One of the things I like most about my house is that it still has the original, wooden trim and doors. No one has painted over them. The stain used is a deep, reddish mahogany color.
Unfortunately, it’s been awhile since anyone’s paid much attention to the trim. There are some nicks and worn down areas. Paint is caked on the edges in some spots, or splashed in random areas. There are also some graffitied messages and pictures carved, crayoned or permanent-markered into it. As cute as some of it is, it’s time to get rid of it.
The steps in this post outline how I beautifully refinish woodwork in my house and rental unit!
1. Tape Off
I suppose this step could be optional, but I’m sort of the messy type when it comes to projects. I taped the perimeter of the door frame, sticking the tape to the wall. Invest in some good quality painter’s tape, so you don’t have the problem I had (where the paint from the wall came off with the tape and now I have to go back and repaint it).
2. Clean
Next, give the trim a good ol’ scrubbing. I used water, soap, and a splash of denatured alcohol. I also used vinegar in a spray bottle and spritzed that onto the doors before scrubbing with my bristle brush or sponge. This was a good way to take off the top layer of dirt. It was obvious no one had done this for a while, because the water became disgustingly brown pretty quick.
I also went around the edges of the trim where it meets the plastered walls, and scraped of the paint from previous sloppy painters. I used a metal scraping tool, and that helped to score some of it, but I found a flathead screwdriver to be most helpful in scraping. Just be careful that you don’t push too hard and scrape the wood.
In the spots where the paint was most stubborn, I applied pure denatured alcohol to it and let it sit for a couple of minutes before scrubbing and scraping. Sometimes it took a few rounds of application.
3. Fill in Holes/Repair Damage
Use a matching wood putty to fill in any holes in the woodwork. It was evident that my pantry door once had a dart board on it, so you can imagine how holey it was! It’s usually not a perfect match but definitely helps camouflage any imperfections.
If you have any significant damage, take care of it now. The corner piece of some window trim had cracked off in one spot of my apartment. I used a hacksaw to craft a fitting piece, stuck it in with some wood glue, and filled any gaps with stainable wood filler. It wasn’t perfect, but you wouldn’t notice it now, if you’re not looking for it.
4. Sand
Lightly sand the woodwork. I believe I used 120 grit for this. For most of the wood, this is just a once or twice over with the sanding pad. You might have spots (say, where someone carved their initials in the trim or a dog did some chewing) where you want to sand noticeable imperfections out. Do that now. Then, wipe down any sand dust with a damp rag. Lightly roughening up the surface will help the stain adhere to the wood better.
5. Stain
You may want to take off any hardware on doors or frames first. I just left mine on, since it’s so dark and tarnished, the stain didn’t really show, and it seemed to wipe off easily anyway.
Find a stain color closest to the one that’s already on the trim. For me, it was “Red Mahogany” from Minwax. I did find that in some spots, where the old finish was completely gone and it was down to raw wood, it took the stain darker. Like, comparatively black, next to the rest of the wood. I really don’t have a suggestion for how to get it lighter, if the wood is taking it dark like that. For me, I like that effect. First, it hides the imperfections better than the raw wood. The light, raw wood is very noticeable, and when it becomes dark, it’s like a shadow- you tend not to notice it much. Secondly, it gives it an antique, vintage feel. Rather than “worn down”, it looks “beautifully aged”. So I’m quite happy with this. It would be WAY too much work to completely sand everything down and restain it all for perfect consistency. This is a good compromise.
Use a lint-less rag to generously apply the stain to all of the woodwork. Even the parts that look okay. This helps keep a consistent coloration throughout. After a few minutes, wipe it down. Don’t wait too long, or it will start to dry, and you’ll need to use a lot of muscle power to wipe it off!
Take a step back and take in the beautiful new glow your woodwork now has!
6. Protect
Once the stain has had time to set (usually 24 hours) you can then use a top, protective coat of polyurethane.
I like to make my own wipe-on poly. It’s really easy; equal parts of polyurethane and mineral spirits. (You can also buy a premade version like this.) Mix it up in a cup and you’re ready. The wipe on poly doesn’t leave any drips, and I find it just less messy overall (unless you happen to kick the cup over like I did… :/ ). Dip a lint-less rag into the poly mixture and just wipe it on over the stain. Keep the coat pretty thin. It will dry fairly quickly– it’s usually safe to recoat after four hours.
The wipe-on poly does go on thinner than regular, so you may want more coats, if that is your preference. I usually only do 3 or 4, since I some of the protective coat from previous trim work is still lingering (I didn’t fully remove it when I cleaned it).
The first time you poly, you will probably get some stain on your rag. That’s normal. By the third round of polying, you shouldn’t see the stain coming off anymore. So you might go through more rags in the first round of poly.
7. Remove Tape and Enjoy the Beautiful, Refinished Woodwork!
It’s a bit of a tedious process– at least more tedious than simply painting over it, which many people do– but I’d say it’s well worth it, if you love the classic, natural wood look. Refinishing the woodwork has really brought my living space up a notch. I still have a few more rooms to refinish woodwork in, but if you take it one section at a time, it’s a little overwhelming. Hopefully these tips will work for you, leave me a comment about how it went!
Staining Fun
Looking for another wood staining project? Check out this fun Wood Shim Wall Art Tutorial here!
