True Value DIY Blog Squad - Project One

We're so excited to blog about our first True Value DIY Blog Squad project!

A while back we blogged about wanting to use an old door on our guest bathroom. Well, fortunately for us, we just happened to have an old solid wood one out back that fit perfectly! It was original to the house (it used to be on the reading room), but it was covered in three layers of paint and didn't have the frosted glass window in it that we had envisioned...



So we set out to our favorite True Value hardware store and picked up a jug of Citristrip Stripping Gel: (try saying that 3 times fast)



We also got a scraper to remove the paint residue as it loosened:



And we even got some paint stripper "after wash", to clean up the mess:



Of course we also got some hardcore rubber gloves:



Safety first!

Once we arrived back at the house, we set the door on top of a table out back, and applied the Citristrip with a paintbrush:



Within a few minutes, it started to eat through the old paint:



We even put some Citristrip on the original doorknob, hoping to restore it too:



After a few hours (an Auburn football game to be exact), the top layer of paint had really bubbled up:



We started to remove the loosened paint with our scraper:



After we had removed the entire top coat of paint, we repeated the process two more times to take off the two layers underneath. After lots and lots of scraping, it was amazing to see the gorgeous raw wood that had previously been covered up:



Here's our pretty, old door all clean up thanks to our bottle of Citristrip Paint Stripper After Wash:





Once it was dry, we sanded it down a little, to really make sure the surface was good and clean:



Next, we drew guide lines on the top panel of the door so that we could cut out the opening where we wanted to add frosted glass:



The reason we left an inch all the way around, is so that our plexi glass would have a place to rest against and adhere to. (This will eventually be covered by decorative moulding)

Using a spade drill bit, we made a hole so that we could give our jig saw a place to start:





Ta da! Here it is all cut out:



Next, we laid down our pre-cut piece of high-quality plexi glass to check the fit:



We got the plexi glass from a friend, but our True Value does sell and custom cut it, as well as lots of other things too:



We used 5 minute epoxy to hold the plexi in place:





Here's a close up shot of how it looks. The epoxy dries clear:



For additional privacy, we're going to add a second piece of plexi glass to the other side of the door as well. Once their both frosted, you won't be able to see through them at all, but the light will shine through and illuminate the hallway. Pretty, pretty!

Our next post will cover adding the decorative moulding and preparing the wood for stain, as well as staining the door a pretty "Special Walnut" color.

We're really having fun with this project, and can't wait to see how it looks in the hallway! We want to thank True Value for allowing us this opportunity, and if you haven't entered their DIY Drama Contest, head on over right now for a chance to win $5,000 to spend at your local True Value!

Good luck!
Kevin and Layla

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We were one of five bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. We have been compensated for our time commitment to the program and our DIY projects as well as our posts about our experiences. We have also been compensated for the materials needed for our DIY projects. However, our opinions are entirely our own and we have not been paid to publish positive comments.