# Smoothing a door frame after removing door stop.



## MsMike (Dec 8, 2020)

I removed the door and door stop from a door frame and plugged the hinge holes with dutchmans. The regurlar door will be replaced with a barn door. 

I sanded off the old paint, used wood filler on nail holes and around the dutchmans, primed and painted. The finish still looks rough. You can still see where the stop was even though the sanded finish was smooth. The paint shows all flaws. 

I would like a really smoother finish before repainting. Options I was thinking of...

1) use several coats of Aqua Coat Grain filler. I'm looking for some sort of skim coat. I think drywall mud might potentially crack as the door frame wood expanded or contracted. I tried watering down plastic wood filler and using a trowel but it is too grainy and didn't go on smooth.
2) use veneer wood sheets. Paste on, then prime and paint again
3) use some heavy duty wallpaper wall liner, prime and paint again.

Any ideas or alternatives?
Thanks


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## John Smith_inFL (Jun 15, 2018)

photos of your concerns would be most enlightening.
it is hard to give factual advice without seeing what you are trying to fix.

.


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## MsMike (Dec 8, 2020)

John Smith_inFL said:


> photos of your concerns would be most enlightening.
> it is hard to give factual advice without seeing what you are trying to fix.
> 
> .


Hi John. Thank you for your response. I'm attaching two pictures. Hopefully you can see the imperfections even though I did sand down to raw wood!


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

What I'm seeing is the grain of the wood. With many wood species, particularly softwood which I am assuming the door frame is made from, the density - hardness - of the wood varies with the grain, and it looks like that has been aggravated by sanding; the sandpaper has removed more of the softer bits. You can either live with it, use a ton of filler of some sort, or replace it with an evenly dense wood, like maple, or PVC.


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## Half-fast eddie (Sep 19, 2020)

Use a random orbit sander, smooth the wood again. Use a filler like Durham Rock hard or Bondo, sand with the RO sander. Looks like you used a belt sander with too-coarse grit.


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## shelzmike (Feb 9, 2012)

Here's a different option if it really bugs you. Looks like it doesn't have a door any longer? Another thing you could do is prime over the paint again with something like a Shellac primer for good adhesion, then skimming it with a setting type drywall compound. Sand smooth, prime and paint. You'd of course lose all grain, but if smooth is what you are looking for, that's what I'd probably do..again, so long as there is no longer a door there.


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

I agree with replacing the jambs though that also means replacing the trims and possibly having to do some compound wall repairs. New joint compound texture may be too smooth compared to old. If seeking perfection, it never ends. One thing you haven't tried with the old jamb is using a sharp scraper and aggressive paint stripper. You must remove all of the paint before using wood filler to smooth down the old wood. Careful not to round or splinter the jamb edges. You could sand the existing paint (just the surface with rough paper, #40 -60) and apply bondo but adhesion over time is not a guarantee.


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## MsMike (Dec 8, 2020)

lenaitch said:


> What I'm seeing is the grain of the wood. With many wood species, particularly softwood which I am assuming the door frame is made from, the density - hardness - of the wood varies with the grain, and it looks like that has been aggravated by sanding; the sandpaper has removed more of the softer bits. You can either live with it, use a ton of filler of some sort, or replace it with an evenly dense wood, like maple, or PVC.


Ah, that makes sense. I did the same thing to another door and it actually turned out fine. Since I just installed trim on both sides (and it's perfect), I don't want to replace the frame. Thanks again for your expertise! Lesson learned.


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## MsMike (Dec 8, 2020)

carpdad said:


> I agree with replacing the jambs though that also means replacing the trims and possibly having to do some compound wall repairs. New joint compound texture may be too smooth compared to old. If seeking perfection, it never ends. One thing you haven't tried with the old jamb is using a sharp scraper and aggressive paint stripper. You must remove all of the paint before using wood filler to smooth down the old wood. Careful not to round or splinter the jamb edges. You could sand the existing paint (just the surface with rough paper, #40 -60) and apply bondo but adhesion over time is not a guarantee.


Learned something new (as a new DIY'r), you can't use wood filler over the existing paint. I've never used bondo but I will look into it. It sounds so permanent and hard to remove if I mess it up. But I'm willing to give it a look. Thank you


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## MsMike (Dec 8, 2020)

shelzmike said:


> Here's a different option if it really bugs you. Looks like it doesn't have a door any longer? Another thing you could do is prime over the paint again with something like a Shellac primer for good adhesion, then skimming it with a setting type drywall compound. Sand smooth, prime and paint. You'd of course lose all grain, but if smooth is what you are looking for, that's what I'd probably do..again, so long as there is no longer a door there.


Yes, I removed the door. I'm going to hang a barn door instead.

Another thing learned! Shellac primer! This sounds like it might be the easier or best for my skill level. Thank you!


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## MsMike (Dec 8, 2020)

carpdad said:


> I agree with replacing the jambs though that also means replacing the trims and possibly having to do some compound wall repairs. New joint compound texture may be too smooth compared to old. If seeking perfection, it never ends. One thing you haven't tried with the old jamb is using a sharp scraper and aggressive paint stripper. You must remove all of the paint before using wood filler to smooth down the old wood. Careful not to round or splinter the jamb edges. You could sand the existing paint (just the surface with rough paper, #40 -60) and apply bondo but adhesion over time is not a guarantee.
> [/QUOTE
> 
> 
> ...


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## shelzmike (Feb 9, 2012)

MsMike said:


> Yes, I removed the door. I'm going to hang a barn door instead.
> 
> Another thing learned! Shellac primer! This sounds like it might be the easier or best for my skill level. Thank you!


Well, Shellac primer is one of my favorites, BUT it isn't necessarily easier per se until you get used to using it. It is quite thin..almost like milk. It dries in about 20 minutes and sands really easily. It is alcohol based though which means cleanup is a bit trickier. It tends to be a little more expensive but it also works very well for hiding and sealing. Works really well for sealing like knotholes and anything else you want sealed out. Don't buy much more than you need for a job because it will dry out on the shelf quicker than most any other type of paint or primer. For this job is buy just a quart. Use a cabinet and door roller and a plastic paint tray that you can just toss when done.


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## MsMike (Dec 8, 2020)

shelzmike said:


> Well, Shellac primer is one of my favorites, BUT it isn't necessarily easier per se until you get used to using it. It is quite thin..almost like milk. It dries in about 20 minutes and sands really easily. It is alcohol based though which means cleanup is a bit trickier. It tends to be a little more expensive but it also works very well for hiding and sealing. Works really well for sealing like knotholes and anything else you want sealed out. Don't buy much more than you need for a job because it will dry out on the shelf quicker than most any other type of paint or primer. For this job is buy just a quart. Use a cabinet and door roller and a plastic paint tray that you can just toss when done.


Thank you. I didn't think of using a roller. One Q... when you say use a "setting type" dry wall compound, is that a compound that sets up quickly or will the box / tub of compound actually say "setting" or?....


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

MsMike said:


> Ah, that makes sense. I did the same thing to another door and it actually turned out fine. Since I just installed trim on both sides (and it's perfect), I don't want to replace the frame. Thanks again for your expertise! Lesson learned.


How the board was sawn and where on tree it came from will determine the grain you are dealing with. The other board was likely a softwood too but cut from a different section of the tree so it worked out.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

lenaitch said:


> How the board was sawn and where on tree it came from will determine the grain you are dealing with. The other board was likely a softwood too but cut from a different section of the tree so it worked out.



As a bit of a visual aid, and assuming that most off-the-shelf millwork is plain sawn, you can see how the angle of the grain (harder/softer areas of wood) of the circle changes with each board, so it will often react differently to sanding.


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## MsMike (Dec 8, 2020)

lenaitch said:


> As a bit of a visual aid, and assuming that most off-the-shelf millwork is plain sawn, you can see how the angle of the grain (harder/softer areas of wood) of the circle changes with each board, so it will often react differently to sanding.
> 
> View attachment 636346


Amazing. I had no idea. From now on, I will be more conscience of the differences and how I can semi destroy a piece of wood by being too aggressive. Thank you so much for the education.


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