renovating FL&B Oak door

I have just been given a FL&B oak door which came off of a 16th Century cottage. The door in my opinion is stunning, but it is in need of some restoration, but only as far as the stuff they have put on the exterior of the door to protect it from the weather. I do not know what they have used on the door but it has all cracked up and is starting to peel off "looks a bit like brown paint". I would like to restore the door for re-sale but am wondering whether it would be better to have it done by a proffesional.

What you fink! Cheers

Wow! Any photo?

If it was me I would use oil treatments

There are companies advertised in the yellow pages that strip doors by dipping them usually not to expensive and this will take the door back to natural timber,

if you are planning to re sell the door it may be worth leaving the door stripped then let the buyer decide on how they want to finish the door

usually when some one buys this type of door they have a project in mind already.or want it to match up with existing.

Because of it's age I would definitely avoid giving the door to a company that specialise in dipping and stripping. The chemicals used are very aggressive and have a tendency of drying the wood out. For a door of this age I'd recommend you carefully hand strip the door yourself using a Methylene Chloride based stripper such as MC Paint Remover (Smith & Rodger) or Nitromors.

After you've done this then I'd apply 2-3 coats of Woodshield Clear , a microporous finish that will bring out the natural grain of the timber and provide excellent protection. It has been formulated to allow the wood to expand and contract depending on climatic conditions.

I hope this info is of some help. If you have any other questions please just ask.

Woodfinishes 1877

Sorry no photo's as yet but will post as soon as I get around to it. Thank you very much for your replies. I would never considerer having the door dipped as I know from experience that the acids can take the glue out the mortice and tennons and then you end up with a door that starts falling apart, I think a door of this age needs treating with a bit more care

Thanks again