Refinishing the old, distressed garage door.

I like the distressed look as much as anyone but

when the paint chips are piling up on the ground, it's time to refinish!  I'm a sucker for free things left by the side of the road.  That's exactly where I found this door.  It should be a relatively easy fix.  The new strippers aren't like the ones we used in the 70's and 80's (thank goodness).  The toxicity of the old ones was incredibly dangerous but we used it because it was all we could get!  You may find that newer strippers don't work as fast but they do work!  After applying the stripper with a paint brush, I waited the allotted time before removing the paint.

After removing some of the old paint, I was delighted with the gorgeous wood I found underneath!

The stripper "bubbled" up nicely and the paint was very easy to remove.  I used a small scraper and it was very easy to do.  Since this was non-toxic, I put it into an old coffee can that went into the trash.

This particular scraper was helpful for getting into the crevices.  An old soft toothbrush can be used as well.

Looks good but I have a long way to go!

In order to get the remainder of the paint off, I applied the stripper with a cloth.  A coat over the entire door was all it needed.

Voila!

A light sand is all it needs now.  This is an exterior garage door that will be hung on the old carriage house.  No need for it to be perfect.  A few imperfections will ensure it matches the 200 year old house!

It looks so much better already.

I put three coats of polyurethane on the door.  No more paint chips!

Success!  An old lace curtain adds charm and a climbing red rose will give it some pizazz. 

An update - The rose is happy but the door needs another coat or two of poly.  The cold rain has been brutal!  The knocker came with the door....so we put it back.  Love it.