to THIS:
Any guesses on wood type? I was assuming pine when I bought it; that doesn't look like pine to me, though.
Still have to remove the paint from here (around each inset panel)...
and here (around each of six windows)...
We are debating painting or staining. This is the interior side of the door; the rest of our doors will all be natural wood. We would love to keep this door natural on the inside, too... but there are a few imperfections. Here is the largest gauge:
It is about 1/4 inch deep, and about 2 inches wide and 4 inches tall. The rest are mostly holes, or small scratches. Thoughts on my ability to hide or patch imperfections like this?
13 comments:
Thanks so much for the info Jennifer!! I would assume that it's pretty much the same for cats -vs-dogs. I looked online today and some info also mentioned that it's questionable as to whether it really helps and boy, were you right, it is expensive!!!
I say leave it. It gives it character. You could always make up some exciting story as to how the gash got there to tell people. ;-)
Door if solid might be Douglas Fir. Used to be able to get some might big trees.
RE: Imperfections. You might try ironing them out. Don't look at me that way!
Moisten the dinged area, and use a hot iron on highest setting. You will need to resand it after it cools.
We are trying to expand the grain by moistening it. It works on small scratches. It might work for you.
On the big dents you will probably want to use something like ZAR wood filler, which can blend very well.
Could be heart pine!
A sandable stainable wood filler should work but make sure that it hardens otherwise it can come out. Also a dremel tool or something similar would work good for getting into the edges around the windows and inset panels.
It sure looks like Douglas Fir to me. All of our doors are fir, which makes sense for here, since there's fir trees everywhere.
Ooooh, pretty, pretty! I tell you, the refinisher from www.WesternWoodDoctor.com will get the rest of the paint goop out (with some steel wool and elbow grease) and leave your wood surface like silk.
Barring the gouges, of course.
That's fir, I'd bet on it. Our house is full or fir and the doors look just like that. Fir was very commonly used for the trim kits they sold with bungalow and other house kits back then. I would leave it - but you probably know I'm anti-paint after all the paint stripping we've done!
Once you stain over the wood and varnish it, you won't notice the imperfections, I swear. Our door looked like hell after I stripped it, now it's gorgeous, imperfections and all. I use this "Color Putty" (by "Color Putty Co, Monroe, WI" to fill holes. I have several jars of it & mix them to make the right color. It's like $3 a jar, and it's oil based. It's the stuff they use in good frame shops to fill nail holes in picture frames, but our local hardware store has it. Put it on AFTER staining (make sure stain is dry or it will wipe off) and BEFORE varnish. Smear it a bit so it blends with the surrounding wood. I never use sandable wood fillers - they never stain right & they look like someone tossed OSB in the hole!
Lovely. I'd also definitely leave it unpainted. If you use an oil based finish, fir continues to develop warm patina over time which is very cool. And the gouge.....I'd get the paint out of it and leave it just as is ;-) I have a very similar door in my front entryway, except mine is oak.
I'm guessing you are right about it being Douglas Fir... being that we are in Colorado and alL! It's not a wood I have much experience in! It's nice to know what it is, though!
Thanks for the reassurance on leaving it unpainted. That is definitely our first choice. I'll try the iron! Good tip on the artist's putty... that sounds like a really good idea! I don't have much luck getting standard wood filler to look "natural". And... warm patina sounds nice! Would tung oil qualify as an oil based finish for an exterior door?
You wight check with someone in person about the wood type it might be yellow pine and if it is that's really hard and might not stain well or dark.
Thanks Dorlissa~ I don't think we will stain it; it's such a nice color as it is. Plus, I'd almost guarantee it isn't yellow pine... monitor colors can be off, though. I'm thinking it's fir. I think we will likely do a tung oil finish! Talk to you soon!
Hi Jennifer:
As you know, your door is clearly fir. We are currently refinishing our front door and trim in the entryway that was quite glossy and orange, although not painted. We are considering tung oil instead of conditioner/stain/matte top.
Did you decide on tung oil in August and if so, how does it look? Thanks, Cynthia
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