What to do with this door when sanding is done?

[Eric56]

OK so whilst redecorating over Christmas I thought I would have a try and removing all the layers of paint from one of my upstairs doors. Wanted to see what was underneath.
Cue several evenings of making a huge mess using a heat gun and some scrapers. Quite satisfying really.
As I had to finish the rooms I was already working in, this took a back seat.
Am going to continue now - so was wanting to ask - when I have finished removing ALL the paint from the door - and giving it a good sand. What should I do? What products would youy reccommend?

 

[Eric56]

I just watched a female German YouTuber restore an old door and she used Osmo 1101 clear finish applied with a roller.

 

[Kearn]

Hate to say it, but it’s a pine door, always intended to be painted. All it needed was a rough up by hand to give a key and take the flakes off before being painted.

 

[Eric56]

Why "hate to say it" - my house is really old. This is one of oldest doors. Took paint off which I know was done in the early Sixties. I don't think it's buried treasure - just looking for advice on what to do...

 

[Stevers]

Eventually all the layers of paint that have built up over many years will need to be removed as part of a long term maintenance cycle, and a fresh start made with new paint, though it's something I delay for as long as possible! I always find it fascinating to look at the colours used here over the last 140 years - some of them really surprising, and there are still plenty of places here where all of those layers exist.

Wood doesn't need to be painted brilliant white, it's not period appropriate and I think an uninspired choice. In our old basement kitchen the woodwork is being painted a custard colour as previously used just post-war. My normal goto of 'bone' was too pale for this room when we tried it.

 

[Kearn]

Hate to say it, but it’s a pine door, always intended to be painted. All it needed was a rough up by hand to give a key and take the flakes off before being painted.

Only as you’ve spent the time taking it back further than you probably needed to spend the time doing. Which normally means a plan to leave it as bare wood which isn’t the right approach for what appears to be a pine, late 19th/20C door copying an earlier plank and ledger style.
I may of course be assuming you’re not planning to repaint, so apologies if that’s not the case!

But a simple key and then a couple of coats of your choosing.

I really like Sadolin Superdec. Doesn’t require a separate primer and ages nicely like an old oil paint, fading away rather than flaking.

 

[Flyfisher]

Why "hate to say it" - my house is really old. This is one of oldest doors. Took paint off which I know was done in the early Sixties. I don't think it's buried treasure - just looking for advice on what to do...

'Advice', to me, tends to imply that someone is seeking advice on the correct way to do something, but when it comes to decorative things it's more of a personal preference or 'fashion' thing and therefore almost impossible to give a 'correct' answer.

Stripped pine seems to be a relatively modern 'fashion' so it could be deemed inappropriate in a period property. It's a basic, cheap wood and it was therefore the norm to use paint to 'hide' the fact that it was a cheap wood.

Similarly, brilliant white paint is also a relatively modern 'fashion' developed around 100 years ago by the discovery and use of titanium dioxide, so again it could be deemed to be inappropriate in a period property.

For what it's worth, I would paint the door with something that would blend with the other colours in the room, basically anything other than brilliant white.

 

[LadyArowana]

Given that you’ve already removed all the paint and not found beautiful mahogany the question you should ask yourself if what do you want it to look like? If you like the wood then there’s options for a stain and finish and there will be plenty of inspiration pictures online, otherwise just repaint it. No point livng with something you don’t love just because you spent a long time on it, not wasted effort, just ‘experience’