Old doors need some work

The flat areas are going to be quite easy to sand and restore. However the trim pieces are very tricky and getting the last flecks of the current finish is going to be really hard.

Having the doors professional dipped in solvent used to be quite fashionable a few years ago and was relatively cheap. It is less popular now and I guess the prices have risen. They do tend to make the doors really dry and subsequently prone to be splitting. Waxing afterwards restores some of the "life" in the door and disguises a lot of the marks as character.

When looking at filler, check that they will take a stain/paint finish and that it is close to the colour your want - we had a person on here a few weeks ago whom after having the doors dipped used the wrong filler and it showed through the finish

 

You may want to try some paint striper for the more awkward bits. Nitromors isn't as good as it used to be and is very expensive. If you live near the coast or waterway, ship shandlers sell some very good products that can strip all sorts of coatings - as you get near the surface you may find a scumball coat which will be like toffee (very hard and brittle or so soft it clogs the sandpaper).

http://www.force4.co.uk/owatrol-mar...gclid=CLTJ75CtgdICFU-77QodTWEMtQ#.WJuBVDuLS00

In terms of filler and finish, I would try and get both from the same company. People on here tend to use Osmo or Fiddes products

Try and wear a face mask when sanding the doors as some of the older paints had some nasty chemicals as well as lead and the fine dust is actually a killer!

 

Few years ago, door dipping was just the thing for this, but like sospan said, its going out of fashion now and prices for it have gone up. that aside i totally agree with the instructions you have been given above and if followed correctly you will get a decent finish on that tired door. One thing, make sure you wear a dust mask during the sanding phase, you really do not want to be breathing that in and make sure you ventilate the room/ area you do it in. To echo the above, use a paint stripper for the hard parts, and get a filler close to the color you want and one that will take the finish you intend to apply. On the whole excellent advice from sospan!

Take your time and you will get a pretty decent finish out of this

go well

Bertie