# What is the best finish for a Red Oak exterior door?



## MD56 (Jun 17, 2015)

Hi Guys, 

I have a really nice set of double red oak doors on the front of my house. Tons of detail work and some nice glass inserts. Our house faces dead east so for the first half the day the sun just BEATS directly onto those doors. I've noticed over the last year or so, the finish on the outside of the door is turning chalky and even starting to flake in a few areas. 

I'm guessing it's probably to late to try and "fix" the issue so i'm planning on sanding and refinishing. 

My question, what is the best clear finish to lay on after the stain coat? It's gotta be something that can hold up to some beating from the son. I should also mention that I'm in Southern California and we cant get anything oil based here. But, that said Vegas is only a 4hr drive away


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*film finish vs penterating oil*

The varnishes and film finishes will always fail over time and with extreme exposure. An oil finish can be reapplied without stripping and is easy to renew. I have a Red Oak door also and I will use this next time around:

http://www.penofin.com/wood-stains/ultra-premium-red-label-wood-stain


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

You have to be careful using red oak for an exterior woodwork. When red oak gets wet it quickly turns black so what ever finish you put on it you need to make sure it stays maintained. If it were me I would use a marine grade spar varnish. The best is Epifanes but is a little pricy. I've had pretty good luck with Cabot spar varnish.


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## MD56 (Jun 17, 2015)

Supplemental question, do i need to finish both sides of the door in the same fashion? Like could i use a heavier duty finish for the exterior side and something lighter for the interior? Not sure if this would effect expansion / contractions.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

MD56 said:


> Supplemental question, do i need to finish both sides of the door in the same fashion? Like could i use a heavier duty finish for the exterior side and something lighter for the interior? Not sure if this would effect expansion / contractions.


You can do that. I often will finish the inside of a door with an interior lacquer and then use the spar varnish on the exterior. The main difference in the two finishes is the spar varnish is formulated to be elastic so it can expand and contract with the weather extremes of being outdoors. The finish on the inside isn't going to expand and contract that much.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

Now that Steve and Woodnthings have done the heavy lifting, I'll chime in 

As a varnish using boat guy, I'll strenthen both of their opinions. That kind of sun exposure will degrade the finish rapidly, so you will need to recoat frequently. Based on my boat finishing experience, I'd say every 8 or 9 months. The oil finish will be easier to maintain, so if you're OK with a matte finish, it's a good choice. If you want gloss, marine spar varnish is kind of your only choice. The "spar polyurethane" you see at the big box stores isn't your friend. In the boat community, "spar" and "polyurethane" are considered mutually exclusive. IMHO, you need something from a marine supply. As Steve mentioned, Epifanes wins the boat mag tests. Whatever you get, you want something with UV inhibitors.


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## MD56 (Jun 17, 2015)

I appreciate the feedback from everyone. 

Now the question will be how do I get my hands on an oil base marine finish. California puts more effort into keeping out oil based finishes then it does keeping out illegal immigrants. 

When made my red oak treads and risers a few months back I had to drive 400 miles to vegas just to get "the good stuff".


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

Marine Store maybe?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The way I read the Epifanes website they can ship anywhere in the continental United States. 
https://www.epifanes.com/page/shipping-and-returns


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## MD56 (Jun 17, 2015)

Steve Neul said:


> The way I read the Epifanes website they can ship anywhere in the continental United States.
> https://www.epifanes.com/page/shipping-and-returns


Awesome, appreciate it.


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## RandyReed (Jul 30, 2014)

You shouold be able to get it shipped to you, but if you have trouble getting the spar varnish, you can visit any boating store in CA and obtain a low VOC spar varnish. If they dont sell it, they can tell you where you can get it.

In CA, it has to be, or is suppossed to be (cough, cough) *low VOC*.


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