New Pine Door

[mondeoman]

Hi All.
Have just fitted a new pine internal door in my living room. I have decided to varnish it rather than paint it. My questions are, do I need to leave the door to acclimatize first ,and if so,for how long? Also, what preparation do I need to do first to the door, i.e if I was painting it, I would have to prime and undercoat it first, do I need to prime it for varnishing? What are the decent brands of varnish to use to give a gloss finish.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Zampa]

Yep, leave the door for a few days and then give it a dusting down with a dry brush then thin your first coat of varnish by about 30% leave to thoroughly dry thensand with fine grade paper in the direction of the grain ..ie sand the vertical pieces up and down and the horizontal pieces sideways...apply the next coat (unthinned)and repeat the sanding then apply a final coat.

 

[mondeoman]

Thanks for the info. Zampa.

When you say thin by about 30%, is that about two thirds varnish or two thirds thinner, also what would I use as a thinner ?, and can you recommend a decent gloss varnish.

Thanks for your help.

 

[114dmu]

use 1/3 thinners and 2/3 varnish. Becareful it will be quite thin and run easily so don't load your brush just put a little bit on at a time.

Personally i use a good quality yacht varnish, but a polyurathane varnish from Ronseal or similar will do the job as well.

Thinners, use white spirit.

Lots of thin coats of varnish are much better than one thick one, takes time but your effort will result in a much better finish.

 

[mondeoman]

Hi,
Thanks very much for your info.

Cheers