Restoration of an old interior door with your own hand

Interior doors are a large element. It is expensive to change it for a new product. It is sometimes much easier to update an interior door with your own hands. In addition, the result is much more interesting.

Reasons for repair

Interior doors, unlike entrance doors, are quite lightweight. Its function is to restrict access to the premises, and not prevent burglary. Locks, if installed, are also among the simplest.

The ability to use different materials for the construction provides a variety of designs. The device may differ too. Swing leaves are easier to install, sliding doors do not take up space, folding ones are easy to operate.

However, the light weight and varied design are accompanied by not too high strength and durability. Over time, the sash must either be replaced or restored.

Interior wooden doors need repair and renovation in the following cases:

• in case of damage to the top finishing layer - peeling of the decorative film, scratches;
• wear and tear of the finish - burnout in the sun, the appearance of scuffs;
• damage to the base material - cracks, chips;
• the desire to change the design - after the renovation of rooms, the old doors often do not fit into the interior.

There are many ways to finish interior doors - for every taste and budget. The only condition is compliance with the style.

Methods for restoring an interior door

When choosing a design or repair method, you should clarify the purpose of the doors. The doors leading to the living room are exposed to minimal sun, moisture or temperature changes. For a new design, you can take any materials.

The door to the kitchen, bathroom, toilet is exposed to much more stress. For its decoration, materials and methods are used that increase the resistance of the product to water, steam, temperature drops.

Dyeing

A universal method of restoring an old, but still strong door. There are many types of paint suitable for renovating wood, plastic surfaces, chipboard or MDF doors. You need to choose safe options: for an apartment these are acrylic and water-based paints.

Tips for beginners:

• Before painting, you need to remove the old finish: paint layer, film, varnish.
• If the style does not require the opposite, it is better to take matte paint. It masks irregularities or scuffs in the base material.
• The best way to paint is spray paint. The agent from the balloon is distributed evenly. However, for beginners, it is better to resort to the traditional method.
• An even surface is painted over with a wide roller. Brushes are used to process panels and edges.

The sash can be painted in 1 or several shades. Choose colors based on style. For rustic styles, combine similar tones. In the interior, modern or high-tech combines contrasting colors. If desired, use multilayer staining with the effect of aging, "golden spiderweb".

Wallpaper

Used city landscape, the image of a gate to the garden, a large object, like a flower, bush, insect. Photo wallpapers with holographic effect make an unusual impression.

Wallpaper with a repeating, almost abstract image creates a stylistic or color accent.Wallpaper with a picture that has a perspective - a path, descent to the sea, "balcony", visually enlarge the room. This effect can also be played in an interesting way.

The disadvantage of photowall-paper is its short service life. The door is often opened and closed, so this finish wears out much faster on the sash than on the wall.

Veneering

Veneer is a thin cut of natural wood. Sold in the store in the form of thin sheets or ribbons. Wooden doors are sheathed with veneer, made of MDF or chipboard.

The trim is glued to the sash surface, like wallpaper or foil. The veneer is cut to size and pasted over the sash, carefully leveling. The composition does not set immediately, so there is time for adjustment.

Thus, a door is obtained from an expensive wood or a more expensive grade. In appearance, a veneered sash cannot be distinguished from a wooden one.

Drawings and paintings

Do-it-yourself door alteration in this way is a purely design technique. It is also possible to hide defects, but the main purpose of such work is decoration.

Acrylic paints are more often used for painting: they dry faster and retain their shade. Previously, the surface is painted over or primed under the main background. After drying, the pattern is applied using thin brushes. Background details can be applied with a sponge. The difficulty depends on the skill of the artist.

Decoupage

In this way, doors to living quarters are ennobled. Most often, ready-made decoupage cards are used - special napkins with an image. The technique is simple: the sash surface is cleaned, primed twice, then glue is applied to the area under the image and a napkin is glued.

In addition to napkins, pictures cut from newspapers or magazines, children's drawings, fragments of fabrics and lace are used. They also take bulk materials, like dry plants, spikelets, grains, etc.

Antique

Do-it-yourself restoration of an old door can be expressed not at all in giving it a modern look, but in emphasizing its "age". Antique effect is popular in styles such as Provence, English, country, loft.

To achieve the effect of cracking, use a special glue - craquelure. The glue is applied to the painted surface. After drying, this layer is covered with numerous cracks. A bituminous varnish is applied on top, which enhances the effect. The varnish may have a different shade.

You can effectively restore the canvas by painting it in different colors. In this case, the door is first covered with background paint, then a second, contrasting or similar tone, and craquelure is put in the third layer.

With stencils

You can remake old doors painted with stain or paint in such a simple way as stencil painting. The method is extremely simple: a stencil is made from cardboard or other material, applied to the surface and the cut areas are filled with paint. Thus, you can get a complex ornament or image without knowing how to draw.

Stencils can be made of any material: wood, MDF, glass, plastic.

Preparatory work

Before renovating or freshening old interior doors, you need to prepare them.

1. The sash is removed from the hinges, laid on a flat surface. Remove the accessories.
2. The surface is heated with a building hair dryer: this facilitates the removal of the finishing layer.
3. After heating, paint, varnish, wallpaper can be removed with an ordinary spatula.
4. All found cracks, cracks, chips are sealed with putty for wood or ordinary putty.
5. When the door leaf is dry, it is sanded. It is better to use a sander as the surface is large.

If further finishing allows, the prepared sash is treated with linseed oil.

Do-it-yourself door update

The easiest way to make old doors stylish and modern is with paint and overlays.

1. Prepare the door leaf: clean, remove the old finish.
2. The door is primed. If the tree is old, it is better to repeat the operation twice.
3. The canvas is evenly painted with a wide roller. The paint is applied in 2-3 layers after the previous one has dried. If the sash is paneled, first treat the indentations with a thin brush, and then use a roller or a wide brush.
4. A smooth canvas can be turned into a paneled door by installing strips or moldings. The latter are bought in the store, the planks are made independently from wooden slats.
5. The slats are cut to size, but with the help of a miter box, the ends are cut at 45 degrees.
6. Fix the strips with glue. It is important that the planks are at least 5 cm from the edge of the canvas. It is recommended to fix the planks with tape while the composition is drying.

You can paint the door with the strips already installed.

Updating openings and slopes

The new design should correspond not only to the doors, but also to the framing: slopes and platbands. Repair work is carried out in parallel with the restoration of the door.

1. Door slopes are cleaned, old trim removed if included in renovations, and leveled. Cement and plaster are used for this. If the slopes are severely damaged, building up may be necessary.
2. They try to keep the racks of the box. They are freed from a layer of varnish and paint, primed, painted in the same color as the canvas. If the racks are badly worn, plasterboard sheathing is allowed, and then painting.
3. Platbands are also repainted, pasted over with veneer or PVC film and installed back. In more difficult cases, a workpiece is cut out of wood, given the desired shape and processed in accordance with the chosen design: they are stained with an aging effect, decorated with moldings, polyurethane stucco molding.

You can update interior doors in dozens of ways. Some of them are very simple and require a minimum of effort and time. Some, like the effects of aging, multi-layer painting or artistic painting, will make you work hard.