Your doors ... a gateway to your personal style

The original Victorian doors were covered in plywood and about 27 layers of lead paint so best option is to have them dipped in caustic soda and neutralised

Find a local company with good reviews that will collect and deliver.

I had all 11 doors stripped for £225 including collection

The most important thing when your doors are returned is to let them dry inside for at least 3 weeks as they are swollen with fluid and WILL shrink!!! Friends have planed doors down to refit them and when they have properly dried there are 2 inch gaps under the doors .

Your doors will have the dipping process residue and bits of sealant, filler and paint in some of the recesses as below

I use a blunt wood chisel or flat head screw driver and carefully scrape the residue out

Then I use fibre brushes as below as a drill attachment and clean out all old paint and filler

Certain sections of beading will need tapping back into place using a wooden block and hammer once the recess is cleared out .. Now you are ready for planing with a 4" belt sander using 80 to 120 grit paper and a detail sander to finish off all areas the belt sander can not reach.

Initial planed section with 80 grit paper ensuring you plane with the grain and do not plan over joints as you will plane across the grain and score the wood

Once the door is smooth you are ready for a finish

I prefer to use a quality Danish oil that I work into the grain but for a darker finish I use the Oxy Polyx Amber wax oil depending on the quality and colour of the wood as I do not like the yellow pine wood effect .

You will need 3 coats of Danish oil letting the door dry for at least 12 hours between coats or a Oxy PolyX tint and two additional coats of clear matt or satin wax oil finish.

The key is to work with the wood grain and colour to the finish you require with small applications of oil/wax oil that you work into the grain with a soft brush

Now you will need to refit the doors using new slightly longer screws and a friend holding the doors upright and in place ...