The Evolution of a Door
So, remember that door from a few weeks ago? Somehow, between multiple servings of turkey and pumpkin pie, I finished it! Here’s a pictorial recap of what it took to get ‘er done.
Step One: Use paint stripper to remove the magenta paint from the door.
Step Two: Feel deeply disappointed when you realize the stripper will not remove the layer of primer beneath the magenta paint. Begin swearing and asking the door “What am I supposed to do now?”
Step Three: The gloves are off, Door! Literally. Upon realizing the stripper is now useless to you, take your now magenta-colored, acid-proof stripping gloves off and hide them away because you have spent far too much time in them.
Step Four: Complain to your husband for 30 minutes about how the door has become the biggest, most enormous pain in your butt. Hear him suggest that a heat gun might peel the primer off the door. Out of sheer desperation, make the decision to listen to him.
Step Five: Rejoice! The heat gun works and as an added bonus, it prevents you from freezing in your unheated garage. Smile in appreciation of your husband and his good ideas.
Step Six: Realize that although the heat gun removes most of the primer, there’s still plenty of paint residue on the door and you will need to work with the stripper again. Dig through the garage to find your stripping gloves – their magenta color helps complete this task. Mentally prepare for 8 more hours of work.
Step Seven: Note that paste (rather than liquid) stripper looks a lot like snot.
Step Eight: Decide that others need to see how stripper resembles snot.
Step Nine: Hold back tears of frustration as you realize those damn nooks and crannies are ridiculously difficult to get magenta paint out of. Suck it up and do what must be done. Find an old toothbrush and spend hours intimately scrubbing the door with stripper. Understand that you and the door officially have a love-hate relationship. Explain to the door that “she” better do her part and look amazing when this is all over. Blush with embarrassment when you realize your husband has just overheard you talking to a door.
Step Ten: Get down on your knees and thank the lord that you have finished the arduous task of removing magenta paint from a 95-year-old door. Feel deep happiness that you can finally do something other than strip paint, like sand the door three times with different types of sandpaper.
Step Eleven: Stand back and admire your lovely sanded door. For the first time, feel that all this hard work just might be worth it.
Step Twelve: Take a picture of yourself (wearing a winter snowsuit so you don’t freeze after spending hours in an unheated garage in November) to illustrate what it looks like to be covered in a layer of sawdust. My face looked like this, too. And my snot.
Step Thirteen: Apply pre-stain wood conditioner to prevent the stain from looking blotchy on your door.
Step Fourteen: Stare at the door for approximately 15 minutes, silently reminding it that it better look amazing after all this work. Feel scared that you’re about to screw up the door. Take a deep breath and apply a coat of stain.
Step Fifteen: Feel relieved that the door is not ruined. Congratulate yourself on reaching the end of a lot of hard work. Find your husband to reassure you that the door does look okay. Ask the people who read your blog to reassure you that the door looks okay.
Step Sixteen: Post a ‘Before’ and ‘After’ photo to remind yourself of how far you’ve taken the door.
Step Seventeen: Decide that even though it’s not your favorite stain color, you still think the door turned out nicely.
Step Eighteen: Sigh deeply because there are still at least two more doors to refinish. Thankfully, neither of them are magenta.
Damn, that’s awesome! Lots of patience and determination so definitely revel in your accomplishment. CONGRATS!
The door looks good. Feel reassured. The door looks good.
The last few pictures are just the kick in the ass I need to finish my door – I can only hope it looks half as good as yours when I’m done!
The door looks great!! I’ll be home all week, so come over and get me and I can help you.
Just gorgeous!! You did an amazing job!!