Badly weathered exterior wooden door

[pjreno]

my back door is very weathered. It was originally painted with estapol. due to lack of maintenance it is now losing it's top layer. about half the door is like this. i've peeled back as much as i can but i can't seem to remove the rest of the layer. any ideas what i can do so i can apply some gloss paint. it seems solid enough underneath. it is a solid wood door.

[mic-d]

G'day and welcome. When you say the top layer is peeling do you mean the estapol finish or is there a plywood layer over a solid core which is peeling? If its just the finish peeling, get a good paint stipper like citristrip and remove all the old paint. the give it a sand and prime and paint.

Cheers
Michael

[pjreno]

hi Michael,
It is a plywood layer over a solid core that I'm trying to remove. Any ideas. thanks
Peter

[mic-d]

Yep, get a new door. You'll spend more time getting that plywood off and putting a new piece on, than fitting a new door. Inside will just be a whole heap of timber strips laminated togther, it won't look any good without ply covering it.

Cheers
Michael

[scooter]

As Michael said, the inside will a number of narrow strips laminated together, or (more likely these days) a core of MR chipboard or MDF.

Either way, it won't be any good without the skin.

A paint ply solid core door costs about $99, or a duracote hollow core about $65 so I'd just replace the door.

Paint with an oil based primer & water based light coloured top coats, don't forget to do the bottom, most critical.


Cheers................Sean