# Weather protection for oak front door.



## Wood Monkey (26 Apr 2007)

Hi All

I need some advice regarding re-finishing my Oak front door.

The door is only a few years old and was finished with boiled linseed oil. It looked fantastic when first done, but it just cannot stand up to the weather despite having been re-done. The threshold step suffers really badly. So I have decided to re-finish the door with something that will stand up better to the weather and sunlight.

My questions are what should I finish the door with and what preparation is required given that the door was previously treated with boiled linseed? I’m thinking that lots of scraping and sanding will be sufficient preparations.

Jon


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## Chris Knight (26 Apr 2007)

John,
I gave up trying to keep a varnished south facing front door in anything like a reasonable condition. I sanded it and painted it - end of problems.


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## Paul Chapman (26 Apr 2007)

Hi Jon,

I would be inclined to use something like Sadolin Classic. It's a microporous finish that penetrates the wood and doesn't leave a surface film like paint and varnish, so you don't get problems like flaking and peeling. It's very easy to apply and re-apply. You can just brush the surface down before re-applying but I normally give a light sanding. I use it on garden furniture and my back and front doors. My back door gets all the weather so I re-coat that every year, but it's very quick and no faffing about like you have to with painting or varnishing. My front door is well protected so hardly ever needs re-coating.

Here's their website. I'd be inclined to give them a ring and ask their advice about the boiled linseed oil previously used but I doubt it will be a problem if it's well weathered http://www.sadolin.co.uk/homeowner/

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## RogerM (27 Apr 2007)

Paul Chapman":sr9rz7dq said:


> My back door gets all the weather so I re-coat that every year, but it's very quick and no faffing about like you have to with painting or varnishing. My front door is well protected so hardly ever needs re-coating.
> 
> http://www.sadolin.co.uk/homeowner/
> 
> ...



Paul - when you say that your back door gets all the weather, do you mean just rain, or is it in full sunshine? I have a new front door in oak as a future project and I don't want to paint it. It'll need a medium stain (unfortunately) so that it at least gives the impression that it matches the dark wood windows, but it is in full sun as well as getting all the rain. Would you use Sadolin in that situation?


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## Paul Chapman (28 Apr 2007)

RogerM":1y898bgp said:


> Paul Chapman":1y898bgp said:
> 
> 
> > My back door gets all the weather so I re-coat that every year, but it's very quick and no faffing about like you have to with painting or varnishing. My front door is well protected so hardly ever needs re-coating.
> ...



Roger,

Yes, my back door gets all the sun and the rain  I re-coat it once a year. Work on the same principle as cutting grass - do it just before it needs doing and it will save a lot of problems. My back door is nothing special - a good quality softwood. I prefer Sadolin Classic to the other one (Extra, I think). That's a bit glossy and has the hint of a surface film. They refer to Classic as a base coat - but that's only since they introduced Extra. It's perfectly OK as a finish coat. Very quick and easy.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## RogerM (29 Apr 2007)

Thanks Paul. I think I'll get some Sadolin and put it on some scrap oak and leave it outside to see how it fares. The front door and glazed side panels is a long term project, and I may even practise by making an oak back door first!


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