Refinishing an Oak Panel Door

This door was painted years ago with a horrible dark woodstain. The new owners of the property were unaware that underneath there is a solid oak door with carved linen-fold panelling.

First I stripped the old woodstain off using Fluxaf Green, a non-toxic water based paint stripper. Unfortunately the woodstain has soaked into the end-grain of the linen-folds and won’t come out unless I “re-carve” it out with a chisel. But, after an experiment, I decided that I was going to do more damage than good so I’ve decided to leave it where it is and hope with the final colour that it doesn’t show too bad.

The present home owners have completely renovated this house, and it is full of light coloured oak beams and flooring. So I bleached the oak slightly with a weak Sodium Per-carbonate solution which also kills mildew spores. After that I Washed the oak with an Oxalic acid solution which neutralises the Per-carbonate, evened out the colour and brightened the wood (it’s an ingredient in wood-brightener no less!).

There was some Treatex Hard Wax oil left over from when the floors were finished.  It’s a matt finish made from natural oils and waxes, and I think has given a really nice look to the door.

Published by: Colin Taylor on: February 23rd 2016