How to restore stained timber windows and doors?

duhas

We have recently bought the place and are keen to refresh the windows our self but struggling to figure out what’s the best approach.

We have existing timber windows and doors which look stained but lot of it has come off from external areas. We would like to ideally have them wooden looking but have heard staining is too complicated.. would you recommend paint or stain and how to go about it. Do we first stain them all and also do we need to do same colour inside and outside?

Could you also please recommend the products which I would need. Thanks 

Thanks

JacobZ

Hi @duhas,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is wonderful to have you with us.

It looks like they have used an external varnish, which might include a stain.

Regardless of what you're replacing it with, the first step would be to remove the old coating. You can remove the coating by sanding the surface with 80 Grit Sandpaper. You'll want to mask off the glass with something like this UNi-PRO 550mm x 25m 30-Day Pre-Taped Masking Tape to protect it while sanding. You can hand sand, or use a sander to speed things up a bit.

Once the coating has been removed, you'll want to use a finer grit sandpaper, like 180 Grit Sandpaper, to further smooth and prepare the surface for coating.

You can then apply a coating of your choice. If you are looking for a clean timber look, then varnish like this Bondall Satin Monocel Gold Marine Clear Timber Varnish would be a good option that would protect and enhance the natural look of the timber. It does not contain a stain, although you can get versions with a stain if you'd like to alter the timber's colour a bit.

There's no definitive requirement that you coat both the inside and outside of the timber with the same product, but it might look a little odd considering you can see through the glass to the other side. Ultimately, this is purely an aesthetic choice, and you can do whatever you wish to.

For the application of your coating, I'd suggest using a high-quality sash cutter brush. They are angled, which allows you to have good control in tight corners, like you will have in your windows.

Have a look at How to paint trims. The situation and materials are slightly different, but the process is much the same.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob