Ooooozing Wooden Door with Flaking Paint

[MissAlice]

Hi,

I have a 1910 period cottage with original fitted wooden doors. These doors have been painted by the previous owner with some sort of white gloss. The paintwork is now peeling and from the cracks is a strange brown fluid.

What is this strange deep amber ooze, and how should I go about fixing these doors? I was originally just going to freshen up the paint work before I noticed all the cracks and oozing. The paint comes off in these oozing areas simply by running your finger over it!

 

[pinenot]

Could it be heavy smokers have left a tar cover on the doors which have then been painted?
My advice would be to get stripping, the doors that is, if only the top coat that will allow you to clean the them with some white spirit and sugar soap them, very clean then you can see what needs to be done...pinenot

 

[foxhole]

Sounds like pine resin, doors will need stripping back and cleaning with turps and then sealed with a few coats of shellac befoe painting.

 

[Burnerman]

Would we expect any ooze from 100 year old doors, chaps? I would have thought they would be stable by now....maybe some knotting treatment would help.
John

 

[foxhole]

Can we be sure OP can identify original doors.

 

[MissAlice]

Can we be sure OP can identify original doors.

Yes, they are the original doors. 100 years plus.

I can't say if anyone prior smoked, though I do have my suspicions as Im seeing a lot of tar-like stains on fixtures.

Looks like the best advice is to sand it back as much as I can and scrub it down. Anyone suggest a paint? Would interior wood gloss be OK? I'd like to keep the doors white.

 

[pinenot]

You should apply a primer sealer before glossing it and even white will come out perfect...pinenot

 

[JohnD]

I strongly recommend Aluminium Wood Primer after you have sanded the wood back and wiped with white spirit. It is very good for sealing resin and knots, and even revolting tobacco tar.

It dries grey, not silver. Is also very durable for outside work.

The stains might also be from woodsmoke from open fires, and will then be worse above fireplaces.