Thomas Mill
02-15-2023, 2:02 PM
Amateur DIYer, trying to refinish my front door, failing miserably! :(
The door is solid wood. But every spot that I sanded (with a power sander, 120 grit), made that spot impossible to stain properly, afterward. Despite covering the sanded areas and gouges with “Lepage Plastic Wood”. The larger spots revealed that the top veneer is -extremely- thin (like… “coat of paint” thin!). And underneath, is another type of wood. Which has a tighter grain, that goes horizontal. Any attempt to stain this sub-veneer, with or without a coating of plastic wood filler over top, creates a darker color. With a very light border around the area.
Apart from painting it, which I wish to avoid, is there any way that I can restore the finish, to where the sanded areas and gouges blend in with the rest of the veneer? Since some of those sanded areas are so large now, it seems that even if I do find a filler that won’t darken the stain more than the original surface, it will be obvious that it’s been repaired. Because there will be large areas of even color, that have no grain or variation.
https://i.ibb.co/R7vTywm/20230214-142235.jpg (https://ibb.co/fQ1dvw5)
https://i.ibb.co/6bdLtng/20230213-172852.jpg (https://ibb.co/ZKZ7gLW)
https://i.ibb.co/fDy1Rd8/20230214-142219.jpg (https://ibb.co/hY475FX)
The door is solid wood. But every spot that I sanded (with a power sander, 120 grit), made that spot impossible to stain properly, afterward. Despite covering the sanded areas and gouges with “Lepage Plastic Wood”. The larger spots revealed that the top veneer is -extremely- thin (like… “coat of paint” thin!). And underneath, is another type of wood. Which has a tighter grain, that goes horizontal. Any attempt to stain this sub-veneer, with or without a coating of plastic wood filler over top, creates a darker color. With a very light border around the area.
Apart from painting it, which I wish to avoid, is there any way that I can restore the finish, to where the sanded areas and gouges blend in with the rest of the veneer? Since some of those sanded areas are so large now, it seems that even if I do find a filler that won’t darken the stain more than the original surface, it will be obvious that it’s been repaired. Because there will be large areas of even color, that have no grain or variation.
https://i.ibb.co/R7vTywm/20230214-142235.jpg (https://ibb.co/fQ1dvw5)
https://i.ibb.co/6bdLtng/20230213-172852.jpg (https://ibb.co/ZKZ7gLW)
https://i.ibb.co/fDy1Rd8/20230214-142219.jpg (https://ibb.co/hY475FX)