I installed a solid core lauan door on my laundry room in a hurry, ten
years ago. The old doorway was too narrow for the washer that was to
arrive in a few days. I decided to finish the door later.

"Later" finally arrived last week.

I'm no wiz at finishing, and I decided not to do anything heroic. I
gave the door a sanding up to 220 grit and then applied Minwax wood
finish (a really mild "natural" stain) followed by three coats of
Minwax Poly, sanding lightly in-between. .

The finish came out passable, except for two short dark lines maybe an
eighth-inch wide. The door had apparently been slightly dinged in
those spots at some time in the last decade. They are not so much
scratches as they are narrow linear "dents" . Those spots came out a
few shades darker than the rest of the door.

The door is not in a well-lit area and this is not a disaster. I'm
just wondering what I could have done to prevent this effect. The
"dents" aren't that deep, but I think it would have taken quite a bit
of sanding to bring the rest of the door down to that level. Could I
have "filled" the dents instead? And would that have taken the finish
as to properly match the rest of the door?

wrote:

I installed a solid core lauan door on my laundry room in a hurry,
ten years ago. The old doorway was too narrow for the washer that
was to arrive in a few days. I decided to finish the door later.

"Later" finally arrived last week.

I'm no wiz at finishing, and I decided not to do anything heroic. I
gave the door a sanding up to 220 grit and then applied Minwax wood
finish (a really mild "natural" stain) followed by three coats of
Minwax Poly, sanding lightly in-between. .

The finish came out passable, except for two short dark lines maybe
an eighth-inch wide. The door had apparently been slightly dinged in
those spots at some time in the last decade. They are not so much
scratches as they are narrow linear "dents" . Those spots came out a
few shades darker than the rest of the door.

The door is not in a well-lit area and this is not a disaster. I'm
just wondering what I could have done to prevent this effect. The
"dents" aren't that deep, but I think it would have taken quite a
bit of sanding to bring the rest of the door down to that level.
Could I have "filled" the dents instead? And would that have taken
the finish as to properly match the rest of the door?

No filling the dent will be more visable

We used to wet the door then run a hot iron over the ding, this lifts
the dent , sand and finish

Used a sealer over the door first.

Martin

On 7/3/2011 11:08 PM, wrote:
I installed a solid core lauan door on my laundry room in a hurry, ten
years ago. The old doorway was too narrow for the washer that was to
arrive in a few days. I decided to finish the door later.

"Later" finally arrived last week.

I'm no wiz at finishing, and I decided not to do anything heroic. I
gave the door a sanding up to 220 grit and then applied Minwax wood
finish (a really mild "natural" stain) followed by three coats of
Minwax Poly, sanding lightly in-between. .

The finish came out passable, except for two short dark lines maybe an
eighth-inch wide. The door had apparently been slightly dinged in
those spots at some time in the last decade. They are not so much
scratches as they are narrow linear "dents" . Those spots came out a
few shades darker than the rest of the door.

The door is not in a well-lit area and this is not a disaster. I'm
just wondering what I could have done to prevent this effect. The
"dents" aren't that deep, but I think it would have taken quite a bit
of sanding to bring the rest of the door down to that level. Could I
have "filled" the dents instead? And would that have taken the finish
as to properly match the rest of the door?

On Jul 4, 5:30*am, "steve robinson"
wrote:
wrote:
I installed a solid core lauan door on my laundry room in a hurry,
ten years ago. The old doorway was too narrow for the washer that
was to arrive in a few days. I decided to finish the door later.

"Later" finally arrived last week.

I'm no wiz at finishing, and I decided not to do anything heroic. I
gave the door a sanding up to 220 grit and then applied Minwax wood
finish (a really mild "natural" stain) followed by three coats of
Minwax Poly, sanding lightly in-between. .

The finish came out passable, except for two short dark lines maybe
an eighth-inch wide. The door had apparently been slightly dinged in
those spots at some time in the last decade. They are not so much
scratches as they are narrow linear "dents" . Those spots came out a
few shades darker than the rest of the door.

The door is not in a well-lit area and this is not a disaster. I'm
just wondering what I could have done to prevent this effect. The
"dents" aren't that deep, but I think it would have taken quite a
bit of sanding *to bring the rest of the door down to that level.
Could I have "filled" the dents instead? And would that have taken
the finish as to properly match the rest of the door?

No filling the dent will be more visable

We used to wet the door then run a hot iron over the ding, this lifts
the dent , sand and finish

Thanks. I think I'll try this sometime. I shouldn't have much trouble
finding a piece of scrap with a convenient dent in it.

On Jul 4, 10:07*pm, Martin Eastburn
wrote:
Used a sealer over the door first.

Martin

On 7/3/2011 11:08 PM, wrote:







I installed a solid core lauan door on my laundry room in a hurry, ten
years ago. The old doorway was too narrow for the washer that was to
arrive in a few days. I decided to finish the door later.

"Later" finally arrived last week.

I'm no wiz at finishing, and I decided not to do anything heroic. I
gave the door a sanding up to 220 grit and then applied Minwax wood
finish (a really mild "natural" stain) followed by three coats of
Minwax Poly, sanding lightly in-between. .

The finish came out passable, except for two short dark lines maybe an
eighth-inch wide. The door had apparently been slightly dinged in
those spots at some time in the last decade. They are not so much
scratches as they are narrow linear "dents" . Those spots came out a
few shades darker than the rest of the door.

The door is not in a well-lit area and this is not a disaster. I'm
just wondering what I could have done to prevent this effect. The
"dents" aren't that deep, but I think it would have taken quite a bit
of sanding *to bring the rest of the door down to that level. Could I
have "filled" the dents instead? And would that have taken the finish
as to properly match the rest of the door?

But then I couldn't stain it, could I?