Your doors get a tougher time than you might imagine through the rigours of day to day life. And while checking, repainting and varnishing your external doors is a common part of household maintenance, the internal ones often get forgotten. However, just because they are not exposed to the weather, they still have to put up with everyday knocks, scrapes and scuffs.
So, if you have purchased some attractive wooden doors from a company like , let’s take a look at how you can keep them looking like new for years to come.
The wonders of water
Before you go diving in with the wood stain and varnish, you would be amazed at the difference a good clean can make. All door surfaces are exposed to dirt, dust and soot over time – even internal ones. If left, contaminants can become acidic and damage the finish.
Make sure you give all your doors a good clean at least twice a year, using a non-abrasive cloth and warm water. You might need to add some sugar soap if they are really grimy, and if so, make sure you give them a rinse with plain water afterwards.
Choose the Right Treatment
If you have a lacquered or varnished door, you need to be clear about what sort it is. Doors come in a variety of materials, including oak, pine and cherry, can be of solid wood or hollow construction, and might be finished in oil, wax or varnish.
Pre-finished doors
If you have pre-finished doors, you can usually find out from the paperwork what product the door was originally treated with. If not, just give the suppliers a call and ask them. It makes sense to use the same product, and it is ideal to have some put by anyway, just in case of a minor mishap.
What about veneer?
Veneered wooden doors are made from a hollow or solid wooden core with a layer of high quality wood veneer attached to the surface. Some people are concerned about what types of finish they can use on their veneered doors, particularly if they see vague warning on product labels, advising against various non-specific oils and varnishes.
So, what should you use on veneer doors? As ever, it depends on the product and manufacturer, but if you are buying from a reputable supplier, the answer will be that you can use almost anything you wish. The issue with veneer doors arose in the late 20th century, when the influx of cheap imports using ever-thinner veneers that had a tendency to delaminate led to manufacturers cautiously advising against anything that could conceivably create a problem. Today, quality is far higher, but some of these warnings are still there, simply because they always have been, and the manufacturers are reluctant to remove them.
However, the consensus among experts is consistent. Stains and oils do not penetrate deeper than 1mm, and modern veneers are at least that thick, so there is really no chance of the substance you apply interacting with the bonding agent in any way.
If you are still concerned, you can always conduct a patch test on a small piece of the door – just to make certain.
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