Timber Door Finishing

Professional Factory Finishing

Until recently most of the timber doors we supplied were treated in a clear or very light base coat stain, applied to the inside and outside of the door to provide some protection until the final decoration was carried out. This mainly applied to up and over, side hinged and sectional doors whereas the round the corner, side sectional and overlap doors have always been pre-finished from the factory, and this service has been offered for years. Nowadays we see a far higher number of doors being sold as fully finished as the price for this service is very competitive and the choice of colours offered is far greater. What has to be considered with the Cedar and Woodrite ranges of cedar and Idigbo timber doors are the 3 variances in timber board shades which will seriously affect the final shade when treated. The effect of the timber board shade of course is far more noticeable with lighter stain finishes.

The image below shows the effect the base shade of the timber has on the finished colour. All are Cedar, treated with base coat preservative (1), the first coat of Light Oak stain(2) and the final second topcoat of Light Oak stain (3). The colour variation across a light, medium and dark mottled timber can be seen from left to right.

The density of your chosen door finish colour will vary dependent on the timber shades in the door. Dark timber boards increase the effective density of an applied colour – for lighter timbers the reverse of curse is true.
The samples of colours shown above illustrate an average shade. All Woodrite timber doors are made from boards selected to blend well for depth of colour, however, by the very nature of timber, uniformity for every door panel is not possible. Some doors will be made from predominantly darker timbers and some will be made from predominantly lighter timbers. Each will have a different density for the same colour finish. If uniformity is very important this must be pointed out at the ordering stage and we can at least ensure the doors will match up as best as possible if you are after maybe 2 or 3 doors to go side by side.

On Site Finishing

Many people order timber doors in a base coat stain for on site finishing and whilst this is fine and understandable if there is a lot of timber on a property and it all has to match as best as possible there are some guidelines:

1. Timber doors fitted outside should not be treated in low temperatures or very moist conditions. All wood treatment manufacturers will have their own comprehensive instructions but for all external timber staining or painting in low temperatures could mean the treatment never actually dries properly and that could be a messy fix.

2. Always follow the instructions for the chosen wood treatment or paint. External timber doors are generally not suitable for treatment using clear varnishes, waxes, polishes, oils, yacht varnishes or lacquers. The best treatments are any kind of system that allows the timber to still breathe even when several coats have been applied and there are now coloured stains rather than traditional paints that allow a paint effect but without the hassle of primer, undercoat and top coat and then sealing in the timber causing potential issues with blistering later.

3. Generally a timber door warranty is as follows:  (Company) accepts no liability for the natural variations in colour, warping, splitting, swelling or shrinkage due to ordinary natural processes of ageing, fading or the effects of weather or climate or shrinkage, warping or swelling which could have been prevented by carrying out finishing and maintenance recommended by the company. This means that the timber in a timber door may well move in adverse weather and temperature changes and aslo may develop a split, but if it does not affect the operation, safety and performance of the door and mechanism it is not a warranty issue.