Treatment for plain (ply?)wood doors

[Bert Coules]

The interior doors in the sixties bungalow I'm getting ready for sale appear to be simple hollow constructions faced with plain ply. Possibly they were treated in some way when they first went in but they all look a bit tired now. There are surface scuffs which presumably I can do little or nothing about, but what would be a good way to enhance the appearance, even if only a little? Polish? Oil? Wax?

Many thanks.

[Nick Odell]

As usual, picture >= 1000 words here. But would ask what happens if you wipe a wet cloth over the surface: does the film of moisture minimise the marks or make them angrier and more obvious?

Nick

[Bert Coules]

Good point: I'll see what I can do.

I'll check that this afternoon, but I'm afraid I didn't make myself entirely clear: I'm interested primarily in enhancing the look of the doors as a whole rather than specifically in removing or minimising the scuffs, though that would be a welcome little bonus.

Bert

[GB]

I can see the point of the question about damp cloth. You could make 98% of each door look lovely, but at the same time enhance the scuffs so the other 2% looks terrible. Net result could be worse than now.

[Bert Coules]

Thanks for that and I see the point, but in fact only two of the doors are scuffed and that not very obtrusively, so I think that an overall improvement, if possible, would be worth doing.

Bert

[Bert Coules]

The wet cloth experiment worked amazingly well, largely because what I had taken for scuffs in the wood actually turned out to be dirt encrusted on the surface: a couple of wipes and they were gone.

I still wonder if there's anything which will improve the overall appearance of the doors, even if only slightly. Here's a picture:

that door looks better in the picture than it does it real life. The flash has picked up the existing light sheen but I don't know what finish was applied to get it, or what, if anything, it would be worth trying on top of that original treatment.

Bert

[stuart noble]

Briwax P7 Original is the smelly solvent wax much beloved of the antique trade. It's quick to apply, buffs up easily, and generally makes everything look a million dollars

[Bert Coules]

Excellent, thanks for that. I'll give it a try.

Bert