I need to know how to maintain a mahogany/eucalyptus wood door and glass door frame that was stained and then polyurethaned. It appears that the original finish was sprayed on. I do not know what was used and have no way to find out. The doors have been in place for 6 years. I want to make sure that the door remains looking good and in good shape. Suggestions?
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Entry door?
Facing the outside elements or a door between rooms?
Maintaining finish on door
Sorry about that. The door is the front door to the house. It is protected by an entryway. It faces north. The sun does not shine on it all that much and it only gets rain on it when there is a high wind also.
Oh you are fine I too am sorry
Sorry because I don't have an easy answer for you. I expected it might entail sanding and brushing and the link I found bellow seems to bear that out.
I just knew anyone giving you an experienced view on this would want to know if it was an exterior door so I figured I would speed things along. Since no one has come along yet here is a thought :
You may get by washing the door well and rinsing it and letting it dry for a day or so then use a hard paste wax WITH NO SILICONE in it. (that means NO Pledge spray wax, bad, bad, bad) Silicone will damage any varnish finish etc., put on later. Sounds like your door is not that exposed so that could work.
Basically I know what questions to ask here.
Until the calvary arrives here is one rather extreme answer. Norm is a practical sort so not a bad answer I think.
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/asktoh/question/0,,20058418,00.html
i can tell you one thing NOT to do for maintaining an outdoor door. WAX And Silicone won't "damage" a finish. It just complicates any refinishing you do. Good waxes don't have silicones in them anyway.
It will be necessary to at least sand the old finish, and re=apply a varnish. Howard will be along to give MUCH better advice, but poly isn't going to adhere well.
Because . . .
Just for the sake of conversation and edification what happens when wax on the exterior door comes into contact with the various elements ?
Here is a guess but I suppose I am wrong:
Bees show up and dismantle the door into intsy teennie wieiney bits and cart it off to build their hives with.
: )
At Last
Yeh !
Glad you made it
Silicone no big deal then
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/fisheyeeliminator.aspx
Wax out doors bad, bad, bad
Got it.
A door that has remained looking good outdoors, even without getting lots of sun wasn't finished with ordinary single part polyurethane. If this was finished in a factory, it is likely to have been finished with one of the higher tech materials. Many of these are such that they can't be readily overcoated without full scale removal of the old finish. Your best maintenancre option my be to just clean it periodically with a mild soap.
Instead of removing the existing finish, couldn't you clean it, spray it with a shellac sealcoat, and then apply a new finish?
Well while Gretchen is researching that one
I am thinking we wax our cars, our skis, our surfboards, our . . .
(OK I'll stop) and they seem the better for it even though all are exposed to harsher environs than your partially protected door.
Hmmmm
It will be interesting to find out, what we find out when we find out.
Do Nothing
If it still looks good and it is protected from the elements and the sun as you have explained, there is nothing you can do that would extend the life of the finish. Washing and waxing will make it look nicer but will do nothing to extend the life of the finish.
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