Doors + Veneer

[arcticcat18]

Hello all, I am attempting to do a remodel on a mobile home we bought about a year back. I am wondering if anyone has used wood veneer on their doors to change the color of the doors? I am not sure if I could strip them a revarnish them, as I dont think they are wood. Any thoughts, suggestions, or help!

[Yanita]

Hi,

I have never tried a wood veneer on our doors. But now that you mention it I think a nice piece of birch luan would look real pretty.

In a post in this forum look for one made by Willc and see what he did with his doors, great idea and real pretty also.

Oh yeah, Welcome to the site! Take a good look around at all the forums and the links above, lots to see and read! Hope you like the site as much as the rest of us. Look forward to your future post and contributions!

Have a great day!

[JD]

Putting a wood veneer skin on the doors would be a good way to go. I would cut the veneer a couple of inches large than the door and install it just like formica laminate using a good contact cement. Clean the door up real good, then apply the adhesive on both the door and the veneer with a small paint roller or paint brush. The adhesive needs to be dry to the touch, just follow the instructions. Then place dowels or strips of cardboard about 8-10 inches apart across the door (side to side).

Lay the luan on top of the cardboard. The strips are there to keep the surfaces from touching until you want them to. Line the luan up exactly where you want it and starting at one end, carefully pull the cardboard (it won't stick to dried contact cement) while pressing the luan onto the door. You can get a good rubber laminate roller at the home stores for about $15 or would could use a 6" piece 2x4 with cloth wrapped around it to put a lot of pressure on the luan to the door. Be careful not to push the excess edges down lower than the level of the door. This could bow and lift the luan off of the door around the edges messing up the adhesive. A router or a laminate edge trimmer would be the best way to trim the edges. You could trim the luan down close to the door and then sand the edges smooth with sand paper and a block or a good wood rasp.

You will need to move the door stops to adjust for the added thickness of the door and possibly adjust the door stop and door trim. The added thickness can sometimes limit the door opening more than 90 degrees. You can fix that by sanding the hinge side of the door.

JD

[Yanita]

Thanks for the tips JD,

This post has brought to light new ways to make a MH door pretty!

Hmmm, real good tip about the cardboard, yet another one I did not know!

Thanks, Have a great day!

~Yanita~