Yes, oil based stain & oil based paint. Over time the original text has gone stale, error, etc., so I'll copy and paste it here: In a recent post my friend, Steve, made reference to my tests of doggie sprinkling on exterior finishes. I figure after almost a year of testing it is time to post some interesting discoveries. As a preface, allow me to set the stage. Almost daily there is a posting about clear, exterior finishes for doors, chairs, signs and such. Responses run the gamut from diehard marine finishes to apply a coat of primer and then paint. Each of these has a bit of a problem. Marine finishes are not always the easiest to find, and it grieves me to think of a lovely oak, teak, mahogany, fir, redwood or similar nice wood door painted in mauve goop. Bob (from Florida) inspired me with his continuing and accurate statements about the failings of a clear coat and the advantages of a good quality exterior paint. I decided after lots of reflection that he really was right but there was always the picture of mauve in my mind. So, how could one take advantage of his advice and yet capitalize on the beauty of a nice wood? I began to reflect on the characteristics of paint. Now comes the boredom... There were several things I knew about paint: Exterior paints contain a mildewcide and a fungicide that a (marine) varnish does not. The best quality paints will contain a UV (inhibitor) and trans-oxide pigments in very high percentages. Almost all paint is custom mixed by the store. The retailer maintains a large supply of base products that are used to achieve the desired color. There are generally four base products and the specific one for your paint is determined by your color choice. These base products are either named or numbered. They are named pastel, deep, tint and neutral. If numbered it is cleverly 1, 2, 3 and 4 with the exception of Olympic who numbers 1, 2, 3 and 5. Olympic is unaware that "4" comes before "5". Pastel and/or 1 is virtually a pure white and used for the lightest of colors. The others are slightly color altered from white and more translucent than pastel. These are used for succeeding deeper colors. All of this comes to neutral, 4 and/or 5. These are clear and used for (mixing) the darkest colors. In the can they are somewhat opaque but dry more or less clear. Now comes the testing. I bought 4 oak exterior doors. Each door was given one coat of the same MinWax Stain. On 3 of the doors, I applied 2 coats of "base" to the 6 sides of each door (3 coats on the top and bottom edges). Each of these three doors had a different type of exterior neutral, 4 or 5 base. The fourth door was finished with a consumer "spar" varnish from my local friendly paint/hardware store. The bases for the 3 painted doors were an exterior semi-gloss acrylic, an exterior semi-gloss oil-based polyurethane floor paint, and a semi-gloss oil-based trim and siding paint. The doors were set up, slightly inclined, in mostly direct sunlight under a pecan tree in the backyard. (My wife just loved that one.) Daily, the sprinklers managed to hit the doors. The birds in the pecan tree used the doors for target practice. And, yes, the dogs did anoint the doors on a regular basis. My blonde Cocker, Zazu, was particularly enamored with the doors. Over the course of the test the doors experienced lots of Texas sunlight, rain and snow. The temperature went from below freezing to over 100. The advantage to the inclined position of the doors was the snow, ice, water from the sprinklers and the rain tended to collect in the raised panel areas. I feel these doors were subjected to far more severe environmental conditions than would be expected from normal use. The results were interesting. The "spar" varnish (initially) looked fabulous; but, after about 2 weeks it began to develop small cracks. In rapid order the door began to turn black, started to mold and the smell was enough to knock a buzzard off of a manure wagon. The water-based acrylic is milky in the can like a water-based poly. It dried to a more or less water clear surface but was a bit cloudy. It tended to wash out the stain a bit. Over time it became cloudier and ultimately become almost white. But, it remained solid and protected the wood. The oil-based bases are also a bit opaque in the can but dried to a clear finish that is almost identical to a spar varnish - they added an amber tone to the doors. Both the oil-based poly floor paint and the oil-based trim and siding paint remained "clear" over the entire test period. The testing came to an end with a bit of encouragement. My wife said something clever like,"Get those damned doors out of the backyard!" She does not understand science. The floor poly had some minor checking and a thinned coat of the same base over the surface made that disappear. The door with the oil-based trim and siding paint was perfect, other than it had lost a bit of the gloss. So, I am with Bob - paint the door. My preference is the oil-based products. If you are predisposed to a water-based use an acrylic rather than latex. One thing you will find when you go out shopping for your product is a lack of knowledge on the part of the salesperson. Not many of these folk are aware that their neutral or 4 base will dry clear. If you want to have some fun, spring it on them. They will suggest you are full of Donkey Dust. Ask them to shake a can and put some on a stir stick. Dry it and voila, it is clear. Jim One final admonition; if you decide to try the paint solution you must understand that you are applying it like varnish, not like paint. Use a good natural fiber brush, keep your coats thin, (emphasis added; keep the coats thin! We recommend thinning with paint thinner to improve flow-out and leveling.) and brush the paint-base out into a thin, uniform film. If you apply the paint-base too heavily you will get a cloudy finish.

Most strippers you can find will be methylene chloride. You should definitely use this outside. A semi-paste will give you some time, just don't over brush it on. Less common is NMP. MC will work better but is more "toxic" The biggest mistake is not to give the stripper enough time to work. Let it sit and do its job. I usually put a sheet of plastic over the stripper to keep it from evaporating away too fast. Unless someone finished this in their hobby workshop, it's likely not polyurethene. It's just not a production finish. More likely for a factory finish is lacquer. I like to use acetone as a rinse as it will also strip off the little residue of finish that might remain. If you want to get it out of the pores, use a Scotch-Brite scrub pad (maroon or light grade) with the acetone. Do not use steel wool for this as the iron in it will react with the tannins in oak and leave black stains. Tinted varnishes such as Polyshades are terrible products. Very difficult to get on evenly and poor adhesion to most under coats. CIAC. If you want to reduce the dark-light contrast on the grain, you want to use a dye-based stain, not a pigment based one. Problem is, the yellow cans you find at a home center will not tell you which is it. A real woodworking stores will have liquid or powdered dyes. Otherwise, you have to open the can to check for sludge on the bottom (the settled out pigment) I'd recommend getting Bob Flexner's "Understanding Wood Finishing" at your library or bookstore and reading relevant sections of stains and varnishes. It's a great book.

We are replacing our 1966 front door and side light. The current door is a flat panel wood still in decent shape but some draft in the winter at the bottom. It is very plain and there isn't a window. Next to it is a 24" sidelight/window that is the full length of the door. It has some subtle leading in it that you see on the inside but a storm over it on the outside so no one really sees it. This was added by the original owners about 20 years after the house was built. We are only the 2nd owners. The door faces the north in a cold climate. We have a storm door. The issues - type of door, type of glass (sidelight & maybe door). design ideas??? DH would like fiberglass for the door for energy efficiency and low maintenance. We have an estimate on a Waudena and waiting for the Provia and Homeguard estimates. So far the issues I have is stain colors are limited and our woodwork is more of a (light) mid-tone oak. To me the doors look better the darker stain you go. Some of the mediums look OK. Other fiberglass issue is that there seems to be limitations on sidelight options for our 24" space. The outside will be painted black. We will get a new storm door as well. Or do we go with wood? Has anyone used torrified wood that has a 20 year warranty against warping etc? So far for the sidelight it looks like the option is privacy glass with grids or Provia has some Art glass with designs. I am concerned that the painted glass might look too busy and get old after a while. With the price of this and the headache it is giving me, we don't plan to do this again. I am OK with the privacy glass and grids but wandering if any other suggestions. I'm not sure if anything too ornate would fit the house but it isn't Craftsman either and I don't want it to look like a shower door either. All sales guys have been looking at sidelights for the 24" space rather than windows to keep the stain the same. We were thinking of a door with a little glass on the top. Could that be leaded with a design if the sidelight is just privacy glass or should they be the same? Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Or if there is a better forum to post this under - please let me know. Thanks.

I need to warn you. I'm not one of the talented design gurus here, just an interested amateur. I think Lisa was working with the wrong dimensions, correct? I wrote them on the diagram. Please let me know if they're correct. If so, cpartist is right. You don't have room for an island. I left off your peninsula only because you never answered the question Lisa asked: If a peninsula is put in the location in your original plan, will you have at least 60" from the edge of the peninsula to the edge of your dining table? That is the minimum needed to have seating at both and still have room to walk if people are seated at both locations. Anyway, the best I could do is this: First, let me know if the dimensions are accurate. I didn't bother to draw uppers in on the fridge wall. The blue line will be about 117" fro the end of the counter to the edge of the kitchen. The yellow line measure will be about 86" from north counter edge to south counter edge and about 81" across where the fridge is (unless you get a true counter-depth/built-in). A lot of people do something a bit different in kitchens like yours that adds counter space and storage. They go with 30" deep counters. This adds a lot more counter space and, if you get custom cabinets, also a lot more storage with the deeper drawers. It will allow you to make a regular fridge look more built-in as the counter-depth will come out to the fridge door (you do need to allow for door swing). It also gives more space behind the range for less grease splatter on the backsplash and behind the sink for cleaning items (or pretties). If you do that, the north/south green line would be 74" and the east/west will be 105". Without an island or other blockage, there is plenty of room to walk from fridge to sink so crossing over the cook's area isn't a problem. It's not the most creative layout but it is a functional one. I know your wife wants some glass uppers. I wouldn't recommend them right next to the range and hood due to potential grease collection in that proximity, harder to keep clean. Also, keep in mind, your hood should be larger than your cooktop. I think you're going for a 36" cooktop? If so, you need a 42" hood. With a 30" cooktop, you need a 36" hood. If you go with the wider hood and have a couple inches clearance on each side before the upper cabinets start, then glass doors there should work fine. Hope this helps a bit. Have you read the "New to Kitchens? Read Me First" thread? If not, please do. It kinda bounces around from pages 1-3.