Protecting stripped doors

Beverley

FirstClassMale wrote:

If you're keen on the idea of oiling then the other advantage is that there is no need for extra sanding. Use paint thinners (again, I buy this in bulk but I saw that Lidl were doing tins for about £1) to take off the wax and any grease on the surface then just slap on the oil. It's easy its cheap and it's environmentally freindly (maybe not the thinners) as Linseed is a natural product.

I wouldn;t say I'm keen on the idea of oiling - more that I'm keen on making them look good for a long time.

I'm inferring from someone's remark that merely oiling or waxing won't help prevent warping whereas varnishing will. Unless I've misunderstood that is?

Beverley

FirstClassMale

I will simply reitterate that Linseed oil is a natural product. I have never heard of it causing things to warp. What will have a more likely chance of warping doors is if they are dipped by a commercial stripper.

Wizwoo

Well Beverley I'm with you here.

Should I oil, wax or varnish?
We have 3 opinons and 3 different answers.

I've only actually waxed one door - but that was a while back and to be honest you can hardly tell the difference between it and the rest now - and after all that work it makes me wonder if it's worth doing.

I have a slate fire surround and linseed does work on that a treat.

Thanks for all the advice - but I guess I'm still a little confused as to what's best to do.

robwend

bet you wished you never asked lol

The_Hitman_Fan

(1) Sand Stripped Door with 120 - 140 (Medium) Grade Sandpaper.

(2) Sand Stripped Door with 180 Grade (Fine) Sandpaper.

(3) Wipe Down Sanded Door With A Wrag Dipped in White Spirit To Remove Dust And Foreign Particles. Ensure Area On And Around The Door Is Dust Free When Applying Wax To Door Surface.

(4) Let Door Stand For 15 mins After Cleaning To Dry.

(5) Use Fiddes Supreme Wax (Light): Why? Its a Fantastic Wax.

http://www.fiddes.co.uk/pages/supreme.htm

Dip Lint Free Cloth Into Wax.
Apply wax slowly and sparingly into the wood with the cloth in the direction of the grain.
Coat the whole Door which should take 45mins per face.

(6) Leave Door to Rest For 10 mins.

(7) Use A Smooth Tea Towel Or Seperate Duster To Buff The Door Surface.
This Should Take 10 Mins Per Door Face.

(8) Once Door Face has been waxed and polished, ideally leave door to rest for 4-5 hours to let the wax settle into the wood.

(9) Repeat Steps (5) - (7)

(10) Your Door Should Now Be A beautiful light waxed door that will darken with age. If your doors pine is old already it will be darker in colour, than a modern manufactured pitch pine door.

(11) To darken your door to suit use fiddes supreme wax stripped pine or alternative colour, but remember your door will darken over time, so perhaps its better to have your doors slightly lighter than the colour you require because in 3-4 years it will slowly migrate to that colour anyway.

The above process will give amazing results if you are patient and follow the advice given.

Varnishing pine doors is a far easier option but the oil in the varnish will darken and your doors will mellow to a yellowy orange colour in 4-6 years which will look unsavoury

Waxing is great because you can restore a finish quickly by applying more wax and if it ever gets dirty and dated, simply get your doors dipped in warm lye (sodium hydroxide: Diluted Drain Cleaner at your local Antique Pine Furniture Restorer /Pine Shop to remove the wax. Once the doors are dry and the surfaces sanded to your satisfaction, apply wax once again and buff to suit.

There are always short cuts in life, but if you follow the above advice your doors will look fantastic and will look after themselves over time.
The downside? Hard work - It takes me 6-7 hours per door, to sand each face twice, to clean with white spirit, to wax and buff, and wax and buff, then you are done and wow is it worth it.

The doors now look a characteristic light yellow/honey colour.

Beverley

Thanks for this

In an earlier post you said that you had problems with warping but that you had no such problems when you varnished. Did you then varnish over the wax or was that with something else?

Beverley

The_Hitman_Fan wrote:

(1) Sand Stripped Door with 120 - 140 (Medium) Grade Sandpaper.

(2) Sand Stripped Door with 180 Grade (Fine) Sandpaper.

(3) Wipe Down Sanded Door With A Wrag Dipped in White Spirit To Remove Dust And Foreign Particles. Ensure Area On And Around The Door Is Dust Free When Applying Wax To Door Surface.

(4) Let Door Stand For 15 mins After Cleaning To Dry.

(5) Use Fiddes Supreme Wax (Light): Why? Its a Fantastic Wax.

http://www.fiddes.co.uk/pages/supreme.htm

Dip Lint Free Cloth Into Wax.
Apply wax slowly and sparingly into the wood with the cloth in the direction of the grain.
Coat the whole Door which should take 45mins per face.

(6) Leave Door to Rest For 10 mins.

(7) Use A Smooth Tea Towel Or Seperate Duster To Buff The Door Surface.
This Should Take 10 Mins Per Door Face.

(8) Once Door Face has been waxed and polished, ideally leave door to rest for 4-5 hours to let the wax settle into the wood.

(9) Repeat Steps (5) - (7)

(10) Your Door Should Now Be A beautiful light waxed door that will darken with age. If your doors pine is old already it will be darker in colour, than a modern manufactured pitch pine door.

(11) To darken your door to suit use fiddes supreme wax stripped pine or alternative colour, but remember your door will darken over time, so perhaps its better to have your doors slightly lighter than the colour you require because in 3-4 years it will slowly migrate to that colour anyway.

The above process will give amazing results if you are patient and follow the advice given.

Varnishing pine doors is a far easier option but the oil in the varnish will darken and your doors will mellow to a yellowy orange colour in 4-6 years which will look unsavoury

Waxing is great because you can restore a finish quickly by applying more wax and if it ever gets dirty and dated, simply get your doors dipped in warm lye (sodium hydroxide: Diluted Drain Cleaner at your local Antique Pine Furniture Restorer /Pine Shop to remove the wax. Once the doors are dry and the surfaces sanded to your satisfaction, apply wax once again and buff to suit.

There are always short cuts in life, but if you follow the above advice your doors will look fantastic and will look after themselves over time.
The downside? Hard work - It takes me 6-7 hours per door, to sand each face twice, to clean with white spirit, to wax and buff, and wax and buff, then you are done and wow is it worth it.

The doors now look a characteristic light yellow/honey colour.