The infamous front door.

[Michael Jones]

Well, the front door to my studio finally came in. I had to stain it and oil it, and prep it for installation. Its in, and trimed out! Now the brick work can begin. (Finally)

The inside is a much lighter Birch wood stain. I chose the darker Red Mahogany stain for the outside because it will compliment the bricks very nicely. The door is made out of a wood caled Alder.

Just thought I'd share.....

[jake-owa]

Wow, looks sharp! Remember to let it dry for a week or so before varnishing or clearcoating it.

Those openings can be a bugger!

[Michael Jones]

Hmmm.... Varnish on an outside door? It'll crack and peel in no time at all.
Right now it has several coats of tounge oil on it. Hard to tell in the pic.

But I am wondering what else I could put on it to help preserve it.

Varnish is out though.....

[jake-owa]

You just gotta use the good stuff. Try some precatylized laquer. There are many long lasting, durable industrial grade clearcoats availible today..trust me.

Or you could just leave it that way..makes recoating easy.

If you'd like I can look up the new product specs and get back to you on the longest lasting, uv resistant industrial coatings out this year. This stuff is always advancing. right now we are using a three step product designed to last 15 years before fading...wow.

[jake-owa]

Did you oil the top and bottom ends of the door? I can't tell you how many times I've seen elaborate custom doors rot right off a frame due to this small oversight.

[bdbdbuck]

Michael,
Right now the most important thing to do is cover it up so you don't get mortar all over it! That would be a real shame. Also explain to the bricklayer that he is responsible to keep the acid away from it when he washes the brick.

bd

[Light]

Originally posted by Michael Jones
Hmmm.... Varnish on an outside door? It'll crack and peel in no time at all.
Right now it has several coats of tounge oil on it. Hard to tell in the pic.

But I am wondering what else I could put on it to help preserve it.

Varnish is out though.....

The most traditional finish for exterior wood doors is a marine grade varnish, but you have to sand and recoat every year, and every 15-20 years you need to strip it back and start the process over. Nothing will give you better protection than a properly applied and maintained marine varnish. Some things may be as good, but none better.

There are numerous exterior grade water bourn varnishes out there these days, which are supposed to be more durrable, though I tend to think water bourn finishes look awfully blue. Lacquers would be a bad idea, as they do not like extreme temprutures. Also, there is no good way of applying lacquer short of spraying, and it's drying times can be long. Of course the most common, the cheapest, and the easiest thing is to paint the door.

No matter what clear coat you use (and you really need to use one, and an oil will not do) it is a VERY good idea to apply a very thin coat (about a 1 lb. cut) of shellac. This will act as a sealer, and will eliminate any problems with incompatability. What ever any manufacturer ever tells you, shellac will stick to anything, and any finish matterial will stick to shellac.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[Michael Jones]

Thanks for all the replies. I did stain and oil the top ends of the doors. The bottom ends are completly covered by a neoprene seal. The only way to get to those is to take off the seals.

Taking the doors off and sanding them and refinishing them every year is NOT something I want to do. There's gotta be a longer lasting, more durable finish that wont crack and peel.

The type of brick I'm using is NOT supposed to be acid washed, so I'm not worried about that, but I will mask the frame before the masons get started.

[terocious]

This is an exterior door right? I would say whatever you use to top coat the door it would fare better with some type of overhang above it to protect from rain and UV. If not Exterior please disregard.

[Michael Jones]

Yes, it is exterior, and there will be an overhang, its just not visible in the picture.

[jake-owa]

Precatylized laquer is easy to apply with a mohair roller and brush and stands up to nearly any exterior situation.

Shellac is a great choice also.

Oil based coatings go yellow and water ones go grey...there's no way around that. Even the famous "stays clear" goes sort of opaque grey after a few years.

[Michael Jones]

Originally posted by jake-owa
Precatylized laquer is easy to apply with a mohair roller and brush and stands up to nearly any exterior situation.

Shellac is a great choice also.

Oil based coatings go yellow and water ones go grey...there's no way around that. Even the famous "stays clear" goes sort of opaque grey after a few years.

OK. Cool!
I'm going to get some precatylized laquer, and some shellac, do some test applications on the stained scrap from the trim, and see how it works out.

[terocious]

Originally posted by Michael Jones
Yes, it is exterior, and there will be an overhang, its just not visible in the picture.

Glad to hear it. By the way gorgeous door. Good luck with your tests.

[mixmkr]

I've used varnish on sailboat teak for years. Last a looooong time if you have the required number of coats and a UV inhibitor in it. A light sanding and a coat or two each year is all I ever needed..no need to remove your doors for that. BTW, my varnish sat in full sun year round.

Incidently, those are some mighty fine looking doors... never thought I'd comment on items like that around here!!.. Sets a good "first" impression. Nice job!

[John Sayers]

Great door Michael - very nice look

Hey Jake - I'm really interested in what you are saying about external finishes. I'm in a hardwood trimber house on the 28th lat so it cops full sun over 100 degrees.

We currently use Cabot's Natural Decking Oil - have you a better suggestion?? I've seen so many homes go grey and loose the natural timber colour.

cheers
john

[Light]

Originally posted by Michael Jones
Taking the doors off and sanding them and refinishing them every year is NOT something I want to do.

No reason to take the doors off. Light sanding, and one new coat, and you are done. Takes a couple hours. You would only have to strip the door about every twenty years, which you can count on with any exterior finish out there.

Being a guitar builder, I much prefer a yellowing finish than a blue one. Taylors and such with waterborne finishes just don't look right (to me). On top of that, the winterbournes, when they blue, always seem slightly opaque to me.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[jake-owa]

Originally posted by John Sayers
Great door Michael - very nice look

Hey Jake - I'm really interested in what you are saying about external finishes. I'm in a hardwood trimber house on the 28th lat so it cops full sun over 100 degrees.

We currently use Cabot's Natural Decking Oil - have you a better suggestion?? I've seen so many homes go grey and loose the natural timber colour.

cheers
john

Oh hell, don't get me wrong. While a good UV coating may help the wood from greying too soon it will not stop the wood from losing it's color completely. The good thing is the clearcoatings are less apt to fade themselves causing muddyness and discoloration in the finish itself.

I'll get back to ya though about some good new products.

Cabot's is pretty good though.

[John Sayers]

Cabot's is pretty good though.

thanks for that - I'm open to other suggestions though because as you say - they are bringing out new stuff all the time.

cheers
john

[jake-owa]

Ok here we go. This is the thing we're using this year on military basses for clear exterior wood. It has nearly the best UV protection and it doesn't dry out and crack up the way varnish can. It has been tourture tested and handles massive heat and weather abuse.

Sikkens Cetol 23

It's a two step process usually up to three
coats but two is sufficient for most normal weather applications.

Happy painting!

[jake-owa]

John, this might be a better product cost wise and maybe even for color retention.
I've used a ton of it and houses finished five years ago are showing no sign of bleaching or graying.

It's probably not the best for a heavy use item like a door just because it can discolor with heavy use...hands are greasy.

CWF clear wood finish

[mixmkr]

We use the Cetol on the new boats in the yard for sale. Looks pretty good and is great for those that JUST have to have brown wood. A couple, three coats is all it seems to take and it lasts almost two years in mid-America. My gripe with it (over a good varnish) is that after a couple more coats, (for the succesive years) it starts to look like shoe polish and takes away the grain of the wood. Albeit, it is MUCH easier to do, and much less time consuming than a good dozen coats of spar varnish. CWF is seen on the docks from the wacky sailors that just won't side with the common folk and HAVE to use something different and CHEAPER in cost (sailors are so damn cheap!!)

[fonts]

...Michael, great looking door and I think your choice of brick lends a look of solidness that will build confidence in your clientele much as it would in a professional building, which, of course, is exactly what it is...

[John Sayers]

Thanks for those links Jake - the trendy look around here is colour rendered brick with natural timber windows and doors so being sub tropical climate the sun is pretty strong, but I suspect Hawai is similar

thanks
John.

[darwin]

My concern about using a two-part sealant is that it would tend to impart a sheen. You may want a sheen. You probably don't. I'm curious. How high is the demand for a water-based water repellant with some UV resistance specifically tailored to retain the natural wood color of the door?

[jake-owa]

Well Darwin, it's not a two part in the traditional sense of a base and catalyst. Two step would be a more accurate description. It does however have a sheen but anything that has any UV resistance sill being as that is the main light resistant property, reflection. The Cetol is specificaly designed to retain the natural wood and give as much UV protection as possible, it does a great job in my opinion. The sheen is very gentle and natural looking and is really a pleasant look to my eyes.