Oak Veneered Doors - how to finish?

[breamster]

We have had some oak veneered doors fitted. They look great and weigh a tonne. We have oiled them to with Osmo oil (many coats).

Most of them look fine but bathrooms doors are struggling with the moisture, wet hands etc.

How should I refinish these doors? A varnish rather than an oil?

Something that can be painted over the oiled finish.

Any ideas? Would it just be any (presumably oil based) interior clear varnish?

Thanks in advance.

[sherman]

breamster said:

We have had some oak veneered doors fitted. They look great and weigh a tonne. We have oiled them to with Osmo oil (many coats).

Most of them look fine but bathrooms doors are struggling with the moisture, wet hands etc.

How should I refinish these doors? A varnish rather than an oil?

Something that can be painted over the oiled finish.

Any ideas? Would it just be any (presumably oil based) interior clear varnish?

Thanks in advance.

Rub the door down with white spirit and then use a marine varnish.

Edited by sherman on Saturday 2nd November 12:59

[Indecision]

I’d use PU varnish on oak veneer doors; should be fine over the oil if it’s been on for some weeks, but worth checking with the technical dept of whichever product you choose.

[mart 63]

I'd never use anything oil based on oak veneered doors, it splits the grain. Water based varnish or stain.

[tegwin]

I used Sadolin Polyurethane Varnish Matt Clear 2.5L
HC5210J

Varnished a dozen brand new veneered doors with it. Looks great!

[juice]

Go nuclear.

https://www.sadolin.co.uk/sadolin-pv67-heavy-duty-...

Be warned, it's a bit stinky

[GSDGPW]

Probably a bit late as they’ve already been oiled, but when I bought the oak veneered doors for our house I was warned by the sales guy (benchmark) not to use any oil based products on the door as it could cause the veneer to lift, I did a bit of research and he was right, water based products only.

[mart 63]

tegwin said:

I used Sadolin Polyurethane Varnish Matt Clear 2.5L
HC5210J

Varnished a dozen brand new veneered doors with it. Looks great!

I was a decorator for 41 years, and varnished a few more than 12 doors. Oil based is a no no.

[OutInTheShed]

I suspect the problem is the Osmo not curing properly.
Most of these things need a few days to cure (as distinct from just 'drying'), and really need to be kept dry until cured.

Osmo do a whole range of productls, so maybe the wrong one has been used?
I'd guess that an Osmo Oil that's good for wood worktops ought to be OK on a bathroom door.
Osmo Oil is quite closely related to 'varnish' some traditional yacht varnishes are based on Tung oil.
Likewise 'Teak oil' is not just a liquid oil, it has components which harden.
I think you'll struggle to apply varnish over oil unless it's either based on a compatible oil, or the 'oil' is allowed to cure and harden for a long time.

Oil based paint and varnish is a minefield these days, all messed up by reduced 'VOC' legislation, meaning new recipes which are not so good.

Personally, I've had good outcomes by phoningthe tech support of a couple of different paint and varnish makers, not Osmo but othe premium brands.
I had a parquet floor go sticky due to incompatibility of water-based over certain old oil based varnish.
Best advice was to go on holiday to give it a chance to harden.

If you asked on a yotting forum, a lot of people would be singing the praises of Le Tonkinois yacht varnish as the only answer when wood has been oiled in the recent past.. Although International do a similar product (or at least, they used to and I've still got some!)

Deks Olje 1 and 2 is another system. 1 being an oil-type product and 2 being a varnish designed to go over it:
Not recommended over anything else though.

Thing is, the Osmo should have worked, so until you know how you got here, you won't find the way out.

[Square Leg]

mart 63 said:

tegwin said:

I used Sadolin Polyurethane Varnish Matt Clear 2.5L
HC5210J

Varnished a dozen brand new veneered doors with it. Looks great!

I was a decorator for 41 years, and varnished a few more than 12 doors. Oil based is a no no.

I still am (39 years in) and also wouldn’t use oil on veneer.
Water based, 3 or 4 coats, when final coat is dry a quick buff up with scrunched up brown paper.

[Youforreal.]

Used osmo on my oak veneered doors (most were actually solid apart from the middle panel) without issue, eventually painted them all white as I got totally sick looking at them

[OutInTheShed]

Square Leg said:

mart 63 said:

tegwin said:

I used Sadolin Polyurethane Varnish Matt Clear 2.5L
HC5210J

Varnished a dozen brand new veneered doors with it. Looks great!

I was a decorator for 41 years, and varnished a few more than 12 doors. Oil based is a no no.

I still am (39 years in) and also wouldn’t use oil on veneer.
Water based, 3 or 4 coats, when final coat is dry a quick buff up with scrunched up brown paper.

The point is, the doors are oiled now, so I don't rate anyone's chances of getting a good result with water-based varnish in the near future.

A lot of the oils, if you read the instructions etc, caution against use on random plywood and veneer, because the 'oil' contains solvents which may attack some glues.
People have been using 'oil based' varnish on marine ply since plywood was invented, but not all ply or veneer work uses marine-ply standard glue.

What should have been done is a different question from 'what should the OP do now?'.

I would generally use water based varnish for anything that's not a boat these days.
Exceptions might include things where UV resistance is the key thing.

[craig1912]

Osmo door oil is specifically recommended for most oak veneer doors. We did all ours and water just rolls off them.

[breamster]

Thanks all. Some interesting replies.

We do have a door that is really not visible so I think I'll try a PU varnish after a good clean and see how it goes.

The oil has been on that particular door has been on a while so has had plenty of time dry out a bit.

It's only the area around the door handle that seem a bit poor.

[craig1912]

breamster said:

Thanks all. Some interesting replies.

We do have a door that is really not visible so I think I'll try a PU varnish after a good clean and see how it goes.

The oil has been on that particular door has been on a while so has had plenty of time dry out a bit.

It's only the area around the door handle that seem a bit poor.

You need to state what Osmo oil you have used. Our had one coat and water just rolls off it

[dmsims]

mart 63 said:

tegwin said:

I used Sadolin Polyurethane Varnish Matt Clear 2.5L
HC5210J

Varnished a dozen brand new veneered doors with it. Looks great!

I was a decorator for 41 years, and varnished a few more than 12 doors. Oil based is a no no.

But clearly you cannot read

[Wombat3]

I used hard wax oil on mine - 2 coats with a fine sanding in between , and then finished with furniture wax applied with fine steel wool. Not touched them since in nearly 10 years.