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DOORS 101
— Finish & Sealing
All of our doors are shipped unfinished
– factory finishing is not an option. Typically
you will want your doors to match cabinetry, flooring,
trim or other wood in or around your home. Because stain
matching is so difficult, we have opted to let you finish
the doors to match what you want. If you have already
ordered a door and need a sample of the wood to test
for stain purposes, please send us an email.
Our doors cannot be painted. Painting
a door with floating panels causes the panel to not
be able to move which most often will cause the stile
or rail to separate. If your intent is to have a painted
door, we suggest a fiberglass or a veneer door.
Because the doors are unfinished
and not sealed – they will still react to the
moisture - or lack thereof. Our warranty requires the
doors be sealed within ten days of receipt. For those
people used to hollow core, fiberglass, or metal doors
– this will be a new concept. There are companies
that make temporary wood sealers if you are forced to
not be able to seal your doors. Visit your local paint
department to see what they have available in your area.
Storing your doors once they arrive
is also something that you need to pay attention to.
First and foremost – do not store doors on raw
concrete. A skid or pieces of wood keeping the doors
from concrete is required. If you do not, moisture from
the concrete can leech into the wood and cause warpage
or bowing. Plastic tarps, visqueen, or thick landscaping
plastic can also be used as a moisture barrier in between
the concrete and wood. A problem with plastic is that
is that it can "sweat" and collect moisture
– so please use care to insure plenty of breathing
room if you use plastic. Do not under any circumstance,
wrap your doors in plastic or otherwise prevent air
circulation around the doors. Doors should be kept in
a protected environment.
Slab doors are best kept flat, utilizing
weights or books to keep equal pressure on all four
corners on the stack of doors. Do not leave slab doors
leaning against a wall or other structure.
Prehung doors may be leaned as long
as they remain shut into the jamb.
All doors will require at least
minor finish sanding before finishing or sealing. This
finish sanding can remove slight blemishes, scratches,
or even oily handprints.
Finishing the doors is a preliminary
step before sealing them. The finish coat typically
puts a stain or a color on the wood. There are a multitude
of colors available, including a natural stain that
just brings out the grain of the wood. You do not have
to add a colored stain to a door. Anytime you put any
kind of liquid on wood, it will raise the grain of the
wood. This is best described as a five o’clock
shadow – or how whiskers feel. These raised grains
should be wet sanded off before the sealer coat is applied.
It is not usually necessary to apply multiple coats
of stain unless you need to even out the finish. Read
the instructions on the stain that you are using before
applying the stain.
When choosing a color of stain,
remember that darker stains will absorb direct sunlight
and this retained heat will often cause your wood to
crack. Lighter colors will weather better and will show
off the grain of the wood better! We suggest writing
the brand and stain color or stain number on the top
edge of the door so that it will be there if you ever
need to match it. It is also suggested that you keep
and label any left over stain so that if the panels
shrink and an unfinished line appears – you can
use this extra stain to cover these areas as needed.
Sealing the doors is the final coat
that will help prevent moisture from getting into the
door and will help retain the natural moisture that
is in the wood. Some sealers will have stain already
included so that you do not have to do separate finishing
and sealing processes. Sealer coats usually come in
matte or varying gloss finishes. High gloss sealers
sometimes make the wood appear fake. The most important
aspect of sealing the door is that you need at least
three coats and you have to seal all SIX sides of the
door. People often forget to seal the top and bottom
edge of the door. You will have to remove all hardware
from the door, including the door sweep (on entry doors),
door hardware, and hinges before attempting to seal
the doors. For Entry doors we suggest a quality polyurethane
sealer. For Interior doors we suggest a quality lacquer.
Different products work better in different areas of
the country – visit your paint department to see
what product works best in your area. Depending on the
product instructions, you may have to sand or use steel
wool in between coats.
After the final coat has dried, you can
put the hardware back on the door and hang it.
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