How to repair water damaged front door?

[katie4]

Need advice on repairing 30 year old front door which looks like it's only ever had 1 coat of paint, top and bottom not sealed and has water damage. Very heavy solid wood door but looks like the cut outs are lined with MDF trim which are swollen, have tried sanding and shaving the trim with a stanley knife. 

    

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @katie4. It's fabulous to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about restoring a door.

For the bottom, you can glue and clamp the skin back on. You'll then need to use Builder's Bog to fill the torn-out pieces of door skin.

The inlays being MDF might pose a bit more of an issue. I'd recommend you sand them so they are smooth and the feathery MDF is diminished. Sand them back so the fluffiness is removed and they are flush with the surrounding area. You can then apply a thin coat of Builder's Bog over it. Contour it to follow the inlay. Once it is dry, you can sand the bog to re-establish the lines of the inlay.

Since you are having to re-establish the inlay's profile, there will be quite a bit of finicky work, but with patience you should be able to save the door. Given the amount of work involved with restoring the door, you might like to price a new external door to determine whether that would be an easier option.

When it's time to prime and then paint the door, coat all sides, including the bottom and top edge.

Remember your PPE, including a face mask and safety glasses.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[DIYGnome]

Hello @katie4 🖐

What a lovely old door, the plywood has frayed a little but like @MitchellMc has already stated some PVA wood glue and clamps (whilst it dries) will set it right, I would also suggest the addition of a couple of staples (if you have an industrial staple gun) to assist the glue, these can be recessed with a flat bladed screw driver & hammer and filled over when adding a coat of Builder's bog filler.

[katie4]

Thank you @DIYGnome and @MitchellMc for your advice. I used some wood glue but didn't have a nail gun or many tools. I'd never seen wood hardener before but used that and it worked really well on the swollen MDF. I ended up filing the MDF with a chisel (sandpaper was making it worse), spraying it all with wood hardener, 24 hours repeated the process and then shaped with file again and sandpaper. Also used spakfilla on the missing bits at the bottom, probably not the best but was what I was used to and it worked (for now). Used zinsser adhesion prep coat and 2 coats of paint. I didn't spend too much time on it as we needed the front door back on, it's not perfect but protected until I can get back to it another time! I'll try to re shape with builders bog next time. Also managed to get the glass out so I can replace with some nicer glass!

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @katie4,

Thank you for the update.

All in all, you've done a great job, and the door looks fantastic. The wood hardener would certainly have been helpful in giving the water damaged MDF some additional strength.

Congratulations on a job well done and if you need any further advice please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob