Finish for new external Oak door

[Leon]

I’ve just had a new Oak door made replicating the old rotten original. My question is a simple one. Should the new door be painted, varnished, oiled or waxed. The original was painted but I’d like to keep the oak finish. Any suggestions partially any brands that can be “trusted”?

 

[biffvernon]

Linseed oil.

Varnish will look varnished. Fine if that's what you want but it will need redoing in a very few years.

 

[Penners]

Biff, my predecessor in this house treated his oak front door with what I believe to be linseed oil. Trouble is, over the years the bottom 12 - 18 inches or so has got very mucky with dirt, dust, etc. adhering to it.

I've tried just washing it off with soap and water, but that won't shift it. Any ideas, please?

 

[biffvernon]

A characteristic of external oak is that it goes darker from the bottom up - more wet and UV sunshine as well as more dirt makes it weather faster. After you've brushed and washed the dirt off what remains is pretty much permanent.

1 Learn to love it,
2 Sand the top layer of the wood off to reveal a paler but thinner door,
3 Replace with a bright white plastic door.

I'd go for #1.

 

[Penners]

This is actually a palpable, gritty coating - not just discolouration. I wanted to avoid sanding if possible, because the boards that make up the door are beaded, and I'm concerned about putting a flat on the radius of the beading. However, I'll just have to try and use a delicate touch.

And if that doesn't work, there's always option 3.

 

[Moo]

What if you were to clean it using a fine wire wool?

 

[Penners]

I did try that, Moo, without too much success. But you've given me an idea - maybe if I use a Brillo pad that has impregnated soap, that might be more effective.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Moo]

You'll let us know whether it works, of course, you houseproud old thing. (You'll be asking for tips on holystoning your doorstep next).

 

[Penners]

Yes, I'll try and remember to do so. But don't hold your breath... got to sort the old twinging screws out first.

 

[Sue Wilkinson]

Penners, how about linseed soap? Holkam sell it as a brush cleaner and hand cleaner for use with their linseed paints, so stands to reason it must disolve the oil. Evidently its a natural stripper. I think you can use it on brushes used for conventional paint too.

Have a look at their web site. The link I've attached takes you to the page.

I believe whoever did your door must have used the wrong type of linseed. I know that one of them attracts dirt and dust and traps it, the other doesn't, but as to whether the wrong one is boild or raw, I can't remember.

http://www.holkham.co.uk/linseedpaints/o_linseedoilsoap.html

Sue

 

[Penners]

Penners, how about linseed soap? Holkam sell it as a brush cleaner and hand cleaner for use with their linseed paints

That's a brilliant idea, Sue! Thanks so much. I'll definitely try it, and if I can remember to do so, I'll report back on its efficacy.

 

[oldfella]

Hi, I don't know the age of your home but I am a huge fan of using limewash on Oak. Its a wonderful material.

 

[Anys]

I'd be interested to know what works best as I have a new oak front door now to be oiled or varnished depending on what stands up best to winter winds and rain straight from the North Sea, and I can't put off doing something about it much longer. I read somewhere 12 coats of boiled linseed oil are required, that seems a lot ... it must be easier to varnish it. This door does not replace an old one but is part of a new simple little porch the planners grudgingly let us add on to the barn.

 

[Nemesis]

EH new guidance on farm buildings:

http://www.helm.org.uk/server/show/nav.10600



Oak - Sissinghurst - looks rather untouched and wonderful to me:


[Open Image] [Hosted by PhotoGalaxy.com]

 

[biffvernon]

and I can't put off doing something about it much longer.

That picture from Sissinghurst suggest that you could put off doing something about it for a couple of centuries. That's the nice thing about oak, it allows for slow decision making.

 

[oldfella]

Oak can indeed be simply left alone to its own weathering and will take on that stunning grey aged look without loosing any of its strength. I still say limewash though if it were my door.

 

[plumbers mate]

If I intended selling the house at any time, rather than leave it for my heirs to cope with, I'd treat it in some way - I can't see anyone wanting to buy the house who wouldn't replace a door that looked like that unless they were period property nuts

 

[Nemesis]

I'd buy it - I love weathered oak!

It does what it says on the tin!

 

[Penners]

Hi, I don't know the age of your home but I am a huge fan of using limewash on Oak. Its a wonderful material.

In the right context I definitely agree with you, Oldfella. But this is actually a fairly modern door - pleasant looking but not the right style for limewash, in my view.

 

[Penners]

I'd be interested to know what works best as I have a new oak front door now to be oiled or varnished depending on what stands up best to winter winds and rain straight from the North Sea, and I can't put off doing something about it much longer. I read somewhere 12 coats of boiled linseed oil are required, that seems a lot ... it must be easier to varnish it.

Yes, you will definitely need about 12 coats of boiled linseed oil - over the space of about 70 years.

If you varnish the door, I reckon you'll definitely regret it. It will look good for two or three years, then the varnish will start to crack and it'll look awful. You'll then be faced with a decision whether to patch up the cracked varnish or strip the whole lot off and start again.

With linseed oil, you start off with a couple of coats. Then as time passes, if the wood starts to look a bit dry, you just wipe on another coat.

I think Sue is right. I reckon my predecessor used raw linseed oil instead of boiled. This is stayed sticky and attracted the dirt. Graham S-H has very kindly sent me a little sample of linseed soap to try on the muck. When this arrives I'll test it and report back on how it works.