# need help with a re-purposed door



## maw_7787 (Oct 24, 2014)

I was fortunate enough to come across an old, weathered door and would really like to re-purpose it into wall decor/coat rack. The best feature of this door is, of course, the weathered, cracked paint. My concern with this project is doing this without damaging the original paint too much. It's got some pretty dirty spots on it, mostly just dirt that shouldn't take some hard scrubbing. How should I go about cleaning it? I would also like to preserve and protect the original paint with something that won't take away from its natural look. Any suggestions?


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

Can you post a pic of the door? 
We took an old panel door that we found in grandpa's attic,
cut it in half and made room dividers from it, however,
we stripped it first, then painted it. 

Keeping it intact as you want to do is very "in" now,
shabby and chic as it's known. I'd be interested in the replies
as how to clean up the dirt leaving the original paint intact. 

I like your idea of making it into a wall coat rack.


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## RobertCurry (Oct 20, 2014)

Two Knots said:


> Can you post a pic of the door?
> We took an old panel door that we found in grandpa's attic,
> cut it in half and made room dividers from it, however,
> we stripped it first, then painted it.
> ...


Hey right suggestion, agreed with you.


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## maw_7787 (Oct 24, 2014)

Well I finally started on my project this past week, FINALLY! If you're interested, I can tell you what I did (and it didn't turn out half bad). As far as the dirt and filth on the door, I just used warm water and an old rag to clean it. The old paint is sturdier than it looks and maintained very well. Of course, there was a lot of small chips that came off in the process, but, if anything, adds to its uniqueness and age appearance. Once it was cleaned and dried for a day, I first used this Krylon spray that was a protectant on a scrap piece I cut off of the end, but didn't have a sheen to it, which is what I wanted, but it didn't seal it like I anticipated. So instead, I used a polycrylic with a semi-gloss and it was perfect.

I ended up cutting both ends off the door because a 6' (or even 5') on my wall seemed a bit over kill to me. My plan now is to find and order an antique bronze door knob with a keyhole to add. There are three panels on the door that I want to insert mirrors in (having a 4'x3' door on my wall still seems a bit much, so I'm hoping that mirrors will not make it seem so MONSTROUS)! Then the last thing is add coat hooks and key hooks and mount! I'll get a picture soon...it's raining today.


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## NickTheGreat (Jul 25, 2014)

Sounds great. We made a table out of an old door piece, but didn't want the paint. Did the rough sand and couple coats of poly.


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