Door Refinishing / French Doors
French door refinishing in St. Louis.
Multi-lite doors require hand work at every glass edge. There are no shortcuts here — and dipping is never an option.
Why French doors require hand prep — always.
French doors — multi-lite doors with glass panels — can't be dipped. The glass can't go in a chemical tank. But more importantly, even if the glass weren't there, dipping would be the wrong choice: the profiles and muntins on a well-made French door have detail that chemical stripping softens and obscures.
Hand work is required. Every muntin, every glass edge, every profile — stripped carefully, masked where needed, finished precisely. It takes longer than a standard slab door. The result is a door that looks right rather than processed.
Sunrooms, dining rooms, libraries.
French doors in St. Louis homes appear most commonly between dining rooms and living areas, in sunroom transitions, and in library or study entries. These are high-visibility locations — the doors are seen from both sides, often with light coming through the glass, which makes any inconsistency in the finish immediately apparent.
We refinish French doors as a unit — door slab, frame, and both sides — so the finish reads consistently from every angle.
Board-up method.
Where the door can be safely removed, we take it to the shop for a controlled-environment finish. For built-in or very large French door assemblies that can't be transported, on-premise work is available.
How the board-up method works →EPA Certified for pre-1978 French doors.
French doors in older St. Louis homes carry the same lead paint considerations as any other pre-1978 wood surface. Sue Wheeler is an EPA Certified Lead Removal. All pre-1978 projects include proper containment and documented cleanup.