How to fix wood panel on aluminium front door?

[hock79]

I have an old aluminium style double glazed sliding front door.

The wood panel on the front has deteriorated over the years and looks very unsightly. Unfortunately I can't afford a new door, but I'd like to make it look better! I think it must be wood veneer, but I'm not sure at this stage whether it is one thick panel, or whether there is a panel fixed to the front of the door, and another fixed to the back (the back looks fine). If it is just a thin panel at the front, fixed to the aluminium, my plan is to pull it off, and replace with either another wood panel, or perhaps some metal sheet.

So, has anyone had this problem before, or have any advice?
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[foxhole]

Remove letter box, you should be able to see how it's constructed, would replace with well oiled ply.

 

[kbdiy]

I think those panels may have been built in as the frames were assembled so no easy way to get them out and replace. You might be able to overboard them and seal round the edges if you can cut accurately to size, but it will never look fantastic.

 

[hock79]

How about if I peeled off the worst of the damage, and cover over with thin metal sheet? Then seal around edges?

 

[God]

Lift the door out. Unscrew 3-4 screws from the side and pull the side of the door off, the wood will then come out

 

[Gazman16]

You would need to dismantle the whole of the doors to remove and replace those panels.

As mentioned take out the letter box to see what material it is. If its real wood you could just scrape, sand and then either paint or stain it. Thats probably the cheapest option at least.