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Deciding on Refinishing Wood Garage Doors: The Milky Look or the Wow Look!

Wood Garage Doors - Milky Look

We just completed the stripping and refinishing of two wood garage doors in a Western suburb of Chicago. This is one of our specialties as house painting contractors. Over time, the sun and the elements had caused the varnish to break down and become milky and dull. When wood doors develop that look, it becomes a case of starting over!

To have easy access to the door surfaces, we removed the weather stripping on the outside of the doors. We then proceeded to strip the doors and sand the surfaces with different grades of sand paper to ensure smooth surfaces. Next, we created a custom color blend to match the color of the existing wood entry door to the house, using a Sikkens product specially designed to finish wood doors and windows. To get the proper color intensity, we only needed one coat of the pigmented varnish, followed by two coats of the clear varnish. Wow, what a difference!

Wood Garage Doors - Wow Look

It is important to note that in spite of the fact that the front door and the garage doors were installed at the same time, the finish on the entry door had remained intact because it is sheltered from both the sun and the elements. Let’s face it: refinishing wood doors is an expensive proposition! When the doors are exposed to the elements in the way those garage doors are, it is critical to do periodic maintenance, in order to avoid having to refinish the doors again. To that end, we recommend a two-year maintenance program that includes a close inspection of the door surfaces including the weather stripping, a cleaning of the doors, stain touch ups if need and a re-varnishing of the doors. The cost of such maintenance is usually only12 to 15% of the refinishing costs. Our clients like the maintenance program because it gives them the peace of mind of knowing that their investment is protected, while enjoying the “wow” look of their doors.