Best Longterm Finish For Exterior Doors

Fine Oils have been around for thousands of years.  They area still used in applications that are exposed to the elements and severe weather.  Log homes, almost exclusively use fine Oil blends, as their treatment of choice as they are constantly baked in the sun, wind, rain and snow.

Almost all of the finest homes in the world, the largest estates of the wealthy use fine oil blends for their front entry doors as well as pergolas, arbors, decks and railings.  It has only been very recently that plastics have been substituted for these fine oils, and with all their accompanying problems, people have just accepted the fact that their exposed doors with severe weather exposure will just need to be stripped every 3-4 years.

I'm blown away by these sad statements when it doesn't need to be like this.  For one thing, most exterior doors are made with thin veneers, so you can't keep stripping them as you will just eventually sand through them.  In fact, the most common door in America is a straight-grained vertical fir veneer where the veneer is only 1/64th of an inch thick- that's the thickness of paper card stock!  That means, if you are careful, you will only get one-shot to refinish your door- so use an oil-blend that will last decades with a simple yearly maintenance.

So let's go over some of the reasons we love oil blends, for natural beauty, longterm ability to maintain without periodic stripping, their anti-hazing properties as well as their resistance to pealing, flaking and blistering.

Natural Beauty and Anti-Hazing Properties:

There is nothing more beautify that wood finished in natural oils.  Comparing wood that has lasted decades with natural oils compared to those with Poly's (plastics) is virtually no comparison:  One of the largest problems with poly's is that they Haze over. with time.  This means you loose the grain and everything just becomes a uniform color where the grain just disappears as in the following example:

Anti-Hazing:

See what I mean by anti-hazing?  With these plastic (poly formulations), their hardness, which is a big selling point is also their downfall.  Because they are not flexible, moisture gets into the finish and they haze over.  

Pealing, Flaking and Blistering:

The next problem with these plastic poly-based finishes is that the finish is so hard that it looses its flexibility.  When the temperature gets cold, they try to contract- since they are hard, they crack.  When the temperature gets hot they try to expand, since they are hard- they crack.  Here is a short video of some commercial doors I did now 22-years ago.  Before I refinished them (now 22-years ago) they had been refinished with a poly 3 years before I did them.  So that would have been 25-years ago.  I know this can be confusing so just think of it like this: the poly finish after 3-years vs our fine oil blended finish after 22-years now.  

By the way, these doors are in Breckenridge, CO- a resort town in the Colorado Rockies that is at an elevation of 9600 feet.  So not only is there temperature extremes but also Ultra-Violet damage as well!

3-Years After a Poly (plastic) Finish:

I know it's hard to believe that this much damage can happen in only 3-years, but remember that at 9600 feet, the UV damage is severe.  Also the temperatures can range from -30 in the winters to +90 in the summers.  Also there was no maintenance coat applied, but even if it was, the results would be very similar.

The same door, 22-Years after with Our Fine Oil-Blended Finish.  (With a yearly maintenance coat that takes about 5-minutes/door)

I know it's hard to believe the difference between these two finishes, but this was one of my first jobs when I started this business 22-years ago.  This is a real job anyone who visits Breckenridge, CO can examine for themselves.  I still to this day, come back the first Tuesday after the Labor Day weekend and recoat each door which takes me less than 5-minutes per door.  So the yearly maintenance program is very quick and easy. 

Notice the grain clarity.  No hazing, pealing or flaking.  I have never stripped these doors after the initial stripping 22-years ago.  There is no reason to believe these doors will look just as good, for several more decades, if the maintenance program is continued.

Another Problem with Poly Finishes:

This happens quite a bit.  People think they can just put on a. quick coat of poly over their existing failing finish and that will solve their problems.  This is what they fail to recognize- Poly just sites on the top.  It is not a penetrating finish like our blended-oil finishes.  So what does this mean?

A penetrating blended oil finish, goes into the wood and existing finish, that means it has roots.  Since it goes into the existing finish, moisture cannot get between the finish and the wood.  

In the photo above, the poly finish, just sits on the surface.  So moisture can get underneath it and that's why it turns white, like with the photo above.  Look at the photos above, the one of door #213.  I have put 22-coats on that over the years and no white.  Why?  Because it has roots, it actually melts into the existing oil finish and there is no way for moisture to get between this new yearly recoat and the existing one.

So Why Use Anything Else on Your Exterior Wood Doors?

The simple reason is because that's what most others not servicing Multi-million dollar estates are using.  Poly's are quick to put on and dry so you make more money with using them.  Also, as a refinisher, you have to restrip the door or other exterior wood every 3-4 years.  A continual source of income!

I say this with humor, but in fact most companies i compete with use poly's and make way more money than I do because of that.  Most people feel that if everyone else is doing it, well, it must be right!  However, if you look seriously at history, you will find that the current trend almost never stands the test of time.  Unfortunately with the current "New Green Deal" fine oil blends are becoming increasingly difficult to find.  

They are much easier to locate in "Red" states.  I think we will be OK, for the new future in most areas.  But the current trend is against blended oil finishes.  Too bad, because they preserve wood better and naturally degrade back into the environment.  Plastics take much longer to degrade and will not allow existing wood to last nearly as long.  

Check out my website at SummitWoodDoorRefinishing.com or my Youtube Channel DIY Door Refinisher for more information and Videos on this amazing exterior wood finish.