clear sealer for door

I have a hollow core door for my daughter's room. She's getting over her second case of croup. The hospital recommended the first time to run a cool mist humidifier in her room to help. Problem is that when we do, the bedroom side of the door swells and deforms the door such that if you open it, you can't get it closed. I think a clear waterproof sealer is in order, but don't know what would work.

todd

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todd
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On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 02:10:48 -0500, "todd" Crawled out of the shop and said. . .:

your best bet is polyurethane,,,altho on a door that might see some flex, i would suggest a spar urethane.

Traves

Reply to
Traves W. Coppock

Sorry to hear about your daughter, As a suggestion, try yacht varnish. If it stands up to boat use, a little bit of humidity should not worry it. Do remove the door and seal the entire thing though, including where the lock and hinges go.

John

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John Manders

Reply to
Bob Bowles

Todd it possibly may not be the finish on the door causing your problems If it is in need of some sealer by all means seal it. This may not cure it . The large differance of climates on either side of the door may be the bigger culprit on causing it to bow.

I have a Hollow core steel door with a steel buck to my shop in the late afternoon in the summer the sun hits it hard and even when I do not have the air cond on in my office that door bows quite a bit, actually it takes a good kick while I'm turning the key to lock up when I leave.

Hope the sealer works out for you, Good Luck, George

Reply to
George M. Kazaka

George, Not the difference in climates that's bending your door it's the metal expanding/bending in the heat. I have the same problem on an exterior door in my office building. Would warp so much in the hot sun that the automatic closer on the top couldn't exert enough force to push it back closed. We finally installed a powerful electrically run magnet system (about 4" x

12") that powers the door closed. Has an electronic eye on the inside that senses movement by the door and powers down the magnet when someone comes to the door.

Gary

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Gary

Reply to
Grandpa

On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 03:02:32 -0500, Traves W. Coppock pixelated:

Pull the door, pull the latch mechanism, and shave a hair off the door latch side. Now throw a coat of shellac, varnish, or paint (if it's painted) on the edges, top, bottom, and room side (if not all faces). The problem is that the opening is too tight if simple humidity changes it to an interference fit. Give it 1/8". Also check that your door frame is actually secure to the wall. It could be warping/bowing, too. Secure it with a 3" deck screw or two if needed, after straightening it (with a tubafore and sledge "adjuster".)

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Larry Jaques

Reply to
Lawrence A. Ramsey

Agreed, but if the inside of my door was getting the same hot sun as the outside then the inside would expand at a proportional amount keeping the door stable. Hopefully there is enough of a gap that it does not wedge into the fram, which there is thankfully.

That same theory is at work with his door. one side is expanding due to the climate on the humidity side, the moisture does not neccassarilly have to get into the wood for the door to bow, It possibly is getting in which would make matters worse.

I do believe that even with a good sealer the possibilty is still there that he will have a problem, It sure is hard to ascertain the exact cure without seeing the entire situation, ie:condition of door. frame etc.

Yes my auto closure does hang up when the good ole sun zaps my door, I'm in Mesa, AZ we know all about the sun here,

Reply to
George M. Kazaka

Actually, I think you want a "watervapor"-proof sealer. While it seems illogical, water and water vapor are different properties. According to Flexner, poly is a great barrier to water. Shellac is a better barrier to water vapor (maybe the best). Go figure.

Depending on the existing finish on your door, you may have to prep it to get whatever finish you choose to stick to it.

Reply to
Chris Merrill

Todd: If your door is a prehung unit and perhaps even if it is not, and if you have another door in the house that is of the same swing, finish, etc., it might be best to treat an unbowed door with one of the following clear coats. You would then be able to take the bowed door from your daughter's room and allow it to come back to an unbowed state before rehanging it in a less critical area.

These figures are from Understanding Wood by Bruce Hoadley - 2000 edition.

The MEE is a measure of the Moisture Excluding Effectiveness of various finishes, represented as a percentage. I'm only including clear finishes and only the MEE for three coats, in order to save space and time. The MEE was measured after twenty four days at a RH of 90%.

Finish MEE (%)

Two Part Polyurethane Gloss Varnish 66 Epoxy Gloss Varnish 50 Orange Shellac 46 Polyurethane Gloss Varnish 44 Alkyd Satin Wood Finish 43 Polyurethane Satin Varnish 41 Nitrocellulose Alkyd Lacquer 40 Phenolic Tung Floor Sealer 35 Tung Oil 2 Brazilian Carnauba Paste Wax 1 Linseed Oil 0

Epoxy Paints (not clear) tested >20% higher in MEE.

If you simply cannot find a door to swap with that in your daughter's bedroom, I would take a hair dryer and run it over the inner side of the door until you have removed enough of the bow to flatten the door to a reasonable degree. If the door begins to bow in the opposite direction after you apply the finish, I'd put one coat on the other side and see how that balances things out.

Regards, Tom Thomas J. Watson-Cabinetmaker Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania

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Reply to
Tom Watson

means the door frames are sort of an integral part of the wall. The bowing disappears after a couple of hours of opening it/turning of the humidifier. I think the MEE table you quoted gives me the exact info I need. See, everyone, we can still get positive results from the wreck. Thanks to all again.

todd

Reply to
todd

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