# Merbau/brazillian cherry front door



## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

Well, here's that door I spent 2  days sanding. 

If any of you get the chance to do one of these, charge a fortune for it - they're a pain in the ass. :jester:

Before:


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

afters:


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Sweet looking finish Alec. :thumbsup:


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## brushmonkey (Jan 4, 2010)

Sweet! Every time your clients come home they'll think the same thing....sweet! :thumbsup:


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## Lambrecht (Feb 8, 2010)

Looks great! Nice work.


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

Look awesome man!
Good job as always.


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

This job was funny almost. Today I had finally finished all the sanding and masking and was just getting started with the washcoat when one of my old employees walks in - I guess he and his partner had done all the interior painting in the place. Hadn't seen him in 4 years. As i'm working away he's mulling around good and close to where i'm working watching how I do things and asking all sorts of questions. I of course don't want to give all my secrets away so I give him the skinny of how I do wood finishing, but I swear he spent most of the day there working in the front entrance, just watching me lol


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## Ranger72 (Jul 3, 2010)

Very nice man. Nice work.


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

looks great! what finish system did you use?


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

TJ Paint said:


> looks great! what finish system did you use?


ICA wood finishing systems. 

4:1 washcoat
spray and wipe dye stain (custom dark walnut)
Brush and wipe stain (custom tint) for cherry
2.5% tinted 2K p/u base coat
2% tinted topcoat (polyurethane)


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

quality takes time.. RCON you the man. Young bucks new to the game take note..


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

That is sweet Alec, that wood is *very* hard. My last flip over 3 years ago got Brazilian cherry flooring and I had to predrill every hand driven nail.

I made this sweet computer desk with the left overs, and scraps.


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

straight_lines said:


> That is sweet Alec, that wood is *very* hard. My last flip over 3 years ago got Brazilian cherry flooring and I had to predrill every hand driven nail.
> 
> I made this sweet computer desk with the left overs, and scraps.


That floor looks sweet!

Can't quite tell from the pics though what the computer desk looks like...

You're right about that cherry; it was the only part of the door i didn't pre-seal - I never could have gotten the frame to match the dark door colour if I had sealed it. Instead I just sanded it to 220 and hit it with a dye.


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## VanDamme (Feb 13, 2010)

Beautiful! Good job!


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

Rcon said:


> That floor looks sweet!
> 
> Can't quite tell from the pics though what the computer desk looks like...
> 
> You're right about that cherry; it was the only part of the door i didn't pre-seal - I never could have gotten the frame to match the dark door colour if I had sealed it. Instead I just sanded it to 220 and hit it with a dye.


 Thanks. Were you working with two different species, or just different samples of the same wood? If so what was the frame made of? Also if you don't mind telling us what was the entire process? Again really nice finish.

Also that is just the top of the desk, and it sits on top of two dual drawer filing cabinets. The flooring was prefinished, but the scraps I was using were damaged or had flaws. 

I stripped it down to bare wood and put six coats of spar on it. Holds my 24" monitor, and a 42" monitor. I will try and get some picks or my media/home office.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

That door looks great!


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

straight_lines said:


> Thanks. Were you working with two different species, or just different samples of the same wood? If so what was the frame made of? Also if you don't mind telling us what was the entire process? Again really nice finish


Thanks!

I was working with 2 different wood species. The exterior was entirely Merbau, and the interior portion of the door and frame were also Merbau, but the casing was brazillian cherry. 

Finish process was 

Fill all gaps with wood filler tinted to wood colour (all gaps in door, frame and casing). 

Sanded with all tools imaginable to get all filler off the door except in the grooves where I wanted it - since I didn't want it cracking - ever - I used a non shrinking filler which was increadibly difficult to sand. This took a lot of extra time and I would discourage any future clients from having this done. I would instead suggest using clear silicone caulking to fill small gaps after finishing is completed. 

Once I got all the filler off, I used a random orbit sander, starting at 150 and finishing at 220. 

Washcoated all merbau wood with polyurethane thinned 4:1 with D-101010. (no washcoat to cherry)

Stained merbau with ICA exterior stain. 

Stained cherry with ICA exterior stain (custom colour to match merbau)

Basecoated all with polyurethane base coat tinted 2.5% with exterior dye stain. 

Sand with worn sanding sponge, vacuum, and tack clean. 

Topcoated all with 2% tinted polyurethane base coat, fogging lighter wood as necessary to blend in better with darker areas of the door.

Went over it with kraft paper and 0000 steel wool to smooth out any rough spots. 

Done! 

Stains, P/U and Catalyst: ~$400.00
Sandpaper and sponges: ~$100.00
D-101010: $57.00 
32 Hours
Learning experience - priceless.....

For everything else, there's mastercard.


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