Finishing

Finishing is a very important aspect when dealing with wood for any project. It serves two main purposes in a finished product as a whole. The first of course is the appearance, as a good finish can enhance the natural beauty of the woods color and grain but, probably most important is the protection aspect. It is essential for any wood door to have a protective sealant applied as soon as possible to all exposed edges so to minimize moisture absorption, UV discoloration and cracking or checking from drying caused from natural moisture escaping.

Transparent (TR) for clear and stain grade and Opaque (OP) for painting which are two typical type finishes and each of those can have up to eight different systems that can be specified that offer different levels of protection against wear or chemical contact. The most common finish provided for interior doors would be a TR-6 & OP-6 which is a Catalyzed Polyurethane finish that is a UV finish system that can be cured within the finishing line. There is an abundance of information in various forms that can be obtained in great depth on the different levels of finishing systems available. WDMA, section “F” and AWS section 5 offer a more in depth outline of the various finish systems and what they entail.

Regardless of the system type it is just as important that the color and sheen are specified when a stain is requested. There are multiple options for staining that begins with a simple single color stain to a culmination of multicolor matching to achieve the final desired hue/color. The final coat or top coat is typically clear and is how the “sheen” or shine is achieved. The sheen can vary from a dull or satin to a very high gloss.

One other aspect to consider is the texture IE: open grain or filled grain. An open grain will highlight the grain texture as where a filled finish will give a very smooth or laminate look.

All finishes are factory applied in a controlled environment and contain no VOC’s

Wood, being a natural material, will vary from piece to piece. The stock colors shown below are only samples, No guarantee can be made that the actual product color or grain will duplicate any of these photographs.

It is in the best interest of all parties to have physical samples of the finish / veneer approved prior to finishing the doors.