Safely dip doors

[Seanie_230]

Hi all
I understand that dipping doors is bad for them as it removes the glue from the inside of the door. Is it safe to use the caustic soda on the external part after stripping the door with a heat gun or is there a safe way to dip the door and treat it afterwards.

My front room door was dipped and looks excellent but since then I have been told dipping it not a good idea, the second door after paint stripping does not look near as nice as the first one.

Cheers all

 

[billybuntus]

I would personally have it dipped for the right 'look' I've had around 100 doors dipped over the years and I'm yet to have one fail on me due to the excellent joinery construction. They didn't tend to rely on glue

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

I've had doors stripped by caustic dipping in the past, but the experience has not been good. Whilst undoubtably effective at removing paint there is inevitably some damage to the door. This is because the wood swells when soaked, and shrinks again on drying, typically leading to loose or displaced joints, cracked panels, displaced mouldings etc. The glue of existing repairs can also be removed. Strippers tend to use pressure washers to remove the residue, and this can erode soft grain leaving fuzzy edges and damaged detail. The last door I had done absorbed lots of the caustic solution into a soft heartwood muntin, and it took repeated washing with hydrochloric acid to neutralise the stripper before the door could be varnished - a real faff.

Basically I think the process is excessively brutal and creates more problems than it solves. If I were to strip another door I'd proceed by scraping, use of the hot air gun and solvent stripper on the mouldings. Though my preference these days is for painted doors anyway.

Other posters seem to have had fewer problems than me. Some people like the look of dipped doors. It's all personal taste at the end of the day.

 

[billybuntus]

Its all down to the quality of the dipping. I know one guy how dips and leaves doors in overnight (a no no in the dipping world as it does maximum damage).

If you happy with how your last door was dipped then I'd say go for it.

As Andrew says it will unearth any previous repairs but that's just the luck of the draw. Some doors do fir up and are only fit for the fire but they are few and far between.