Made a mess of my front door...:(

[Thomas Mill]

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)

[Kevin Jenness]

It's fubar. Paint it or replace it. In theory a talented refinisher could paint in new grain for clear finish but that door is not worth it.

[John Kananis]

Yup, doneski... pick your favorite color paint and have at it. Tan maybe if your trying to make it blend in to unpainted surroundings. Or replace and use that one as a flat work top.

[David Stone (CT)]

Realistically, your options are to: paint it; apply new veneer over top of the existing face (using a single sheet of peel and stick veneer, as linked below); or replace the door. The latter course of action will require that you have the skills to hang the new door into the existing jamb, which not a totally trivial endeavor.

...Don't be too mad at yourself. Most of us have sanded ourselves into a corner in one way or another at some point...

https://www.rockler.com/4-x-8-veneer-sheet-peel-and-stick-backing

[Cameron Wood]

That is not solid wood. Solid wood means that if you cut it, every part you see would be wood straight from a tree, It is a flush solid core door, the interior is particle board and the faces are very thin plywood.

It's possible to add a new layer of "door skin" to the face of the door, but paint is your best bet & even that will take some work to get a decent look.

[Michael Burnside]

What are your skills and tools for woodworking. Adding a strip of verneer is pretty easy to do with a roller and contact cement, then just flush trim. No way to restore though, it’s toast.

[John TenEyck]

Paint is the easiest solution. And you might be OK with peel and stick veneer if you live someplace where it doesn't get too cold, but I would be concerned about that stuff coming off in locations that get truly cold. No experience, just a guess. 2 ply veneer applied with contact cement or, better still, Titebond II would be good to go anywhere.

What you have there is some core with 2 ply veneer over it. You are seeing the cross banded layer where you sanded through the outside layer. The core might be solid wood or some kind of plywood, or even particle board. No matter, if you decide to apply a new layer of 2 ply veneer, I would sand what's on it now down to the core. That will give you a nice fresh surface to glue to, and the door will end up very close to the thickness it now is.

All considered, I'd paint it. IMO, it'll look better than it did new. You could even put some molding on it to give it a little punch, and/or cut one or more holes in it and install glass inserts. No offense, but it's a really boring door as it is.

John

[Alan Rutherford]

I feel your pain. Long time ago I was managing a small apt. building where each unit had an outside entrance and the doors were veneered like yours and getting weathered. Bought a belt sander and immediately discovered how quickly one of those things will eat through paper-thin veneer.

I agree - paint it.

[Richard Coers]

If you consider veneer as solid wood, then you are correct. Your technique with the sander was to create a big divot where there was a small divot. This is no good for any finished project, but as you see it's a disaster on veneer. If you sanded solid wood like that, you would still see the big divots after staining and clear coating because the surface is not flat.

[Tom M King]

The good news is that there is some really good exterior paint these days.