My place has a beautiful old maple front door. It's been stained and polyurethaned but from the looks of it that was about 15 years ago. So I'm going to sand it down, strip it, re-stain it and coat it in poly. Does anybody have any advice on how to go about this? I'm not too keen on the chemical strippers since they're bad for the wood right? How then to get down to the bare wood? Scrapers? Sanding? If so how long might that take? Also, what products could you recommend for the re-finishing? Thanks in advance!

Chemical strippers are not bad for the wood, they are bad for the environment. However, they get the job done. An easier way is to take the door to a professional stripper.
Do not use polyurethane. Polu is not for exterior use and will yellow and flake off. Use a good quality marine spar-varnish (McCloskey's) available at BM store, 2nd and Girard. Good luck!

You can get it at most hardware stores. Also the real milk paint company in pa sells stuff. ditto on the poly, it will yellow. You can also finish it in tung oil, I use this allot on counters, floors, doors etc... It's the oil from the chines tung tree nut.

It's actually a very hard job. I would recommend taking it to a place that dips them. You will love the ease and it's about $300. pm if you want some info.

__________________
Chris
Sustainable Building
From Foundation to Finish
www.thestockgroup.net

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy"
Franklin

There is a wood stripping company in Glenside. I don't remember their name but they can have it back & forth in one day