Polyurethane and oak questions from a beginner

[Scott Winners]

My wife found new closet doors for the master bedroom on the internet. She got solid core 6 panel doors, Limeux model C66 in white oak, with a complete set of hardware, for $100.

These are several years old, with paint overspray and etcetera. I am going to have to clean them up before I can think about touching up the finish. I am going to have to square up both doors to bring the rails and stiles back to flush at both ends of both doors. Clearly the pores in the oak were not filled (or only partially filled) before they factory finish went on. My wife likes the look more or less as is, I am not looking to fill the pores to NASA flat or put on a high gloss finish. They look to be about satin level poly under the dirt.

1. While these are going in the master bedroom, it is a five bedroom house. Sooner or later there will be a toddler teething on these closet doors. Among the polyurethanes that should be compatible with Lemieux's factory finish, does one stand out as relatively edible or otherwise reasonably harmless once fully cured?

2. I don't think of myself as much beyond an experienced novice painting 6 panel doors. If I do the prep work, that is clean them with mild soap and water, square up the ends and scrape off the paint spots here and there and sand to maybe 600 grit or so, what could I expect to pay - at a paint shop near you- to have these sprayed with polyurethane by an experienced professional?

Thanks in advance.

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[Scott Winners]

Also.

#3, what is a specific mild soap I can use for dirt clean up now that won't be an added headache for adding polyurethane later?

[John TenEyck]

Dawn or Palmolive dish soap in warm water will remove the dirt and oil w/o harming the underlying finish. A razor blade works well for shearing paint specs off a finish. All finishes are nontoxic once cured, so I wouldn't worry about the little ones teething on them. No idea what a pro would charge you to spray them. I charged some folks $80 per door to prep them like you've talked about, then spray them with a shellac toner to adjust the color, then spray the topcoats.

John

[Scott Winners]

Dawn .. dish soap in warm water

John

Thanks John. I stock blue Palmolive for motor vehicles and it worked very well at my usual concentration of about 1/4 teaspoon of soap per gallon of warm water. It took three rinses for my rinse water to be clean.

Not sure if the color change towards lighter white will really show up, but I have thumbs up from my wife to proceed. It isn't a dramatic change, but quite noticeable in person.

[Paul F Franklin]

Scott, your wife got a heck of a deal on those doors. I prefer solid core doors even for hallways and closets; they block sound better and just feel so much nicer. But the prices for new doors lately are unreal. Even if you do pay someone to spray them you will likely end up way ahead.

From the pics, they look to be in great shape...are you sure you need to refinish them? If you just need to flush the tops and bottoms you could just brush on some poly there; although most old interior doors I see aren't finished at all top and bottom.

[sean meltvedt]

Scott-I too would use the original finish. If you really want to refinish, I would match the original to hide the unavoidable panel shrink that will happen during our Fairbanks winters. Also if you do square up the door-I would mask off the faces, and brush or spray a poly on the cut edges to even out the expansion/contraction with humidity.
Nice score on the doors. I too love the feel and sound control a solid door gives.
Cheers
Sean