Restoring Hardwood Door Rail
Rot is often caused by water collecting at the bottom of panels in rail and mullion grooves.
Restoring hardwood door rail. Hopefully this will restore the original integrity of the door by maximizing the glue surface of the joints as originally intended and perhaps they will last another 70 years. Refinishing your wood door with quality stain every one to two years prevents weather damage and keeps your door looking like new. Coat both the mortise and tenon sides with a good wood glue to and tightly clamp the doors back together. Remove the three hinge pins from the door by placing the flat.
As with any diy project preparation is key. On this weekend workbench segment blake sloane of the rebuilding exchange helps ryan restore a sad old door without sanding stripping or any hard chemical. Priming end grain areas before reassembly is a good idea especially for exterior doors. This gives you a good key for the new coats of primer plus your chosen exterior paint for wood in whatever colour you fancy.
Wear safety glasses when using a palm sander. Keep the palm sander moving. If you leave it too long in one spot you ll damage the wood.