Designers had a field day with sliding doors during the '50s, '60s and '70s. The mid-century modern aesthetic gave the world sliding pegboard doors, sliding doors with cutouts and windows and even sliding glass doors on closets in some Eichler-style homes. Refinishing your closet doors to update the look or restore them to their original glory is an easy job due to the fact that the doors can be removed from the track and refinished flat. This simplifies sanding and makes runs and drips less likely. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Remove the doors from their tracks and lay on a flat surface. Removal methods vary be door design, but many have depressable wheels or a similar mechanism on the top track that allows the doors to tilt outward so they can be lifted from the bottom track.
2. Sand all wood surfaces with coarse sandpaper to remove the existing finish and sand again with medium- and again with fine-grit. Scuff metal areas with fine steel wool to smooth. Wipe everything down with a tack cloth to remove dust.
3. Mask off glass areas with newspaper and painter's tape, being careful not to let the tape encroach on surfaces to be finished.
4. Apply a coat of primer to areas to be painted and wood conditioner to areas to be stained. Use a dedicated metal primer for metal areas. Allow to dry thoroughly.
5. Apply a coat of paint or stain, brushing along the grain. For metal areas, brush in the longest direction of that area. Aim for even coverage and smooth strokes. Apply color according to the directions on the can -- some stains are apply-and-go, others require you to wipe off excess stain after a few minutes. Allow to dry.
6. Apply another coat of color. Two coats of paint is plenty, but you can keep applying coats of stain until you achieve the tone you want. Allow to dry.
7. Apply a protective top coat. Polyurethane is fine for both paint and stain, but stained surfaces can also take a varnish for a hand-rubbed gloss. Metal surfaces require a metal-specific top coat.
Tags: metal areas, again with, Allow Apply, Apply coat, areas with, paint stain
