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Expert: - 4/14/2009


Question
I have an exterior wood door make of knotty alder.  It is 4 years old.  It is semi-protected from the front porch.  It is looking dry and a little bit faded and a little bit yellow, but not too bad.  I am wondering if there is anything I can do aside from re-coating with polyurethane (or before the polyurethane) that will help bring back some of the origional color?
Thank you!!
Christina

Answer
Hi Christina - thanks for your question!

You do NOT want to recoat your door with polyurethane, that's part of the problem you're having now!

Wood must "breathe" to maintain it's looks, and polyurethane prevents that.  It's a hard, plastic, protective surface only suitable for interior use where you don't have the extreme swings of heat and humidity that an exterior door goes through.

The "yellow" you see is the poly itself...UV light breaks it down and causes yellowing and clouding.

Best bet is to strip the poly completely and sand the door smooth to remove any trace of the poly.  Then stain it to your taste.

For protection, use an oil or wax product that you can periodically maintain (I'm not an expert on what exact product to suggest).

I'm sure it's a beautiful door - plan on regular maintanence to keep it that way!

Hope this helps,

Richard Taylor, AIA
www.rtastudio.com
www.rtaplans.com

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Richard Taylor, AIA

Expertise

Ask me about all aspects of house, remodeling. , and room addition design and construction. Ask me about historic homes, renovation, and restoration. Ask me about materials and techniques, and about how you can get the best value for your design and construction dollar. Ask me how you can make your home a very special place. I can't, however, answer specific structural engineering questions in this forum - that's something you'll need on-site observation for.

Experience

I own a full-service residential architectural firm, and have been designing custom homes, remodelings, and room additions across the country since 1983. Check us out at Richard Taylor Architects and RTA Plans. I have written and been published extensively on the subject of residential architecture.

Organizations
American Institute of Architects, City of Dublin Architectural Review Board, Vice Chair of City of Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission, American Planning Association, Board Member Historic Dublin Business Association, Past Editor of SPLASH (a software forum), Past Editor of Open Directory Project, Assistant Scoutmaster, Boy Scouts of America

Publications
Business First of Columbus, Suburban New Publications, About.com, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Columbus Dispatch Residential Architect Custom Home Architect Remodeling Architect

Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Environmental Design (Architecture) Miami University 1983
For more about home design, check out my blog at Sense Of Place and join the conversation on our Facebook Page.

Awards and Honors
2010 Dublin Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year

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