The Machine Shop Has Been Closed

Good job. Well done. To get into those nooks and cranies a hook scraper works pretty good. Especially if you use a razor knife along the edge to cut the old finish. When doing varnish on my boat I was taught by some of the best paint and varnish guys in Dana Point to use 320 to prep for the last coat. 100 to start followed by 220 between coats and 320 before the last coat. Cut the sandpaper into 4 pieces and fold it into 3rd's. Most people keep using sandpaper long after it stops sanding. You can feel the difference. I would imagine that you would need at least 5 to maybe 10 sheets of sandpaper for each door. On the flats you have to use a hard block to sand with. Otherwise you will get a dished look. Using brushing thinner also helps the brush marks to flow out. Just like anything there are little tricks to learn.
 
Mickri has some really good points. How you fold the sand paper is helpful too. I fold whatever paper I am using (size is irrelevant) into 1/4s. The last one gets cut along the fold line though and then folded over onto the other side. Hard to explain but that way none of the grit is grinding against the other grit, they are all grit to back of paper.
Scraper and sanding blocks are your friend. I use products from Klinspor Woodworking Shop.
If these doors face to the south, keeping them looking nice will be an ongoing process. A UV resistant finish, like a spar varnish is important. Do not use just a polyurethane because it will not hold up at all. I would recommend something like Sikkens Cetol or similar. Look into boat finishes because they take a beating.
I have been woodworking for over 30 years. Build mostly furniture. I find woodworking relaxing and the end products to be beautiful when constructed of one of natures beautiful gifts. I love metalworking because of the precision and the absolutely awesome projects one can come up with. I just don't like the swarf compared to sawdust, but I do have a full cyclone system for my wood shop.
 
If your are looking for a really good quality varnish that holds up in direct sunlight there is nothing better than Pettit Flagship. Not inexpensive at over $40 a quart but you can't beat the look of 10 coats on a teak cockpit combing. This varnish is a several years old and due for a touch up. I touch it up if it gets a scratch and one or two coats every two years to keep it looking nice

cockpit combing.jpg
 
@mickri I guess this brings up another side topic, proper sandpaper. I'm not talking grit but the sandpaper you use on metal is different than wood. As I despise wood (actually I don't dislike as much as I did in my youth,) but as of recently, I pulled sandpaper out of the drawer just to remove some mill scale. It was pretty rough, 180 I think. The metal just destroyed it. It was garnet flint and I typically use zirconia alumina. but yeah, there are a lot of sandpaper abrasives out there, and I don't pretend to understand it all but picking the right one can make the job a lot easier.
 
For wood I buy the big box store 25 sheet packs of 220 which I use the most. I buy smaller packs of 100 and 320. The guys I knew that did paint and varnish for a living used whatever sandpaper that was readily available. And lots of it.

Besides sandpaper you have brushes. I have not found anything in the big box stores that is worth using. I buy my brushes mostly from West Marine. I believe the brand is Corona. Might be wrong on that. They have a black handle and cost over $30 for the smaller brushes and go up from there. They last forever if you clean them properly after each use. I have dedicated brushes for varnish and each color of paint on the boat. Believe it or not but some of the pros exclusively use the el cheapo foam brushes and lots of them. Using foam brushes is more expensive in the long run even if you factor in the time it takes to clean good brushes.
 
7milesup said:
If these doors face to the south, keeping them looking nice will be an ongoing process. A UV resistant finish, like a spar varnish is important. Do not use just a polyurethane because it will not hold up at all.
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That's good to know, thanks. UV damage was my main concern & is why I had to refinish them. I was thinking to just buy some sort of oil based polyurethane. The one I ended up using said good for outdoors, helps protect against UV & rain, so that's what I bought (just from a big box hardware store).

It does say spar urethane on the can. Was water based though & was thinner (viscosity) than the can of polyurethane I already had so I was a bit worried. But I don't know if that's a bad thing, hopefully it holds up fine. Doors face the north and are recessed so they don't see a lot of direct sunlight throughout the day.
 
A north facing door won't get any direct sunlight unless the sunlight is reflected off of something. Put on a couple of extra coats now and it will hold up better. Plan on a touch up coat once a year. You only need a quick light scuff to give the varnish something to stick to and one coat of varnish.
 
As I’m sure @mickri will confirm, one of the keys to maintaining any kind of film finish is staying on top of any nicks that break through the finish. As soon as moisture gets underneath it’s game over.

I made a varnish touch-up kit when I owned a boat so I could deal with any nicks or gouges.
I could get three years out of a varnish job if I used good quality varnish and stayed on top of maintenance.


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