Front Door Refinishing and Painting on the North Shore
Your front door is the one surface every visitor touches and every passer-by sees. A stained wood door gone dull and blotchy, or a painted door chipped at the edges with a brass kick plate that has turned brown, drags the whole house down. Bringing it back is one of the highest-return jobs we do. Most doors are finished in a day or two, and the entry is secure every night.
Wood Door Refinishing
Varnish on a south- or west-facing door does not last. Sun breaks it down, water gets under it, and the wood goes gray in patches. The fix is a full refinish, not a quick coat over the failure:
- Strip the old finish completely. Clear coats cannot be spot-repaired without showing.
- Sand to clean wood and repair dings, checks, and loose mouldings. Gray, weathered wood usually comes back once the damaged surface layer is sanded away.
- Stain in the color you choose, tested first on the inside edge of the door.
- Seal with multiple coats of a marine-grade spar varnish with UV inhibitors, built for the sun and weather a door faces all day.
Mahogany, oak, fir, and cherry doors all refinish well. Doors with a storm door in front of them need a finish that tolerates the heat that builds between the two; we choose the product accordingly.
Painted Doors
A fresh color on the front door is the cheapest curb appeal there is. The work is in the prep: sand, fill, prime the bare spots, then two coats of an exterior enamel that levels out smooth and resists chipping at the edges where the door hits the weatherstripping. Navy, black, deep green, barn red, or a color to match the shutters are the North Shore favorites. Not sure? Try it on a photo of your own house with the paint color visualizer.
Fiberglass and Steel Doors
Fiberglass doors with a wood-grain texture can be gel-stained to look like real wood or painted solid; either way they need a thorough cleaning and a bonding primer, because the surface is slick. Steel doors get rust sanded back to bright metal, a rust-inhibiting primer on those spots, a bonding primer overall, and an exterior enamel. Dark colors on steel doors facing full sun absorb heat; we check the door manufacturer’s color guidance before we paint.
Sidelights, Transoms, Storm Doors, and Trim
While we are there, we do the sidelights, the transom, the storm door frame, the door casing, the brick mould, and the threshold. The entry should match from the step to the top of the trim. Glass is masked, not painted around.
Hardware
Handles, hinges, kick plates, and knockers come off before we start, so there are no paint lines around them. Lacquered brass that has spotted can be cleaned and relacquered or replaced; we will tell you which is worth it. Weatherstripping that has flattened gets replaced at the same time, because a fresh door with a drafty seal is only half a job.
How the Job Runs
- Most doors are refinished in place, on their hinges, so the house is secure overnight. A door that needs a full strip may come off for the day and go back on before we leave.
- Day one is strip, sand, repair, and prime or first stain coat; day two is finish coats with drying time between. Varnish may want a third day in humid weather.
- Exterior finishes want dry days above 50 degrees. Doors can often be done in the shoulder seasons because the work is in a sheltered opening.
Keeping It That Way
A refinished wood door should be wiped down and looked at once a year. When the finish starts to dull, one maintenance coat of varnish keeps you from ever stripping it again. Sunny exposures want that coat every two or three years; shaded doors go much longer. Painted doors need a wash and the occasional touch-up at the edges. We can put you on a schedule.
Front Door and Garage Door Together
Most of our front door jobs include the garage door: same visit, same stain or coordinated color, one finish story for the whole front of the house.
Get a Quote for Your Front Door
Call (847) 564-4880 or request a free estimate. Pete looks at the door himself and puts the price in writing. Doors that take real abuse? See how we refinished the entry doors at a North Shore Metra station. We refinish doors across the North Shore, including Northbrook, Glenview, Winnetka, Wilmette, Evanston, and Highland Park.
