Internal Oak Doors

[Jupiter01]

Hi All,

I've had these doors fitted throughout the house. I am comfortable with emulsion and gloss painting but very nervous about doing anything to these!

Howdens have provided a stain and I anticipated the need to rub the doors down (along the grain). I want to achieve a reasonably natural look and would advise any advice or pictures of end-results that you guys can share.

Sorry for the vagueness but thanks in advance.

 

[ic1927]

I've done loads of Howdens oak veneer doors, acrylic (quick drying) varnish is best for these doors as it won't de-laminate the veneer. Thin the first coat slightly with water, when dry sand down with silicone carbide (wet and dry) sandpaper 400 grade, and apply a full coat, sand again when fully dry and apply a final coat. Johnstones acrylic satin varnish is great and gives a natural looking finish.

 

[Jupiter01]

Thanks for the prompts response and I wonder if that's the product Howden supplied. I will check tonight. I thought it was a stain...
Back to your suggestion, do you have any pics of the finish article?

 

[Jupiter01]

As promised, here is what Howdens sold me with the doors suggesting that it "was the best thing for it". Thoughts?

 

[Russ Marshall]

I have 14 oak veneer door in my house that were all fitted when we had the extension and pretty much everything redone. I used Osmo Polyx hard wax oil on mine after a recommendation. Super easy to apply and looks brilliant. It's a bit pricy for a tin but it does go a long way. I read a lot of threads that suggested some finishes may lift the veneer but a number of people suggested it would be fine, and indeed it was.

 

[Jupiter01]

Thanks and that does look very nice. Is that clear satin or a different finish? How many pots will I need for 12 doors??

 

[Jupiter01]

Hi Guys,

I went in to Brewers to buy Osmo and explained that I intend to use it on Howden doors. He strongly recommended against this and was trying to sell me varnish. Apparently Osmo is not suitable for veneer doors. So I now have a recommendation to use stain (Howden), varnish (Brewers) and Osmo (this forum). I am confused!

I do like the finish on @Russ Marshall doors but was put off by the reaction from Brewers. Can someone please help as I need to get going with this (a I am reminded every weekend!)

Thanks again.

 

[bernardgreen]

Have you considered Danish Oil ? It gives a very good finish on solid oak panelling ( 12 mm thick )

 

[Jupiter01]

Would it matter if my doors are not solid? I have oak veneer doors. Also, do oils seal the wood in the way stain/varnish do?

 

[bernardgreen]

Danish oil seals well enough for timber to be used as a kitchen work surface.

As regards veneer it would depend a lot on the thickness of the veneer and whether the oil ( or solvents in the varnish ) would affect the glue holding the veneer in place.

I would trust Howdens and Sadolin. Sadolin products are very good ( we used it on the timber frame house we built ). Give their technical department a call and ask about using their internal stain on oak veneer. It would help if you can tell them the thickness of the veneer. The good thing about many of their stain products is that the timber can be re-stained ( maybe 5 years later ) without having to strip of a layer as you have to do with varnish or paint.

Phone number on http://www.sadolin.co.uk/contact-sadolin/

 

[SFK]

Jupiter,
Just to add to your confusion - I used Osmo on my Howdens Oak Veneer door and was personally very happy with the finish. And would not be happy to use a Stain on oak that would change the colour of the oak.

HOWEVER, I fully understood that I was taking a risk as Howdens does not recommend this as (my understanding) the Osmo solvents may weaken the bonding of the Veneer to the core of the door causing the Veneer to de-laminate. But as I had a can of Osmo, like its mat finish, do not like the finish of a layer of varnish, did not want to use a Stain that would change the colour of the oak, and if I remember correctly it also said not to use Danish Oil and as I had used osmo everywhere else, I crossed my fingers took the chance and 3 years later not had any issues with Osmo coated Howdens doors.

Not helpful I know, but I think you may simply have to choose one, do one door and cross your fingers.

SFK

 

[Jupiter01]

Thanks @SFK. That's very helpful. Any pics of the doors three years in?
I must say that I am impressed by the picture shared by @Russ Marshall. I assume my current doors (picture below) will also look like this if I go down the osmo route.

Something also tells me that Osmo is a much simpler application than stain/varnish...

Any other Osmo fans out there???

 

[SFK]

Pictures below (sorry about the low quality but house getting too dark for phone camera)
I like osmo because simply to apply and when it gets scratched or worn off I simply lightly sand the damage and wipe on another thin layer of Osmo.

I applied this in the following way:
1) Very thiny brushed on first coat left to dry (over night).
2) Very thinly brushed on second coat left to dry hard (say four night).
3) When hard I very lightly sanded with 1200grade wet and dry (using it wettened with clean water).
4) Very thinly brushed on third coat.

Note that I used "Osmo Polyx Oil, 3032, Satin, Clear".
It goes on very thin, and their notes say coverage is 24m2/litre. Assuming 4m2/door and 12 doors then you need 2 litres.


sfk

 

[SFK]

ALSO... with osmo you can always try it in one small flat area. And if you hate it simply sand it off (which is relatively easy to do) and then use your Stain. You would not be able to do that if you tried the Stain first as I guess it would stain the wood and be hard to blend the second coat of stain in.

 

[Jupiter01]

can I please clarify that when you refer to Osmo, It's this product as this is the only product they recommend for oak veneered doors (or any doors by the looks of it), the rest are for floors, furniture, etc.

http://www.osmouk.com/sitechaptern.cfm?bookid=Products&chapter=82&page=274#3060