View the National Trust range by Charles BentleyAdd a retro feel to cleaning with Bentley HeritagePeople making over their old furniture is a key trendCleaning equipment for the professional cleaning market Welcome to Charles Bentley, please note that this is a trade only website. To purchase Charles Bentley products please visit one of our retail providers. Builder Depot 12' X 9' Twill Dust Sheet Prodec 12' x 12' Bleached Twill Dust Sheet Prodec 800g Stockinette Roll Prodec 12' x 9' Craftsman Protector Dust Sheet Prodec Craftsman Protector Dust Sheet 6' x 3' Prodec 50m Roll Poly Dust Sheet FFJ 12' x 9' Polythene Dust Sheet Prodec 12' x 12' Polythene Dust Sheet Builder Depot Professional Carpet Protector 600mm x 25m Stove Gasket Various Packageslearn moreFireplace Steel Bar Grateslearn moreStove Mica or Isinglasslearn moreStove Fire Bricks (6)learn moreHearth Gloves, Suede Black and Redlearn more Energy Thermometerlearn moreFatwoodlearn moreHi-Temp Stove Paintlearn moreEcofan AirMaxlearn moreBlack Galvanized Rectangular Chimney Capslearn more
You don't find what you need or you are not sure? Give us a call at 603-522-8216, our customer service department is here to help.Woodman's Parts Plus proudly supportsSkip to main content Bookmark your favourite topics and create your very own NewsNow page. Save publication preferences and your reading history for quick reference. Take this with you whenever and wherever you sign in! Take this with you whenever and wherever you sign in!Interior wooden doors have a hard time of things. They have to put up with everyday knocks, bumps, shoe scuffs, greasy hand prints, dirt from passing pets and more, every day of the year, and they’re still expected to look good. If you’ve bought a set of lovely new interior wood doors, or are thinking about renovating your existing doors, our top tips will help you bring out the best in them so they look wonderful as well as protecting and preserving them for longer. If you haven’t looked already, you’ll be amazed at the number of door sizes, styles and construction types.
There are two, four, six and eight panel doors made of oak, pine, walnut and cherry, to name just a few, plus solid wood or hollow construction doors, and they all come either finished or unfinished, ie. pre-oiled, waxed or varnished… or left natural. As you can imagine making the right choice can be a challenge, and most people tend to base their final decision on the appearance and cost. If you’ve chosen pre-finished doors, you can usually find out which stain, if any, and oil, wax or varnish finish the doors have been treated with by checking the manufacturer’s paperwork. If not, it’s a good idea to ask the seller or even the manufacturer themselves. It’s also worth asking if they can either supply the wood stain and finishing products used on the doors, or know someone who can. It comes in handy to have some handy, just in case the door ever gets damaged. Unfinished doors come with a world of possibilities aside from the door style itself. There are countless final finish choices, everything from a traditional natural oak look with a matt or soft satin sheen to something unusual, even unique.
And there’s a huge variety of wood finishing products to use on interior doors, both clear and coloured, including varnishes, wood oils, waxes and stains. A common issue we encounter at Wood Finishes Direct are calls from people who’ve bought veneered wooden interior doors, only to discover the door label advises against some types of wood finish. Sometimes they warn against specific products, for example Danish Oil, Teak Oil and other types of wood oil. Other times the manufacturer’s warnings cover a range of products including oils, varnishes and waxes. But does it really mean you can’t use the products and if so, do you risk damaging the wood? It’s an interesting point, and one worth covering. Veneered wooden doors are usually made from a hollow or solid wooden core. The core is usually particle board or medium density fibreboard, AKA MDF. A layer of high quality wood veneer is attached to the core of the door using powerful glues and bonding agents.
The quality of modern veneered doors is usually down to the type of core, the type of wood and the thickness of the veneer. About 20th century mass production Wood veneers have been used for centuries to produce high quality finishes. But mass production in the mid to late 20th century saw quality take a tumble as the drive for cheaper, thinner veneers and glues took hold. This sometimes led to the veneers de-laminating, in other words peeling off the doors in extreme heat or when certain products were used. This is why so many manufacturers today include disclaimers on their products to discourage the use of products they believe might have an effect on the veneer. It’s an historical thing. Why do manufacturers still warn against using wood finishes on veneered doors? More than 90% of veneered doors these days come from the Far East. We think it’s highly likely that all the manufacturers in the Far East have taken the lead from one large original producer, giving warnings about wood finishing products without checking whether the risk is genuine.
Unlike the manufacturers, we’re well placed to talk about wood finishes – it’s our area of expertise. We supply a vast range of different products from different manufacturers, all of whom agree that stains, waxes, varnishes, oils, paints and so on DO NOT penetrate deeper than 1mm into a veneer. Why does the thickness of the veneer matter? In reality, modern veneers are rarely less than a millimetre thick and because modern wood finishes never penetrate more than a millimetre into the surface of the wood, there’s very little chance of them interacting with the glue that bonds the veneer to the core of the door. In short, unless the veneer is very badly worn indeed, modern wood finish products simply can’t penetrate deeply enough to cause the veneer to peel off. Modern wood finishing products designed for veneers In our experience we’ve never come across anyone using a wood oil, wax or varnish that has caused the veneer to peel off a door. It just doesn’t happen.
In fact companies like Osmo and our own Manns brand produce door oils and other wood finishes specifically designed for solid and veneered interior doors. There’s just one common sense thing to bear in mind: while we can say with confidence that the products we sell are perfectly fine to use on interior doors, using them against the manufacturers advice will invalidate the warranty that comes with the door. Always do a test patch first Our advice if you want to stain, oil, wax or varnish any sort of door? Always do a test area first, ideally on an edge or on the door bottom where the wood can be cleaned or sanded if the product doesn’t deliver the finish you were expecting. Follow the manufacturers instructions on the packaging, take the time needed to do a really good job and you can’t go far wrong. After all, because you use your doors dozens of times a day, it’s important to be happy with the end result. We don’t just sell all the stuff you need to make a fantastic job of maintaining and renovating wooden interior doors.