Treating doors

[livias]

Two lovely new oak exterior doors are turning up here tomorrow. The plan is to leave the oak on show, not to paint them. I am thinking of treating them with a coat of danish oil .... any other suggestions before I go ahead and do it?

 

[plasticpigeon]

I know it isn't popular but I can't see what is wrong with varnish. There is a trend for letting wood go grey and weather at the mo. If you don't want that then oiling will only preserve the colour of the wood for a short time. I've used Osmo oil (which I am sure is a form or varnish) on a kitchen counter top with success when it comes to protection, so it might work outside, as I'm sure would polyeurethane or yacht varnish or any variants of those. It depends on what finish you are lookinbg for!

 

[mattice]

We've used Osmo UV on our untreated door. Looks great a couple of months in. We have some oak balustrade and 'deck' we want to weather grey so used Osmo clear, also known as teak oil I think, which offer no UV protection, but keeps the grime off. Looks good.

M

 

[Penners]

I'd certainly be happy using Danish oil, provided you apply at least 4 coats in the first instance - 6 would be even better. The oil that I've used in the past dries in about 6 hours, so you can get 2 coats on per day.

Yacht varnish or polyurethane will give you a very tough finish and will be fine until they get scratched or cracked from the expansion/contraction of the wood. Once this happens, you can get moisture trapped inside the surface finish. You then have a hell of a job to strip it or sand it down and refinish. With Danish oil you just wipe on another coat or two. Personally, I also prefer the look of Danish oil - a nice soft, oiled surface, rather than the much "harder" finish of a varnish.

The alternative, of course, is to leave the wood unfinished. It will then weather down to a silver-grey in colour over time. However, it may not last quite as long as the oiled wood - possibly only a 200 years or so, instead of 300! :wink:

 

[MatthewC]

I know it isn't popular but I can't see what is wrong with varnish. There is a trend for letting wood go grey and weather at the mo. If you don't want that then oiling will only preserve the colour of the wood for a short time. I've used Osmo oil (which I am sure is a form or varnish) on a kitchen counter top with success when it comes to protection, so it might work outside, as I'm sure would polyeurethane or yacht varnish or any variants of those. It depends on what finish you are lookinbg for!

I would point out that R******l does do exactly "what it says on the tin" - so read the small print on the tin very carefully - something like "guaranteed for 5 years" or similar as I recall, and it does NOT say what you then do in five years time.

I know of a church where the churchwardens had an argument with the architect about varnishing the new oak doors - somehow the architect won and the doors were varnished. Eight years later the varnish was peeling and so the churchwardens had the job of removing the remaining varnish completely before they could use some oil treatment as they first wanted. Of course, no comeback to the overbearing architect for his carp advice.

 

[plasticpigeon]

I can see that being a problem too Matthew. Has the oil been successful in protecting the church door? If so, is the door exposed to the rain at all, or just to the open air?

 

[Keithj]

We have a church door that's dated to the 13th century. It's bare wood. I think it may have been oiled in past centuries, but the view of our expert architect is "leave it alone". So we do.

I wanted to limewash the exterior, since it was taking up a variety of hues - all pleasing, ranging from cream to russet via various autumnal shades. Pick the middle russet, I thought - it's an attractive shade. Absolutely NOT came the reply.

Where we repaired damaged bits, a pale cream was "instructed". It stands out "like a mustard plaster on a coal scuttle".

 

[livias]

Thanks all
I dov't like varnish either for the same reasons as everyone else.
I have decided to use Osmo oil and shopping is underway
The doors are lovely
I think that once they are hung then photos will be called for ...

 

[Keith Bowman]

Thanks all
I dov't like varnish either for the same reasons as everyone else.
I have decided to use Osmo oil and shopping is underway
The doors are lovely
I think that once they are hung then photos will be called for ...

There is an Osmo UV protection oil which might be best for outside use.

 

[Lime]

What's wrong with using linseed oil?

 

[masochists-r-us]

Agree with Keith. OSMO UV protection for outdoor use.

 

[MatthewC]

I can see that being a problem too Matthew. Has the oil been successful in protecting the church door? If so, is the door exposed to the rain at all, or just to the open air?

The last time I was there it was fine - it's the outer south porch door and so gets rain and sun