Hi

The posts today about front doors got me thinking about renovating my existing oak front door. It was varnished but showing signs of flaking, so I started to lightly sand it down with view to removing the varnish before applying a new coat. My neighbour recommended yachet varnish, but having done a bit of research, a number of reviews on Screwfix advise specifically against using it on front doors.

Having lightly sanded it, the wood is nice and smooth but looks patchy (as in big differences between light and dark wood) – so clearly just clear varnish is not going to work.

What are my options?

Further sanding to try and even-up the colour of the wood and then a clear varnish?

or would I be better applying a stain (hopefully resulting in an even colour), before then applying a protective top coat ?

The door is very sheltered and facing North, so doesn’t get a massive amount of sun on it.

Appreciate any advise.

Thanks

Sikkens Cetol HLS followed by Sikkens Cetol Filter 7

What Stoner said. Used this on our previous front door.

Thanks – gets excellent reviews for Sikkens products.

With regards to the patchy colouring on the door, would I need to further sand down the door to try and get an even colur, or should the stain (probably something like light oak) cover it?

Cheers

The light oak stain colour is pretty rich and will cover most sins. It depends on how deep and what has caused the discolouration. Much of the “black” colour is down to the fungus/mildrew kind of microbe that lives in the wood and you may never sand that away. Kayak23 and others know more about wood than most others in here. See if they have something to add.

The bulk of the colour comes from the Filter 7. You can build up multiple coats to get as rich a colour as you need. All the frames (Idigbo, fast growing softwood that looks like oak) for the barn are done in it.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N_jHlEhS1AE/T8-LM3ActlI/AAAAAAAAKKI/92qVKTf2Bjg/s640-Ic42/IMG_0159.JPG[/img]

You could try some teak cleaner on the door before applying the stain.

I got some of this last year to clean our very dirty garden furniture and it pretty much made it look new.
I then tried it on an untreated oak gate we have and that also looked fantastic afterwards.

I now know that it’s basically sodium hydroxide to kill the organic stuff and then oxalic acid to then bleach the wood back to new. If your door is clear of organix growth then you could just get some oxalic acide crystals off ebay for £5 and try bleaching it without cleaning it first.

To clean it up and give it an even patina prior to coating, I would recommend oxalic crystals. Dilute them in water and apply with a soft brush or sponge. No need to scrub, just let them do their job.

As for final coating, there are pro’s and con’s with all types and possibly down to personal experience and preference. A right old can of worms, so I’ll diplomatically retreat… 😉

apologies slackalice, I meant to put your name next to Kayak’s but had a brainfart and forgot it! 🙂

As for final coating, there are pro’s and con’s with all types and possibly down to personal experience and preference. A right old can of worms, so I’ll diplomatically retreat.

go on, pile in! You’re a pro, so your advice is worth 10x most of us!

😀 😳 No offence taken taken stoner!

I haven’t read the reviews regarding yacht varnish, the only caveat I would put as far as the screw fix bit, is probably precisely that. Probably depends upon which make of yacht varnish and preparation. I’ve used Epifanes clear yacht varnish on my boat for years now and as yet not had any issues of flaking, blistering, cracking, running etc etc. It’s important to ensure all previous other coatings are removed and then thoroughly washed with fresh clean water and allowed to dry, which can be tricky with an situ external door. Dilute the oil based varnish with white spirit by 50% for the first coat. Wet n dry to take off the nibs after that coat and then apply at least three full coats, flitting off with wet n dry between each application. Long winded, takes ages to dry so only if you can remove the door for a week or so and do it in a workshop/ relatively dust free and dryish environment.

Which is why yacht varnish gets some bad reviews?

AFAIK, Sikkens and Owatrol are pretty similar, but I’m open to correction. I’ve used the latter on external oak joinery ( Windows, doors) and not had great success with it as it seemed to need annual maintenance to keep it looking fresh.

Danish oil can be good, especially on a north facing elevation as the UV won’t degrade it too quickly. More of it will give a darker patina.

Having said all that, Stoner’s approach looks top quality, in both appearance and upkeep, so looks like the favourite.

Alternatively, although I’ve never tried this on an door before, the ‘boat’ in me wonders whether a complete covering of West epoxy and several coats of polyurethane yacht varnish would be the ultimate reduced maintenance solution? This requiring little other than a wash down with soapy water and wet n dry with another coat or two every couple of years… 😀

it seemed to need annual maintenance to keep it looking fresh.

that’s trueish. I do mine on a biannual cycle. Alternate aspects of the barn.

The continuous build up of Filter 7 does mean that you can start stretching the gaps between coats from 2yrs to 5 after a maybe 2 additional applications.

All I’d chip in with to the above excellent advice is that generally, a stain won’t cover a stain. If you have a dark patch in your timber then generally you’ll still have a dark patch in comparison to the surrounding once stained….but darker.

I’m no expert on exterior finishes so will respectfully withdraw at this point 🙂

You can’t get out of it that easily! 😀

I tried that earlier too! 😉

And I consider you to be eminently more qualified than I on such subjects!

As a footnote, I have had some reasonable success with oxyalic acid/crystals with darker stains in wood, in terms of making them more muted and less noticeable. Patience was important. 😉

slackalice – Member
You can’t get out of it that easily!
I tried that earlier too!
And I consider you to be eminently more qualified than I on such subjects!

You’ve built some incredible outdoor structures. Me, a couple of sheds and lots of indoor furniture. No, you take it… 😉

Plus one on the oxalic acid.

Don’t get Oxalic Acid on your skin, it goes right through it into your bloodstream!

Im getting some excellent results on oak (we did 40 rustic oak buildings last year) with the aforementioned oxalic acid clean followed by an Osmo uv oil (420 is the clear one)
No flaking after a couple of years so easy to clean down, lightly sand and apply top up coats. Others swear by tung oil but I’ve not had good results due to lengthy application time to build up coats particularly applying in situ.

Sikkens Cetol HLS followed by Sikkens Cetol Filter 7

Why both?