Oh, heck with all of that. That's nuts. Get your bad self some Citrstrip or Soygel. Put it on. Cut plastic bags up and press them onto the stripper to keep it in contact with the wood. The hardest part: LEAVE IT ALONE. I go to work, bed, whatever, but leave it essentially for 8 hours. It's hard not to want to peek. With a plastic squeegee, push the sludge off into another plastic bag. If you leave it alone for enough time, you can get through many layers (my best is 7 different colors, let alone their clear topcoats). A 2nd application of Citristrip with the same plastic bag procedure, has sucked the stain right out of the wood. It bubbles the paint up in ribbons and/or it comes off in sheets. It's great in detail, because it bubbles right out of the crevices. I use a toothpick and/or an eyeglass repair kit screwdriver to pick the teensy bits out. I'm doing 15 antique doors (not THAT old) with various finishes. Some just dark, crappy pseudo cherry with alligatored varnisu on it. I was doing a door a weekend. i.e. the two overnight applications. No space suit, no flesh-eating chemicals, no fancy equipment and no hiring labor for this. Come on! If I get the goop on my hands and it won't wash off, I just put a little Citristrip on like lotion, wait a minute and wash my hands. I do this in my pajamas, jeans, barefoot, cabinets in place, in my kitchen. I gotta tell you, it's almost fun. No matter what anyone says, though, don't neutralize with mineral spirits. Turn your piece on its side and use water with a plastic scrubbie. Just like a tiny blurb on their website says. Mineral Spirits re-hydrated gooey stain that had been lifted (think BBQ sauce) and put it right back into the wood. Only magenta this time. I wasted time, money and product using another application of Citristrip to get it out. When your wood has dried completely, you might have a powdery residue. You can use 220 grit to rub it off while smoothing any raised grain, or you can use your plastic scrubbie. I use a toothpick if any dries in the crevices. I'm down to GORGEOUS bare wood without sanding. I'd initially started just to get crap off the doors so I could paint. They're so gorgeous I've sealed them with a completely matte finish and they're going in natural. It doesn't even take the color out of your jeans when you wipe your hands on them. I can't post more than one pic at a time, because I haven't gotten around to a web host. I'll show you some steps, though. It's almost fun. Consulting with a specialist about the wood itself is a good idea. #1. Putting Citristrip on an antique French door & the plastic shopping bags. You can see how quickly the paint begins to bubble up.

Love the idea of using the picture, cutting out the door, and checking color samples to get an idea. We have a new construction home that is "granite gray" (a medium tone gray) with white windows and trim. I love the contrast. We do have a 1/2 wall of brick in the front with a mix of neutrals (tans,whites,grays). I've been thinking of a plum or eggplant color for the front door. I do love the BM Cottage Red that Jan in WI has, but my husband is pretty conservative and that might be too much for him - but I'm sure we could work that out. ;-) Any thoughts or suggestions? I appreciate any additional input - I often refer to myself as "fasionably challenged" and this is my first time on this website/forum. Thanks (I will post a pic when I figure it out)

The door is fiberglass so staining is an option, too. Although stained fiberglass doors always look to me like... stained fiberglass. :) Cream is interesting. I'd not thought of carrying something like the trim color to the door. I really need to take better pics, but our camera battery is dead and we apparently (oops) packed the charger. I had thought of green, though more of a muted sagey green. Had not thought of eggplant but that's interesting as well! The porch faces south, so it will only get indirect light. And it's about 11 feet back from the steps, so it never be well lit other than the electric lights (decorative one by the door, two recessed). The stone has hues of ruddy browns, oranges... but no real cream. It's more of a gray-beige (when I held a SW Macadamia swatch up, considering it as the main color, it all but disappeared).

LOL! I get the willies knowing everyone can see in too. Okay, here's the thing. As much as I'd like to just change out the door and might very well end up doing it in the end, the "glass" in the doors is actually leaded crystal custom made by the original owner and they sparkle and look very beautiful. It would ruin the appearance of the doors by putting blinds or that sort of thing over them. Since posting last night, I checked out a drapery book and saw some very nice heavy drapes on rings that can easily be pulled to both sides. I don't have a lot of room on either side of the door so the sidelights would probably be partially covered even with the drapes open. If someone will give me a tip on how to insert a piccie into a message without having to switch to the gallery, I'll gladly scan it to show everyone. Thanks for your comments, I really appreciate it!