Oak internal doors

[phil1968]

Hi,
I have just replaced my internal doors with oak veneered ones. The are unfinished and so am wondering what to do next -ie to seal them against moisture etc. I would like the finished doors to have a light natural colour. Does anyone have any suggestions as to the best products and what I should do next.
Thanks,
Phil

 

[RigidRaider]

Phil, see my post below on "Ronseal - what a disaster".

We are installing oak veneered pine 4 panel doors. The polythene wrap has a prominent warning that in order to prevent drying and shrinkage the door must be sealed with three layers of polyurethane varnish or paint. It even says you should seal the hinge rebates and the latch cutout.

As you'll see from my post we are using Dulux Trade satin clear varnish. I couldn't find another can of this so I did a door with Ronseal satin, which was horrible - it dries too shiny and uneven and shows all the brush marks. The Dulux on the other hand, rubbed down carefully between coats and de-dusted, gives a superb satin sheen and shows no brush marks at all. It's thinner than the Ronseal and easier to apply and doesn't even run much if you overload it. The veneer does darken to a warm mid brown but the finish looks impeccable, just like the professional finish you see on doors in offices and airports.

Hope this helps! The Dulux trade varnish comes only from Dulux Decorator Centres.

 

[phil1968]

Hi Rigid Raider,
Thanks very much for the info.
Regards,
Phil

 

[RigidRaider]

Glad to help but don't delay - they will start to shrink fast once brought indoors. You can feel the high moisture content of the wood if you stick a finger in a newly-drilled lock cutout.

As the forecast is terrible for the weekend guess what I'm going to be doing? More doors! (Got another 8 to do!)

 

[spice]

As long as you acclimatised the doors prior to hanging they shouldnt shrink, however its best to get some varnish on them asap.

I have just done some 4 panel doors with just plain matt varnish, I wet & dried them first with a softish W&D paper, then I used a matt clear poly varnish.
The next day I W&D them again, and did another coat, then did the same again the following day.

It just makes the oak look slightly darker, but it still looks natural.

You can wax them if you prefere, but the wax does not protect them as much as the varnish.