How to treat a new wooden front door

BargainJunky

We are having a new front door fitted next week. It is bare wood at the moment and plan to Sadolin it to match the windows etc. How is the best way to start? I have read the back of the Sadolin tin and it says it may need treating before hand and degreasing! Hubby is useless at DIY etc so any help or advice would be appreciated.

Also how do I clean the brushes afterwards - soap and water or paint cleaner.

Thanks for reading

Thanks misgrace I knew I would get some advice on here.

misgrace

Get some wet&dry, get a softish grade, and a bowl of warm water, dont put anything in it, just plain water.
Immerse your wet&dry in for approx 5 mins till a bit soft, then sand your door with it, keep dipping the sandpaper in the water and squeezing the surplus every so often.
Leave the door to dry out, then when dry wipe down with either Meths, or cellulose thinners, when dry, just give a light brush down.

If your using 'Sandolin extra durable woodstain' which is great stuff for exterior wood, I would slightly thin with thinners as the new wood will soak it in, and this will work much like a 'miscoat'.
Leave 24 hours to dry, and give it another light sand, again using the same method as above, then apply another coat.

2 coats is usually enough, but you could if you want after a day or two apply a coat of plain varnish, either matt, satin or gloss your choice.
It just gives the door a nicer finish, as the stain/varnish can look just a tad dull, but you will know yourself when you have finished your two coats if it needs a clear varnish.

As for cleaning your brushes, as will all oil base products, brushes need to cleaned with white spirit, turps, any thinners.

roger56

Do make sure that you fully seal all end grain areas with stain - this will require a little extra woodstain in the end grain areas - applying an extra coat of thinned stain to end grain areas first will help the sealing.

End grain is typically found at the top and bottom of doors, an area often forgotten when painting / staining because it can be difficult to get to. Unsealed end grain easily absorbs water, that leads to swelling and sticking doors - ultimately the wood will start to decay.