So about a month ago I bought a house shaped pile of work. One thing I'd like to do is restore one of the interior doors with new frosted glass for use as a bedroom door. Here's the door;
How do I get the slats out of this thing without trashing it? Really small nails hold the slats (right word?) to the framework that surrounds each pane of glass. Someone in the past painted the glass along with the rest of the door but the slats are not painted at all, thankfully, so I'm not fighting that issue. I tried a little prying and it wasn't going to do the door any favors so I stopped. What tools would help here? Am I doomed? I think this used to be a parlor that someone converted into a bedroom and I would really like to reuse an original door if possible. Without paint on the glass.
No help with your plan, but potential alternate plan. Can you scrape the paint off the glass and put a frosted film on the glass? I've seen frosted film to apply on glass sold for privacy purposes such as bathroom windows.
I'm sure that if I tried to take it apart I would ruin it. I'd strip it, then cover the glass. There's a big selection of glass vinyl film options, including frosted.
Edit: second post suggests scraping the glass. That's probably the easiest option.
I don't think you're doomed ...
I think the right term is beading for the pieces that hold the glass in place. Note that the corners are mitre joints so the 4 pieces are slightly locked even without the nails. My suggestion would be to start in the middle of the long sides and work outwards, I have used a sharp chisel for this with good results.
The beading is most likely a common(ish) size so it's worth checking to see if it is obtainable, if so as long as you don't damage the door itself you can be as rough as you like 
cheers
R
I like a putty knife for that kind of prying. As you pry away from the frame the nails may come with the trim or they might stay in the mullions. If the come with the trim you can pry a little then let the trim lay back down so the nails stand proud and pull the nails with a pair of side cutters. If they stay in the mullions you can pull them afterwards.
On thing to check. Are you sure that's the side the glass comes out. I've seen them held in with glazier's points and window putty where the putty looks like solid wood after many decades and several coats of paint.
jgrewe
HalfDork
9/13/21 10:34 p.m.
A utility knife to cut along the seams between the door frame and beading. Depending on what finish you are going to end up with on the whole door I would scrape the glass. There is a spray product you can use to frost the glass if you don't like the sticker idea.
Do all the above.
If prying doesn't work, use a drive pin punch to set the nails deep (punch them through the back)
I don't recommend a nail set. They are tapered, and will leave a big hole. Use a small punch.
This:
Not this:
Pry on one of the longer side pieces of beading first. Start in the middle with a stiff putty knife and gently wiggle things (it will probably help to go around all joints first with a razor blade or Xacto knife to break loose any varnish or finish that bridges the gaps. As you wiggle things the brads in the center of the beading will start to pop loose, and you can grab them with needle nose pliers and pull them out. Work towards both ends of the beading until you can remove all the brads. Once you get one of the long side pieces out, the others will be much easier.
Another thought is you can get stickon frosted or translucent vinyl to go over the existing panes.
In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks for the punch idea. It's only a little after 6 am and I already learned something new today!
Don't take it apart and expect to to be square when you put it back together. The only way to do this is you build a jig to the door on a big level and flat table to secure the door and to give you a "mold to use when it falls apart during the disassembly. Another way is to have a big flat wood work bench and screw the frame down so it can not move then pull apart the mutton's and mullions. The problem with this is that many old doors are not flat so that when you re assemble it it does not close right and the now flat door does not set in the frame properly. Seriously consider the suggestions to just scrape the glass and frost film it or go old school and put cloth stretched vertically and bunched horizontally on rods mounted to the top and bottom. This is a common style used for parlors or other rooms with these doors that wanted privacy going way back. You could try chemically stripping the paint in a small area if you are looking to take it back to wood.
Okay, learning new words here. In no order; I don't think the mutins are keeping the door together, they're really thin strips of wood nailed to the mullions which are heavier. I want to leave the mullions alone and just strip them while they (it?) is still in the door. I just want to lift the thin mutins out, lift and swap the glass, and put the mutins back in.
That said, stripping sounds like the route out of here with as little hair loss as possible. The door isn't perfect; it's got nail holes, a bit of pet damage, etc. It seems like Rust-Oleum glass frosting spray is pretty well liked and I can mask the door off after all of the paint is gone.
I also need to transfer the glass handled door knob from the mating door; this door is one side of a pair of double-hinged French doors. That should be fairly straight forward.
Thanks for all of the tips so far. I'll post progress here when I get more done.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
Those words were not quite correct.
You are trying to remove the glass beading (sometimes called the glass stop).
A mullion is the heavy wood piece that divides 2 complete window or door sashes from each other. You have no mullions in that picture. They are not part of the door, they are BETWEEN 2 door units.
A muntin is the narrow strip of wood dividing the individual panels of glass. It's what the glass beading is attached to. No, they won't fall out, they are part of the door. You won't need a jig to square this up. I'm not sure what Dean was taking about.
APEowner said:
In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks for the punch idea. It's only a little after 6 am and I already learned something new today!
Nearly 40 years of restoration work in historic structures has given me lots of tricks in how to carefully remove moldings for re-use.
Happy to share a tip. 
SVreX: Noted on words. You think my idea of stripping (I picked up some Jasco Premium Paint & Epoxy Stripper and I'll apply with a bristle paint brush and remove with a plastic scraper and toothpicks for the nooks and cranies) works here? While it would be nice to just shotgun the existing glass I worry about not messing up enough beading to get the job done.
I think removing the beads is WAAY faster than stripping.
It will take forever to strip in all those corners, and then you will have to deal with overspray from the glass frosting.
There are very few people on the planet who have the patience to do that in a manner that will look good when completed.
My $0.02
...if you are removing paint from glass, you don't need any stripper. Just a single edged razor blade.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
Those words were not quite correct.
You are trying to remove the glass beading (sometimes called the glass stop).
A mullion is the heavy wood piece that divides 2 complete window or door sashes from each other. You have no mullions in that picture. They are not part of the door, they are BETWEEN 2 door units.
A muntin is the narrow strip of wood dividing the individual panels of glass. It's what the glass beading is attached to. No, they won't fall out, they are part of the door. You won't need a jig to square this up. I'm not sure what Dean was taking about.
And now I've learned that I've been using the word mullion wrong...
In reply to APEowner :
Today is your day!!
(I use them wrong all the time too)
The whole door is painted and stained/sealed. The stripper has to come out at some point, or stripper + sanding. They painted the door on one side (the side you can't see) at the same time they painted the glass.
They painted woodwork in the main living/dining room of the house... to look like wood. It's unique! This was all done at the same time.
So the plan would be get a pin punch of the smallest size I can find, basically, drive the nails through the beading enough to free the beading from the muntin? Is a 1/16th inch pin punch going to be small enough for this?
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
Try it.
Honestly, I'd be asking myself if it's worth it. It's gonna take a week worth of labor to do it well. It has to be a very special door before I'm willing to give up a week of my life for it.
I know this is a very non-GRM answer, but I can buy a new French door for $169.
There are many beautiful old pieces that are very much worth saving to me. Your descriptions of this one (animal damage, etc) make me wonder if this one is worth it.
YMMV
What I'd love is a similar door ready for finishing and knob install etc with frosted glass already installed. So it looks like a take-off of what was already there. $170 isn't bad, under $200 is fine, as long as it's made of wood that will stain and clear nicely.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
Got a Habitat for Humanity ReStore nearby? Sometimes you can find old-school doors there.
We do have a ReStore here in town. I'm waiting to hear what SVreX comes back with. It seems like things at the ReStore are not as cost-effective as they should be plus I'd be refinishing a different door if I went that route. Which kills some of the advantage (although I should find one with less damage).
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
What am I supposed to be responding to?
I thought I said too much already!! Haha!
I guess I was looking for a line on a door in the general style of mine only not damaged/painted/etc for a good price. Figured it was obvious; where should I be shopping or where can you direct me?
