Having a real wood front door is a great way to make an impression on your visitors, especially if you plan to sell your house. Its functionality is indeed essential, but the aesthetics appeal to a visitor just as much. That’s why you must carry out regular maintenance to keep the pleasing look.
Maybe your front door looks knackered after years of use. Perhaps it has dents, scratches, and shabby paintwork. However, that does not mean it’s much different from a gleaming, smooth, polished new door. Underneath, it’s all wood, not magic. With little effort on your part, you can optimise your door to the same peak as the new ones from the Online Door Store.
When you renovate your door, it’s better to remove it from the hinges and take it to a shed or garage. Follow the steps given below to beautify your door and increase its life by years:
Remove the Door Fixture
Before anything else, remove the fixtures from your door, like the door knocker or letterbox. Here, you can decide whether you want to restore the fixtures or just throw them out and give your door a whole new look. On a personal note, after all the needed restoration, putting the old objects back on your newly restored masterpiece may not suit well.
Remove the External Wood Paint
Sanding is not always efficient to remove thirty or more years old paint. Instead, you may use unique paint removal products, like Peelaway 1 or 7. Test to find which product works best. These paint removals are spread over the paintwork and allowed to settle for 24-48 hours. When they are peeled off with the special spatula, the dissolved paint comes off cleanly.
Such chemical paint removals are handy in areas where it is impossible to sand, like decorative carvings or panelling.
Use Wood Filler
Preparation is the key in any DIY project. Therefore, you need to prepare your door before applying the new paint.
Upon stripping the door, lightly sand it with 120 grit sandpaper. It sets the ground for a new primer coat and chosen exterior paint. You may use specialised filler, like oak wood filler for an oak door, or you can use the general wood filler wax sticks. Fill all the dents, depressions and holes with the filler. Give it time to settle and dry. Sand the filled areas to ensure a smooth surface. So far, so good.
Treat the Door With a Preservative
Without proper treatment, wood doors can succumb to many biological threats, like algae, dry rot, mould and insects. Treating them with quality preservative before administering the undercoat, primer or base coat will help protect the wood from these threats.
The typical drying time is several days, but the solvent-based preservatives dry within a few hours.
Undercoat and Painting
After stripping, filling, sanding and preserving the door, it’s finally time for the most rewarding part of your work. Choose the right outdoor paint for wood or special weatherproof paint. Do not skimp out on the quality of the paint. Otherwise, you may have to repeat the whole process within a few years.
Paint is an organic material and changes with heat and humidity. That’s why you must choose a flexible wood finish.
There’s a wide range of choices available in colours. Make your choice wisely. Once the job is finished, just stand back and admire your masterpiece. You may pat yourself for a job well done.
