internal doors - to paint and if so with what??

[tillyd]

Hi there, I have just found this forum and hoping you can help.
I have a number of stripped pine internal doors in my Victorian terraced house (was told some of the doors have walnut panels but not sure if thats right). I think i probably want to paint them - mainly because I think the house will look too dark otherwise, but also understand that's more authentic? Does this sound ok, and if so, what should I paint them with (and do i need to prime them or anything before?)
I want them white i guess, but all the skirtings etc are painted just bog standard white gloss paint - would that look weird/wrong? Is there a special paint that would look better?

thanks very much

 

[Flyfisher]

My understanding is that painted wood (certainly 'cheap' pine) is more authentic, but I defer to any Victorian experts out there.
But it's your house and your choice really.

As for the practicalities of painting, are the doors completely bare wood or have they been treated in some way? Any varnish, wax or staining will affect the preparation needed for painting.

 

[tillyd]

hello
they've been dipped (which having looked on here seems a bit of no-no!) but nothing else done to them...

 

[Nigel Watts]

Stripped pine is not an authentic Victorian look. They would have been painted, quite possibly in a dark colour to simulate a more expensive wood.

If you decide to paint make sure you treat any knots with knotting first as they can still leak resin which will eventually leach through to the surface. Then you need to prime the bare bare wood and apply undercoat before putting on a couple of top coats. If you want to be authentic you can use linseed oil based paint. If you use a modern paint I suggest you use eggshell rather than gloss. If you are using white, avoid the so called "Brilliant" white, which is rather harsh and use plain white, or one of the off whites instead.

 

[chuckey]

My victorian woodwork,has a white primer followed by a coat of scumble, a rather dark brown( half way between milk and black chocolate) background with a very light grey graining effect.
I personally prefer a really bright gloss (Dulux profesional, like an old fashioned paint). When I repainted some doors about 20 years ago, the paint chips I made good with a Halfords spray filler (coloured orange!), this rubbed down easily and produced a really good finish. Can any one reccomend a substitute. The modern Halfords spray filler has no "body" so does not fill depressions very easily.
FWIW has you noticed the finish on the door of number 10 Downing street - lovely!, thats what gloss should look like.
Frank

 

[plumbers mate]

The painting on my Victorian internal doors was actually rather complex when I looked closely -
Think the 4 panel type of internal door.
The panels were one shade of cream, the beading was another shade of cream and the rest of the doors even another shade of cream.
When new the effect would have been more striking than it is now.
(Of course the painters may not have had enough of one colour of paint and thought no one would notice)