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All wooden doors require attention on a regular basis. The cause is Ultra-Violet
radiation (UV). Ultra-Violet radiation’s high-energy waves cause deterioration
in any surface they strike.
UV radiation is the portion of sunlight that causes sunburn in people.
So you can imagine the damage UV causes your door as the door is continuously
exposed to this radiation. It takes only a couple of hours for a person
to get seriously sunburned even on a cloudy day. Depending on season,
your door is exposed to the same UV radiation for as much as 14 hours
each and every day.
It does not matter if the UV rays are direct or reflected. Consider
how a museum protects its valuable paintings and documents. These types
of items are displayed in darkened rooms with specialized lighting and
behind UV filtering glass. UV rays are so damaging that museums must protect
against reflected UV rays and even UV rays generated from common fluorescent
lighting.
Conveniently, the finishes that The Door Refinishing Company applies
to your door are a lot tougher than human skin but they are not damage
proof.
The Door Refinishing Company provides two different services. The first
is a refinish of your door. The second is maintenance.
A refinish includes chemically and physically removing the existing
finish, usually on the exterior side of your door. Then we sand, stain
and apply 3 coats of exterior gloss finish. This will return the door
to “like New” condition.
The surface of a new or refinished door consists of a layer of stain
and multiple coats of finish. Once the door is hung and exposed to sunlight,
the deterioration begins in earnest.
The UV rays strike the outer layer of finish and cause chemical and
physical changes. The finish begins to yellow and it develops micro-cracks
in its surface. The outer layer filters out a large portion of the UV
rays, but some rays make it through to the second layer. A smaller amount
makes it to the third layer and some rays even reach the stain layer.
The effect is the same on the lower layers as it is on the surface layer.
The finish yellows and cracks, the stain will fade in color. The deterioration
just occurs at a slower rate.
As time goes on, the outer layer loses its ability to filter UV rays
and a larger percentage of the UV rays reach the inner layers. This increases
the rate of deterioration.
Eventually, the deterioration gets significant enough that the innermost layer
of finish begins to breakdown and detaches from the door and chipping occurs.
This exposes the wood of the door to increasing damage.
Compounding problems are water (rain & sprinklers), mold and mildew.
Once the finish layers have developed cracks, water can get into the cracks
and behind the top layer of finish. As the water gets behind this layer,
changes in outside temperature cause expansion and contraction of the
water and it speeds the chipping rate.
The cracks also allow molds and mildew to penetrate the surface of
the finish rather than just laying on the surface of it. If the molds
and mildews reach the actual wood surface of the door, they begin to grow
into the pores of the wood and can cause permanent discoloration (dark
lines along the grain of the wood).
Once a door is restored to “Like New” condition then regular
maintenances should be performed to extend the life of the new finish.
Maintenance includes sanding, cleaning, and the application of a new coat
of finish to the surface of your door. The Door Refinishing Company provides
maintenance services in the form of an automatic (pre-scheduled) and on-demand
maintenance. Contact us for details.
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