# repairing damaged wood on older doors, frames, etc (peeling, chipped, etc)



## Sammy (Mar 11, 2007)

You can probaly do the smaller damaged areas with wood putty and a little sanding. Its amazing what you can clean up with a little bit of fill and sanding then a good paint job. 

Try Don-Jo or Mag for some cover plates to go around those damaged door knobs. I think Homey stocks some of them and they arent much... Maybe 20 bucks a door.


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

Sammy said:


> You can probaly do the smaller damaged areas with wood putty and a little sanding. Its amazing what you can clean up with a little bit of fill and sanding then a good paint job.
> 
> Try Don-Jo or Mag for some cover plates to go around those damaged door knobs. I think Homey stocks some of them and they arent much... Maybe 20 bucks a door.


yeah I've seen those! Didn't even think of that! Do you think, with enough separate applications and a lot of tlc, I could just fix it raw though? I'd much rather do that than buy a $20 plate. I work on my house 24/7, that's my entire life now (and the past like 5 months), so if I need to build that up layer by layer, sanding and shaping each time, I'll do it. I guess I'm asking - can it be done with the wood putty? < also, is the wood putty in my pics good stuff or is that crap? It's all HD stuff, I'm still really new to this kind of thing!>


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## Sammy (Mar 11, 2007)

You can try the wood putty in layers and seee how it does.


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## bofusmosby (Apr 30, 2007)

I am not a pro, BUT, I am restoring an old house, and with my experience, this is what I would use. First, any wood that is cracked or split, I would first use 2-part epoxy for this. Then for filling, I would use automotive "Bondo". Yes, the auto body repair. I have tried all types of fillers, and NOTHING holds up like bondo. Bondo should not be used for any splits or crack, but for filling, I have found NOTHING that works as good as bondo. About 8 years ago, I was using "Plastic Wood", but the problem is, over time, it will get soft in places. I have a friend that has restored a number of old houses, and he has never had a problem with Bond-O. Just be sure and mix up only enough you can use in just a few minutes, because it hardens that quick.


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

good to know! thanks


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## scorrpio (Aug 14, 2006)

I had good results by using Minwax Wood Hardener/High performance 2-part filler. I've heard good things about Bondo, too.


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## bofusmosby (Apr 30, 2007)

I have used some of the wood hardener, but was not impressed with the job it did. I finally had to rip out all the wood I had used it on, and tried Bondo. I haven't had a problem since. That was about 5 years ago.

However, keep this in mind. Anything you use may have its limitations. Never use bondo to seal splits and cracks. Bondo works great as a filler, but not as a glue. The splits will open back up in time. Thats why I use epoxy for this. There are also some great epoxy fillers, but since I have never used them, I have no comments. I have even used bondo to repair termite damage from the inside out. If I find a hollow void in the wood (from termite damage) I drill some holes, and use a large syrenge to inject the bondo into the openings until it comes out the other holes. This way, the surface of the wood is not damaged in any way. Of course, make sure this is old damage, with no active termites. I have also used the epoxy in the same manner.


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

wait - I thought bondo was an epoxy, kinda like jb weld?


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## bofusmosby (Apr 30, 2007)

It is a 2-part system, that must be mixed, but it is NOT epoxy. I would take a guess that the Bondo is like an epoxy, with a lot of filler added. It has great filling capability, but should never be used for cracks and splits. Oh, it will fill it in real nice, and it sands and takes paint great as well, but in time as the wood "breathes", it will seperate where the splits were. I use an epoxy for this, and any place where the epoxy didn't fill in all the gaps, I use the bondo to fill, to make even and level. But only if there is epoxy actually holding the splits together. Now, the Bondo will actually breath with the wood, it just can't be used to hold the wood together like a glue.


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