Teak door strip and finish

[Pdevore]

I am looking for some help on refinishing a teak screen door. The door has a stain and some type of clear on top of that. My client would like the door stained to a different color. I am currently looking at the new RO 90 for this project. I have never dealt with teak and do not know how it will respond to harsh sanding.
Any help would be appreciated.
Suggestions of different equiptment and or paper to use for the removal.

Thanks
Pete

 

[tiralie]

Pete:
I have sanded a fair share of teak of outdoor furniture.
It sands well but it can be slow to remove a finish. You need to be careful with profiles (start at 100 grit) as they can quickly deteriorate during the sanding process.
I usually start with 80 grit on smooth surfaces (table tops etc.) and move up through the range to 120.
I have used Porter Cable, Bosch and Makita profile and palm sanders and they all can do a good job but dust collection on these are the issue. I wouldn't use anything other than a Festool for this now.
Porter Cable's profile sander is terrible. The Bosch profile sander is pretty good with an ok dust collection. Makita's dust collection is surprisingly good.
Teak dust is considered toxic so you shouldn't spend a lot of time sanding it without a mask or a good dust collection system.
I'm not sure you need to wait for the RO 90 but is sure is a good excuse to buy one. I am sure the RO 90 or any other Festool connected to a vacuum would work well. If you have a lot of profiles consider a profile sander as it is a lot of work (time) to sand teak profiles by hand.
In your part of the country the door has probably been finished with a varnish (maybe not that's why you need to finish it) and I would try to remove that with a chemical stripper first. Then sand. depending on the type of stain (Dye etc) used you may or may not be able to sand it clear. There are some chemical strippers that will also remove the stain but I have not used them.
After you have finished cleaning up the door and re staining, I would definitely finish coat it with a good Spar varnish so that Minnesota winter doesn't kick the crap out of it the first year.
Hope this helps. Good luck
Tim

 

[Pdevore]

Thanks for the input.
As for profiles there are basically none. It does however have a double radius arched top. The door is in great condition just not the color the new owners would like. Not having any extra teak of this age or graining how should I expect it to stain, ie: darker lighter or blotchy?
As you can tell I am nervous about messing up a 42" wide by 98" tall custom teak door.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[tiralie]

Pete:
In my experience untreated Teak takes petroleum based stains well. I have not used gel stains or water based stains on teak. Unless you get the door sanded down to bare wood it will be difficult to predict what affect the old stain will have on the new color.
Others here may have more experience cleaning stain from teak.
I have stained clear unfinished teak and it absorbs stain evenly. Most of my experience has been with finishing teak with products that contain a tint or dye used for boat decks and outdoor furniture
It sounds like your clients have a good idea what they want and the only way you can be sure you are going to do what they like is to show them a sample on a piece of teak.
Before you get to staining the freshly sanded door I would definitely create a step panel to show your client what the color will look like. You don't want to sign that puppy too many times.
When you are done post a picture of your RO 90 in action.
Good luck.
Tim