Varnish advice for exterior doors and windows

[Schur]

Hi everyone. First post.

I am looking for advice on how to best re-treat the varnished exterior facing doors and windows and to seal and protect them again, without having to completely sand back to bare wood. The doors and windows are west facing and exposed to the sun. They are starting to look dry but the existing varnish is not cracked or pealing anywhere.  

Any advice would be great! Thanks.

[Jason]

Hi @Schur,

Let me extend a very warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We're really pleased to have you join us and are pleased to see you make you first post. 

Could I please encourage you to share some photos of your doors and windows so members can see what you are working with? It might help members provide more specific advice for your situation. It might also be helpful to know (if possible) what was previously used to seal them - whether it is something that needs to be sanded back and removed before another coating is applied.

One of our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. experts @MitchellMc will certainly be happy to share his thoughts when he is back on the site tomorrow. 

I trust you will get loads of helpful information, advice and inspiration for all your projects around the house and garden from our wonderful members. Feel free to post anytime you need a hand.  

Jason

[Schur]

 

Thanks for the response. I have included 2 pictures. I unfortunately don't know exactly what was used to treat the doors originally. The lower section of the doors that is exposed to the afternoon sun has gone dull while the upper section has a satin finish.

Thanks all!

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Schur,

As a general rule, when applying a varnish, the previous coating must be stripped and sanded back to bare timber. We have several products to select from, including Cabot's 1L Satin Clear Exterior Timber Finish, Bondall 1L Satin Monocel Gold Marine Clear Timber Varnish, Feast Watson Weatherproof 1L Satin Clear Timber Varnish and Intergrain 1L UltraClear Satin Exterior Timber Varnish.

Since it's quite an exhaustive process to re-coat a door with varnish, I'd suggest you use a premium product such as Intergrain 1L UltraClear Satin Exterior Timber Varnish. You'll see the maximum possible lifespan from it under your conditions.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell