Panel door restoration

ed110220

Does anyone have any ideas on how to restore a panel door in which water damage has caused one of the plywood panels to delaminate?

Earlier in the year I spotted my neighbours a few doors down were throwing away an original 1940s 4-panel door that I needed to replace a concertina door to match all my other doors (I have a landing with three original doors and one concertina door and it really annoys me).

Unfortunately they had left it outside in the rain for some time. I have dried it out flat for several months and it seems fine except one of the plywood panels has delaminated slightly. It looks fine, but if you press the panel you can feel the top layer is not stuck to layer underneath.

The damaged area is about 20x10cm so not large.

I was thinking of drilling a small hole and pouring some glue behind the delaminated bit, then pressing it down to stick it back down. Does this seem like a good idea, and what sort of glue would you use?

phill99

Carefully remove the beading that holds the panel in, replace the panel with new ply and replace the beading.

ed110220

phill99 wrote: »

Carefully remove the beading that holds the panel in, replace the panel with new ply and replace the beading.

Hi, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately what looks like beading round the panels is actually part of the rails etc (the edges are routed and shaped to hold the panels and look like beading). So you'd have to take the door apart to take the panel out.

DirectDebacle

Getting glue behind the delaminated section should work but I wouldn't drill holes. Using a scalpel or other fine sharp blade cut slits with the grain through the delaminated section only. You should be able to lift it slightly and work glue between the veneers and rebond them. Once done and cleaned up it should be an almost invisible repair.

Errata

If it looks ok and the problem only occurs when you put pressure on the panel, and how often will you do that? - leave it be.

ed110220

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Getting glue behind the delaminated section should work but I wouldn't drill holes. Using a scalpel or other fine sharp blade cut slits with the grain through the delaminated section only. You should be able to lift it slightly and work glue between the veneers and rebond them. Once done and cleaned up it should be an almost invisible repair.

Thanks, seems like a plan. What about using PVA as a glue?

It needs to be done as although it's not obvious, I think the paint will crack on the delaminated section if not fixed.

DirectDebacle

PVA will be fine. Evo Stick wood glue will give you a reasonable open time. (the time you can work the glue before it starts to go off). Make sure you place a sheet of newspaper over the panel before putting whatever you will use to clamp/weigh it together, to prevent it from sticking to the panel. If the newspaper sticks to the panel it can be easily scraped off.