As with any diy project preparation is key.
Restoring hardwood door rail.
Wear safety glasses when using a palm sander.
On this weekend workbench segment blake sloane of the rebuilding exchange helps ryan restore a sad old door without sanding stripping or any hard chemical.
Keep the palm sander moving.
Rot is often caused by water collecting at the bottom of panels in rail and mullion grooves.
Remove the three hinge pins from the door by placing the flat.
Priming end grain areas before reassembly is a good idea especially for exterior doors.
Refinishing your wood door with quality stain every one to two years prevents weather damage and keeps your door looking like new.
Once stripped the door should be lightly sanded with a 120 grit sandpaper to remove any remaining traces of paint and paint stripping product.
Other rot prone areas are the exposed ends of door components since end grain cuts absorb water more quickly than surfaces parallel to the grain.
If you leave it too long in one spot you ll damage the wood.
This gives you a good key for the new coats of primer plus your chosen exterior paint for wood in whatever colour you fancy.