Completed across Chicagoland
Full coverage protection
Your door stays on its hinges
Itemized, in writing
Z&Z Painting refinishes wood front doors across Chicago, the North Shore, and the Southwest Suburbs — in place, right where the door hangs, never hauled to a shop. A maintenance coat of fresh varnish runs around $800. A full refinish — stripping the old finish to bare wood, generally two coats of Old Masters stain and three coats of water-based, UV-resistant varnish — typically runs $1,400–$2,500 per door. Most doors take one to four days, and your door still closes and locks every night. We refinish mahogany, oak, redwood, pine, and other solid woods, and a painted door can go back to stain if it's solid wood rather than veneer. We don't refinish fiberglass doors.
Real Z&Z jobs, photographed on site — before, during, and after.
Hinsdale · 2026 · Mahogany
Worn stain and varnish taken down to bare wood, then re-stained and varnished in place.
“We are so happy with the service provided by Alex and his team in refinishing our very worn entry wooden door.”
Doors like this, 2026
$1,600–$1,950
La Grange · 2026 · Oak
Painted white. The paint was fully stripped to bare oak, then stained and varnished; the brass hardware was restored.
Doors like this, 2026
$1,700–$2,050
Lake Forest · 2026 · Mahogany
Both doors had worn stain and varnish. Each was stripped to bare wood and refinished in place.
Two doors like these, 2026
$2,700–$3,050for the pair
Oak Brook · 2026 · Oak
Worn stain and varnish scraped back to bare wood by hand, then refinished in place.
Doors like this, 2026
$1,900–$2,250
Ranges are what doors like these run in 2026; your price depends on your door's scope. Every estimate is free, itemized, and in writing.
A well-made wood entry door is an investment, and keeping it beautiful takes more than one good finish. How fast that finish wears depends on how much sun the door gets, so plan on maintenance roughly every two to three years. We offer two levels of care. A maintenance coat adds fresh varnish over the finish already on the door — oil varnish if your door was finished in oil. When the finish has deteriorated, the door gets a full refinish, and in most cases that means stripping it all the way down and starting fresh. We don't take shortcuts like brushing gel stain over the old finish. The old coating comes off down to bare wood, usually by hand with specialized blades and scrapers plus Festool sanders on dust extraction. Then the stain goes directly onto raw wood — generally two coats of Old Masters stain — followed by three coats of water-based varnish chosen for high UV resistance. All of it happens right where your door hangs — we don't pull doors or haul them to a shop. Most doors take one to four days, and because we take the weatherstripping off while we work, your door still closes and locks every night.
We refinish front doors in place, never hauled to a shop — and your door still closes and locks every night.
No gel stain brushed over an old finish. In most cases the door is stripped to bare wood and the stain goes directly onto raw wood.
Generally two coats of Old Masters stain, then three coats of water-based, UV-resistant varnish, in any sheen from satin to gloss.
Reviews from our customers on Google
"We are so happy with the service provided by Alex and his team in refinishing our very worn entry wooden door. They were professional and reliable and the communication throughout the project was excellent. They are extremely meticulous and check in through out the progress. I love that it is family owned and conveniently serves Hinsdale. We would recommend their services to everyone and plan on utilizing their services again for other projects around our home."
We'll look at it and tell you whether it needs a maintenance coat or a full refinish. Every estimate is free, itemized, and in writing.
What a full refinish involves, from the first look to the last coat.
We check the wood, how the door is built, and the condition of the finish. If it's painted and you want it stained, we confirm it's solid wood first — a veneered door can't go back to stain. You get a free estimate, itemized and in writing.
If the existing varnish can be maintained, a maintenance coat adds fresh varnish over it — oil varnish on a door finished in oil. If the finish has deteriorated, the door is stripped and refinished from scratch.
We take the weatherstripping off first, so the door can still close and lock at night. Then, in most cases, we strip it all down and start fresh — no gel stain over the old finish. The old coating, paint included, comes off by hand with specialized blades and scrapers while the door stays on its hinges.
Festool sanders connected to dust extraction take the bare wood smooth and even before any stain goes on.
Stain goes directly onto raw wood — generally two coats of Old Masters stain.
Generally three coats of water-based varnish chosen for high UV resistance, in the sheen you pick — anywhere from satin to gloss.
Ready to get started? Let's discuss your project.
Schedule Free ConsultationRepainting the outside of your home? Plan the door finish together with the trim and siding.
We strip old paint from wood trim, siding, millwork, and other wood surfaces, too.
Outdoor wood takes the same sun as your front door. We stain decks, too.
Choosing a stain tone, or a paint color for a painted door? Get help picking it.
We refinish in place. Your door is never taken off its hinges and hauled to a shop.
We don't brush gel stain over an old finish. In most cases the door is stripped all the way down and the stain goes onto raw wood.
Most doors take one to four days, depending on the door and how complex it is. We need dry weather above 50°F, the same as exterior painting.
A full refinish generally gets two coats of Old Masters stain and three coats of water-based, UV-resistant varnish, satin to gloss.
We can polish or restore old brass hardware while your door is being refinished.
Want a painted door back to stained wood? We confirm it's solid wood first. Solid doors can go back to stain; veneered doors can't.
Plan on a maintenance coat roughly every two to three years, depending on sun. Doors finished in oil varnish are maintained in oil.
We take the weatherstripping off while we work, so your door still closes and locks at night without the wet finish touching anything.
A solid wood front door is an investment worth protecting. We strip worn wood doors back to bare wood and refinish them in place — stain on raw wood, then UV-resistant varnish — for homeowners on the North Shore in Lake Forest and across the Southwest Suburbs in Hinsdale and La Grange . Mahogany, oak, redwood, pine, and other solid woods; we don't refinish fiberglass doors.
Tell us about your door. We'll look at it, tell you whether it needs a maintenance coat or a full refinish, and give you a free, itemized, written estimate.
Common questions about our services
A maintenance coat of fresh varnish runs around $800. A full refinish — stripping the old finish to bare wood, staining, and varnishing — typically runs $1,400–$2,500 per door. The single doors in our 2026 project photos above ran $1,600 to $1,900, and a pair of mahogany doors in Lake Forest was $2,700. Your price depends on your door's scope, and every estimate is free, itemized, and in writing.
A maintenance coat adds fresh varnish over the finish already on your door — it's the regular upkeep that keeps the wood protected. A full refinish is for a door whose finish has deteriorated: in most cases we strip it all the way to bare wood and start fresh, then stain and varnish it. We'll tell you which one your door needs when we look at it.
Plan on a maintenance coat roughly every two to three years. The exact timing depends on sun exposure — a door that takes a lot of direct sun needs it sooner. Staying on that schedule is how you keep a good door's finish protecting the wood.
That's a shortcut we don't take. In most cases we strip the door all the way down and start fresh: the stain goes directly onto raw wood, then several protective coats of varnish go on top. It's more work, and it's the right way to do it.
No. We refinish front doors in place, right where they hang. We don't pull doors or take them to a shop.
In most cases one to four days, depending on the door and how complex it is. It's not a job we shorten: in most cases we strip the door all the way down, put the stain directly on raw wood, and build up several protective coats, each in turn.
Yes. We take the weatherstripping off while we work, so the door can close and lock at night even though the finish isn't dry yet — nothing touches the wet surface.
The same as exterior painting: above 50°F and no rain.
Most of the time, mechanically: specialized blades and scrapers take the old coating off by hand, and Festool sanders connected to dust extraction finish the job. That's how we strip both old varnish and paint — the La Grange door in our project photos went from painted white to bare oak this way. We strip other wood surfaces, too; see our paint stripping service.
Old Masters stains — generally two coats on a full refinish. Because the door is stripped to bare wood first, the stain goes directly onto raw wood, not over an old finish.
UV-resistant, water-based exterior topcoats from General Finishes or Benjamin Moore — generally three coats on a full refinish. When we're doing a maintenance coat on a door that was finished with oil varnish, we use oil varnish.
Anything from satin to gloss. We'll go over the options when we look at your door.
It depends on how the door is built. A solid wood door can be stripped and stained; a veneered door can't. We check which one you have before quoting. The La Grange door in our project photos started out painted white and finished as stained oak.
Mahogany, oak, redwood, pine, and other solid wood doors.
No. We don't refinish fiberglass doors.
Yes. If you'd rather paint than stain, we paint doors as well, and we'll talk it through at your estimate. If you're repainting the outside of the house, we can plan the door as part of your exterior painting project.
We paint steel doors. That's painting rather than refinishing — refinishing is stripping a wood door and building the stain and varnish back up.
Old Masters, General Finishes, and Benjamin Moore products.
Yes. We can polish old brass hardware or restore it. We restored the brass on the La Grange door in our project photos.
We sand with Festool sanders connected to dust extraction, which pulls sanding dust into the extractor as we work.
Homes built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint, which is regulated under the federal EPA Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule for work that disturbs painted surfaces beyond set thresholds. Z&Z Painting does not perform RRP-regulated lead paint work. For projects that trigger RRP requirements, we recommend engaging an EPA-certified renovation firm, and we're glad to scope our work to stay outside regulated activities.
Yes. If your door has a varnish finish, a maintenance coat adds fresh varnish over it — and if it was finished with oil varnish, we maintain it with oil varnish. If the finish has deteriorated, the door needs a full refinish instead, and we'll tell you so at the estimate.
Because a front door's finish takes the sun, and how fast it wears depends on how much sun the door gets. That's why we recommend a maintenance coat roughly every two to three years — sooner for a door in direct sun.
Stripping the old finish to bare wood, sanding, generally two coats of Old Masters stain, and three coats of water-based, UV-resistant varnish in the sheen you choose. Brass hardware polishing or restoration can be added. Every estimate is free, itemized, and in writing, so you see exactly what is included.
Across Chicago and the suburbs. The doors in our project photos are in Lake Forest, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, and La Grange.
Yes. Every Z&Z estimate is free, itemized, and in writing. We'll look at your door, tell you whether it needs a maintenance coat or a full refinish, and put the price on paper.
If you have a solid wood door you want to keep, refinishing is how you keep it. A full refinish takes it back to bare wood and builds the finish up again, and a maintenance coat every two to three years keeps that finish protecting the wood.
Still have questions?
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