dadiOH wrote:
Glenda Copeland wrote:
I have 6 inside wood hollow flat (not paneled or paned) brown wood
doors taht are dirty and in need of a fresher look.

What's the proper way to freshen up these single-sheet plywood doors?

Do I hand sand or buy a belt sander? Seems that a belt sander will go
right through the door in seconds, so that is why I ask.

Don't use it, too agressive.

What's the best way to refinish single-sheet hollow wooden inside
bedroom doors?

Paint.


Hardly. All that does is make them look like old hollow-core doors. Best
cure is cleaning them with whatever will take off all the years of grime
and hand oil near the knobs (Murphy's and Formby's make products for
this), a light hand sanding (with the grain), and then a
wiped-on/wiped-off layer of a matching gel stain to disguise the nicks.
I've had excellent luck with the Minwax gel stains in the squeeze
bottles. A little bit goes a long way- all you are trying to do is
refresh the old finish a little. Don't kill yourself trying to do this
in place- take down one or two doors at a time, and do it on sawhorses
in the garage. If the door casings are stained rather than painted, you
will want to do the same thing to them.

Same technique works pretty good on tired 'real wood' kitchen cabinets,
too, at a fraction of the cost of even crappy new cabinets.

Hey, the above may work, may not. But all it takes is about 30 bucks in
supplies, a little time, and a little elbow grease. And if it doesn't
work, you are no worse off than when you started.
--
aem sends...