wood....everythings so dark!

[matmushroom]

Hi again (this is really becoming my come to website for issues and questions!)

So, been living in this great house for a couple of years, and we have finally gotten around to talking about decoration and heres the problem...

everything in my place - doors, windows, stair banister, door frames, window frames etc have all been stained with a very dark stain, and I hate it, it makes everything look dark and miserable.

Now I realise theres not a lot I can do about the windows (other than replace them - they are pvc) but as for the doors/frames/skirting.. Whats the best bet.

Does anyone have any opinions on removing the varnish, or what about painting it, or am I better off just removing it all, the whole door/door frame and replacing it all with new?

If its a case of replacment then thats fine, but does anyone have any ball park costs for say a new solid door and frame, as well as getting them fitted - we have about 11 doors in the house

 

[elrobbo82]

no need to replace just sand down with a fine sandpaper (around 400 grit wet and dry) to provide a key and undercoat over the top and apply required finish.

 

[dcdec]

Mmm, not sure i agree with that.

Dark stain will require two undercoats for sure, plus the fact previously stained timber needs to be sealed, there are many good paints for this such as aluminium wood primer, coverstain, 123 and bin, my personal choice would be coverstain. The primer sealer will also serve as a binding coat to the undercoat ensuring good adhesion, too chancy just applying u/c as it is likely to chip and flake far more easily

 

[elrobbo82]

as its been varnished i assumed this will have sealed in the stain. agreed 2 coats of undercoat would normally be required due to dark stain. giving a good sand down and providing a decent key would stop the chipping. i'm a big fan of BIN primer as it does have great adhesion properties as dc dec states.

 

[matmushroom]

oh, ok... two further questions...

By sanding - given that theres quite a lot of wood, would you recomed a electric sander?

And, what if (ill admit Im just thinking out loud) I wanted to remove the stain and re stain with a lighter stain?

Good idea or bad idea?

 

[misterhelpful]

Your original post doesn't make it clear whether you want to paint or lighten the stain, but, from you last post, it seems as though you may prefer the latter.
If this is the case then I would say it is wishful thinking to lighten the dark stain. It can be done to a certain degree by a bleaching process (ask someone else about that ) but will never look as good as bare wood being stained to the exact colour you choose, therefore it could be better to renew the timber and start from scratch. This will not be a cheap option considering the number of doors etc, and prices for this type of work will vary around the country, as will the different timbers available.

The cheapest option would be to paint everything a lighter colour and, as most of the Zinsser primers can be applied without the need for sanding, would probably be the easiest too. If you go with a different type of primer, or the undercoat, I would personally recommend doing any sanding that is required by hand.

 

[dcdec]

It probably hasn't been varnished, rare to come across varnish on top of a stain, i think its just the way the poster has worded it, if it is varnished even more need for a sealer as it may yellow into the paint system.

The most important thing about a coat of paint is whats underneath it, abrade or not it needs a good quality primer/sealer

You cant remove stain because they penetrate the timber, all you can do is bleach it if you want to go lighter, as for sanding its up to you

 

[dcdec]

Posted at the same time Mr H

 

[misterhelpful]

Posted at the same time Mr H

Great minds.....