well, then you simply will not find a better way than using a grinder with special brushing This is truly a killer option.
4. At the end, using a non-rough sandpaper, bring the surface of the wooden doors to the desired state.

Important! In some cases, an ordinary piece of glass is very suitable, especially if there are no other tools at hand and you are not going to buy them, as well as special chemical washes. After all, all this costs money, sometimes considerable.

The abundance of unnecessary glass at hand will allow you to cheaply and efficiently remove old paint. Just act very carefully so as not to damage the tree and not injure yourself.

Method 3 - Chemical

100% way, not requiring large physical and temporary losses. In each hardware store you can purchase special chemicals for removing old paints and varnishes.

The best paint washes

You can not limit yourself in choosing their assortment, these are Denalt, Marshall SET, Gunter Gut Umsetzer, Graffi Guard 2030.

They include various chemical elements that, when applied to old paint, soften it, and it is easily removed with a spatula.

Tools for work

Before starting to remove paint using special tools, it is necessary to prepare some tools:

1. The solvent itself.
2. Brushes for applying a special tool.
3. Putty knife.
4. Gloves.
5. Goggles.

Important! For this procedure, select a suitable room or utility room. Chemical elements negatively affect the environment and the smell of most products is far from the most pleasant.

General cleaning scheme

To clean the door of old paint, prepare the action field in this way:

• Remove everything hinged from the door - locks, handles, curtains. For convenience and maneuver space.
• Then evenly apply a chemical reagent to the door surface with a brush, following safety precautions when working with chemistry.
• Protect hands, eyes, exposed skin by wearing protective gloves and glasses.
• The method and nature of applying the wash depends on its characteristics and method of application.

Features of using different paint washes:

1. Application Graffi Guard 2030. Apply in a light circular motion to the door with a brush. Give 5-10 minutes to brew. The reagent reacts with the paint at the molecular level. The old paint splits, after which you easily wash off the door surface from dried old paint. If you need to repeat this procedure, maintain a time interval of 10-15 minutes. This will finally take away all the paint you don’t need.
2. Application Gunter. Using a brush or spatula, apply a 1-2 mm thick wash layer. Depending on the thickness of the removed paint, leave to acidify for 15-25 minutes. Finally, remove the old paint with a spatula, degrease with white spirit or solvent. Repeated flushing for old surfaces is allowed.
3. Application Marshall. The tool is applied with a brush. After 10-15 minutes, you scrape off the swollen old paint with a scraper or a spatula. Then wipe the entire treated surface with a cloth moistened with cellulose solvent. Dry the painted surface. Repeat if necessary.

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Preparation for painting

After you have successfully managed to remove the old paint from the wooden door, we proceed to another stage of painting the old door:

1. Take the grinder and carefully bring your door leaf to perfect condition.
2. If a grinder is missing in some places, then grind by hand or use a block with sandpaper glued on it.

Important! When grinding wooden surfaces, any movements, whether by hand or typewriter, always carry out in one direction. This way you will avoid roughness in places where you did not follow this rule.

The machine will remove all bumps, chips, scratches, dents, cracks. But with such a cleaning some problems may arise:

1. If under the old paint you find a blackening of the wood, then this can be eliminated by applying putty to damaged areas. Spread putty to dry and wipe.
2. If dark spots have become widespread, then there is a “miracle solution” to eliminate them. The combination of chlorine with water 1: 3 when applied with a soft brush to damaged areas removes blackness.

You easily and naturally managed to clean the old paint, and the door leaf is in good condition. It is without irregularities, roughness, all cracks are repaired. The putty is dry and sanded. The door is dry and dust free and ready for painting. We move on to the next step in painting the old door.

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How to paint a wooden door?

First of all, you need to make the right choice of paint. Basically, to protect the wood from external influences, oil-based paint is taken. It is deeply absorbed into the structure and very well protects the tree from moisture, cold, frost. Protects from dwelling and eating a cough.

As for the tools:

1. Paint on the door can be applied with a brush. Somewhat time-consuming, but you will be sure that you carefully painted over each small hollow, each ledge.
2. If the door is not paneled, but even - use the roller.
3. The most effective way is to use a spray gun. Very convenient and economical option, applies even layers of paint without drips.

Paint the door with a brush or roller

Consider the option with a brush or roller. Everything is simple here:

1. Thoroughly mix the paint before painting.
2. Apply with a brush or roller in the same layer.

Important! Be careful when dripping paint.If you notice smudges, then do not delay, but immediately eliminate them until the paint has reacted with wood and oxygen, and has not begun to thicken.

Option with a spray gun:

• Shake well before use.
• Since it is thick for use with a spray gun, dilute it with a solvent of type 647. Determine the density of the solution individually (it all depends on the viscosity of the paint itself).
• Fill in the expansion tank of the gun.
• Set the air pressure to 2-3 atmospheres.
• Wear protective clothing - a respirator, gloves, and even better - old unnecessary clothes or a special jumpsuit, bathrobe.
• Slowly paint the product from top to bottom.
• After painting, wash the spray gun with solvent.

Important! Repeat the painting procedure after 15-20 minutes (as soon as it is absorbed), since this way the paint lays in a thin layer, and may not evenly paint the entire plane of your wooden door the first time. After applying two or three layers, you will achieve the desired result.

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Helpful hints:

1. On what basis will your new paint be - this is not only your choice, but also the previous choice of material. If you used an oil-based solution, then you should not risk it - you need to take just such a basis. In varieties of paints, there is an incompatibility of one or another base. And when painting with a different composition, your door will be taken with pimples.
2. When buying varnish or paint for a renovated door, choose paint cans of the same serial number to avoid discrepancies in the color palette.
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   Stock footage

Choose any of these methods, but do not forget to observe safety measures and personal protective equipment when working with paints and varnishes and household electrical appliances. We hope that our tips will help you achieve your goal.