Calling all woodworkers – Knotty Alder door repair

[Leland Pate]

I've done a Google search on this and haven't come up with anything definitive. Our 8y/o house came complete with very pretty knotty alder doors and trim throughout. It was one of the features that really drew us to the place.

The problem is that the previous owners had 3 large golden retrievers who did some damage to several of the doors with their claws.

I'm looking for some opinions on how best to repair this damage. Can some of these scratches be steamed out or am I relegated to sanding them down somehow? Several doors have a couple errant scratches on them but the laundry room door to the garage is pretty well scratched up.

Thoughts?

[Evans, Marv]

We have knotty alder doors in our house. A bunch of the recesses in the knots were filled with something and the doors and door frames were stained a cherry shade. When I asked the rep from the company that made the doors what they used as a filler that seemed to take the stain just like the wood, I was surprised when he told me they used Bondo. Maybe a tidbit of info for you that might be of help.

[Aragorn]

for shallow scratches you might try this:

Easily Repair Pet Claw Marks: The Family Handyman

for refinishing tips:

Restoring Beauty | How to Fix a Furniture Finish | This Old House

For deeper scratches, I would seek out a pro in your area (ask at the local paint store who is the go to guy.)

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

We have knotty alder doors in our house. A bunch of the recesses in the knots were filled with something and the doors and door frames were stained a cherry shade. When I asked the rep from the company that made the doors what they used as a filler that seemed to take the stain just like the wood, I was surprised when he told me they used Bondo. Maybe a tidbit of info for you that might be of help.

At Home Depot you can buy wood filler that looks and smells like Bondo. It even comes in the same kind of can with the little tube of hardener. It seems to set up faster than Bondo tough.

[Evans, Marv]

Could be a variant of Bondo. One of the reasons they said they used Bondo was it took the stain the closest to the natural wood of anything they had found. So it makes some sense a company would pick up on it and market it.

[look 171]

It might stem out depending on how deep are the scratches. Once steamed or sanded the color will almost never match but if you are good with a can of stain, it can be made to look like new. I think the company is Elmer, they make a bondo type wood filler that will take stain. Try it on a scrap piece for stain absorption. Got a pic of the damage?

[dad911]

I start with stainable wood filler or Durhams Rock Hard putty mixed. Stain to get as close to base color as possible, then a combination of stain markers, colored fillers, even magic markers to color in the grain.

Takes patience and time.

Can you swap the doors around so that the damage is in less noticeable areas, like inside closets?

[rwest]

Steaming only works if the wood is compressed, if it is scratched away, you'll need to sand it down or fill it in.

[look 171]

Lets hope its scratched across the grain lightly.

[Leland Pate]

I'll take some photos in the daylight tomorrow.

Alder is really soft and the scratches I'm describing are actually compressed/dented wood from the dog paws. Not really scratched, as in removed/missing wood. It didn't even remove the stain.


Any good tips or techniques on steaming wood?

[Leland Pate]

Alder looks nice... but it's a pain in the butt!

[look 171]

sound like it will steam out but the finishing will have to be redone.

[Leland Pate]

Tried steaming the claw marks today; no joy.

[look 171]

some shallow dents should pop out. Was there not enough water on the rag or iron not hot enough?

[Tinbit]

Famowood, great stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/FAMOWOOD-Original-Wood-Filler-Alder/dp/B000RMNVR0/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1400124335&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=famowood+wood+filler+alder


You can also buy it locally at Woodcraft if they have a store near you.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Stores/Default.aspx