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This exterior surface has been exposed to rain, sunlight, and the elements. I hope to have a quick way to stop the deterioration and protect it for the future. Something a layman like myself can do in a weekend.
Can I sand it down and apply a few coats of something? Will that achieve what I want to achieve?
Personally, I would replace the door with a fiberglass or metal, wood look door, then work on the original door in my spare time....provided the wood is salvageable. Hard to tell the wood variety from the photo and if it is solid wood or veneer. If veneer, and if damaged, I would forget the restoration. If you are able to, I'd think about protecting the door with a larger porch/roof area.
This exterior surface has been exposed to rain, sunlight, and the elements. I hope to have a quick way to stop the deterioration and protect it for the future. Something a layman like myself can do in a weekend.
Can I sand it down and apply a few coats of something? Will that achieve what I want to achieve?
Sorry to say it, but that door is beyond repair - at least the surface of it. It needs to be replaced. The splintered veneer cannot be repaired.
If you're going to do a "stop gap" measure of any kind, I'd remove it, lay it flat, and brush on several coats of polyurethane. That's not going to fix anything, or make it look much better, but it would give it a hard shell.
Yup, that wood at the bottom is destroyed (the top veneer), and there is NO "easy, weekend replace" for that for most people. Someone experienced with that kind of work could Maybe get it done in a weekend.
Time for another door. If you opt for wood (I vastly prefer real wood over anything else for homes that have some curb appeal), the best coating I've found is Waterlox. It's designed for boats, they have a UV formula for high sun exposure and it can be "touched up" by simply doing a light sanding and applying another coat, not that my door looks any different after 3 years.
Steel and Fiberglass are more available, less maintenance but, well, they just don't have the same appearance/character/charm/etc...
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