# Unstained Mahogany entry doors



## Lisa Hinds (Jun 24, 2014)

We have unstained, very dried out (beginning to crack) mahogany doors. 
I want to nourish them and protect them until we decide to stain them. What is the best product to use for this project? Is this even a good idea?


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## mikeswoods (May 18, 2009)

Stain will not soak into wood that has been finished---so either do the entire project the right way--or give up on finishing with stain and just seal them without stain.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The best thing you could do to moisturize an unfinished door is to put an oil stain on it. The stain will oil and seal the wood some. Anything you would put on the doors now will seal it to where it would be harder to stain the wood when you decide on a color. You just need to pick a color soon or cover the doors with plastic.


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## Lisa Hinds (Jun 24, 2014)

*Unstained Mahogany doors*

I understand, so can you recommend a type of oil based stain?


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I would use Penofin Red Label. It's a penetrating stain that doesn't seal the wood...no varnish resins, high UV rating.It's an easy upkeep, just clean and wipe on. No need to do any sanding.


















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## Lisa Hinds (Jun 24, 2014)

The doors have water stains on them. Do you think the mission brown color in the Pinofin Red Label will cover those stains?


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Lisa Hinds said:


> The doors have water stains on them. Do you think the mission brown color in the Pinofin Red Label will cover those stains?


I don't know...I can't see the stains.


















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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I used Penofin two years ago on a customers deck and the stuff never seem to put a finish on it. I treated the deck with it three times over two weeks and it never sealed the wood. I talked to that customer a few days ago and he commented that he thought the deck was going to have to be painted. He said the Penofin was completely gone. 

If you have stains on the doors I would sand the doors and restain them with the same water base stain and let dry. If you need to alter the color then you can go over it with an oil based stain but you need to get a finish on it as soon as possible. I would recommend a marine grade spar varnish. Epifanes is the best. It's available at places that sell boat supplies. Another less expensive one would be Cabot Sar Varnish available at Lowes.


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## Lisa Hinds (Jun 24, 2014)

I had no luck getting my photos to load but I will try again.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Steve Neul said:


> The best thing you could do to moisturize an unfinished door is to put an oil stain on it. The stain will oil and seal the wood some. Anything you would put on the doors now will seal it to where it would be harder to stain the wood when you decide on a color. You just need to pick a color soon or cover the doors with plastic.





Steve Neul said:


> I used Penofin two years ago on a customers deck and the stuff never seem to put a finish on it. I treated the deck with it three times over two weeks and it never sealed the wood. I talked to that customer a few days ago and he commented that he thought the deck was going to have to be painted. He said the Penofin was completely gone.
> 
> If you have stains on the doors I would sand the doors and restain them with the same water base stain and let dry. If you need to alter the color then you can go over it with an oil based stain but you need to get a finish on it as soon as possible. I would recommend a marine grade spar varnish. Epifanes is the best. It's available at places that sell boat supplies. Another less expensive one would be Cabot Sar Varnish available at Lowes.


You first suggest to use an oil base stain. And then have a story about Penofin on a deck not having a finish. I've read your comments about Penofin a while back and it changes each time. Well, that's the whole point. It doesn't create a film finish. It won't look like plastic. It penetrates and has a high UV factor.

Using a marine grade spar varnish like Epifanes requires 6-7 applications, and it will look like a plastic coating. Depending on the exposure, it may not last very long. I used it to finish an 8/4 Mahogany door I made for my house. It took only a year to get cloudy, crispy and flaky and had to be sanded. What a PITA.


















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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

cabinetman said:


> You first suggest to use an oil base stain. And then have a story about Penofin on a deck not having a finish. I've read your comments about Penofin a while back and it changes each time. Well, that's the whole point. It doesn't create a film finish. It won't look like plastic. It penetrates and has a high UV factor.
> 
> Using a marine grade spar varnish like Epifanes requires 6-7 applications, and it will look like a plastic coating. Depending on the exposure, it may not last very long. I used it to finish an 8/4 Mahogany door I made for my house. It took only a year to get cloudy, crispy and flaky and had to be sanded. What a PITA.
> 
> ...


The only thing that changed about the story on the deck was meeting with that customer on Saturday and him tellimg me the deck was ruined because of the use of Penofin instead of a different brand of deck finish. 

Six or seven applications of Epifanes is too much for an entry door. It's not the deck of a boat. Two coats is plenty if done right. I don't have a problem with spar varnishes even when I was using Helmsman. In two or three years it starts looking dry and if you sand it and put another coat on it will last for two or three more years. I always tell my customers when I refinish a door to call me when the appearance changes. It's a lot easier and cheaper to maintain the finish than to refinish. Still refinishing an entry door is only a two day job, mostly because of drying time.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Steve Neul said:


> The only thing that changed about the story on the deck was meeting with that customer on Saturday and him tellimg me the deck was ruined because of the use of Penofin instead of a different brand of deck finish.


Sorry you had a problem with the deck. It might not have been the fault of the Penofin. Could be in how the deck was prepared, or if the Penofin was too old or contaminated, or maybe how it was applied (not following directions)...even though it's an easy application. So, there claims to be a problem...you can't win them all, and one case doesn't judge a product.



Steve Neul said:


> Six or seven applications of Epifanes is too much for an entry door. It's not the deck of a boat. Two coats is plenty if done right. I don't have a problem with spar varnishes even when I was using Helmsman. In two or three years it starts looking dry and if you sand it and put another coat on it will last for two or three more years. I always tell my customers when I refinish a door to call me when the appearance changes. It's a lot easier and cheaper to maintain the finish than to refinish. Still refinishing an entry door is only a two day job, mostly because of drying time.


The application directions on the can states what's required. Altering those procedures may render a product to perform poorly. Could be that's what happened to you and your deck.


















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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

cabinetman said:


> Sorry you had a problem with the deck. It might not have been the fault of the Penofin. Could be in how the deck was prepared, or if the Penofin was too old or contaminated, or maybe how it was applied (not following directions)...even though it's an easy application. So, there claims to be a problem...you can't win them all, and one case doesn't judge a product.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It was done during a drought when the wood was dry. The boards were removed from the deck, nails pulled and run through my planer to expose fresh wood. I sprayed the finish on so thick I had to wipe the excess off the wood after letting it sit for about 20 minutes. Then at the end of that week it started looking dried out so I put a second coat on in the same manor. Then a week later I put a third coat on and I haven't seen it since. 

The Penofin wasn't old. An old finish seperates and this one wasn't. It couldn't have been contaminated with anything. I used it straight out of the can and I followed the instructions to the letter. 

Since then I wondered if it had something to do with the wood on that deck so I put some on some mahogany I had in my shop and it did the same thing.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Steve Neul said:


> It was done during a drought when the wood was dry. The boards were removed from the deck, nails pulled and run through my planer to expose fresh wood. I sprayed the finish on so thick I had to wipe the excess off the wood after letting it sit for about 20 minutes. Then at the end of that week it started looking dried out so I put a second coat on in the same manor. Then a week later I put a third coat on and I haven't seen it since.
> 
> The Penofin wasn't old. An old finish seperates and this one wasn't. It couldn't have been contaminated with anything. I used it straight out of the can and I followed the instructions to the letter.
> 
> Since then I wondered if it had something to do with the wood on that deck so I put some on some mahogany I had in my shop and it did the same thing.


Why are you so bent on bashing Penofin...if that's what you used. Your last story was that some neighbors used it on their deck, not you. If you don't like it don't use it. I like it and it works good for me. As for a little immediate wood treatment, the OP can use a 50/50 mix with boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits.

















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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

cabinetman said:


> Why are you so bent on bashing Penofin...if that's what you used. Your last story was that some neighbors used it on their deck, not you. If you don't like it don't use it. I like it and it works good for me. As for a little immediate wood treatment, the OP can use a 50/50 mix with boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't know what you mean about a neighbors deck. This one customer and testing in my shop is the only experience I have with Penofin. I guess the reason I bash Penofin is it's a very rare occasion when I let a customer down and this product did it to me. I didn't have any problems with Thompson Waterseal. 

That is true about the treating the door with blo 50/50 unless they plan on a very dark color and may have difficulty achieving that color.


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## Treeoflifestairs.com (Jan 9, 2012)

I tested out the penofin product for use on my mahogany entry door based off of your recommendation cabinet man. I had the company send me out samples and tested them on cut off pieces. I have no reason to think that it would not work as it is advertised but it does nothing to protect the wood from minor scratches/abrasions. It colored the wood as expected but left the surface feeling bare. I chose going with a regular gel stain and spar varnish (1 coat stain 2 coats spar varnish) for this reason. It's been about two years now, I think, with no adverse reactions. It looks pretty much the same as the day I put it on and it gets a fair amount of direct sunlight (more than I thought it did). I thought about using the penofin as the pigment for the stain and then coating it with the spar varnish to try and give it the uv resistance and the physical protection of the varnish but when I contacted the penofin customer service the said they couldn't recommend doing it that way.











This is the door.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Treeoflifestairs.com said:


> I tested out the penofin product for use on my mahogany entry door based off of your recommendation cabinet man. I had the company send me out samples and tested them on cut off pieces. I have no reason to think that it would not work as it is advertised but it does nothing to protect the wood from minor scratches/abrasions. It colored the wood as expected but left the surface feeling bare.


I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with something I recommended. Penofin isn't a film finish. So what you found with it's use, and this would include Steve is that the look and feel of its application is supposed to be a natural look and feel. It doesn't shine as one might expect giving that "film" look. It has a very high UV factor, and works as a penetrating oil should. It would do very little for abrasion resistance.

So, if an expected finish is to be a shiny film, use something else. 


















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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If the penofin is fully cured I don't see any reason it couldn't be topcoated with a spar varnish. 

The more I think about Penofin I think it would have worked for the deck that I did if it had a coat applied every week for six or eight weeks but there was no indication of the need or possibllity in the instructions. Penofin was billed as a one coat finish and I applied three and didn't see the deck again. Tung oil is a good product but I'm sure two or three coats of it would have had the same results. Also the homeowner should have called me if there was a problem instead of letting the deck sit unfinished.


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## Treeoflifestairs.com (Jan 9, 2012)

cabinetman said:


> I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with something I recommended. Penofin isn't a film finish. So what you found with it's use, and this would include Steve is that the look and feel of its application is supposed to be a natural look and feel. It doesn't shine as one might expect giving that "film" look. It has a very high UV factor, and works as a penetrating oil should. It would do very little for abrasion resistance. So, if an expected finish is to be a shiny film, use something else. .


No need to apoligize. You recommended something that you believed would work best. I knew it wasn't a film finish. You told me so in your recommendation. I wanted to make sure I tried it to make an informed decision.


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