Tending To Wooden Garage Door Damage

If someone in your household had mistakenly hit their brakes too late when parking their vehicle, they may have hit your wooden garage door, leaving behind a splintered area. A wooden garage door panel can be easily fixed using simple tools you may have in your home or that you can purchase from a hardware store. Here are some instructions you can follow to make a wooden door repair on your own.

Assess The Wood First

Before undertaking the project on your own, take a look at the interior of the door to see if it has cracked all the way though. If so, you would be better off calling a garage door repair specialist to replace the entire panel. If the damage is located on the exterior only and if it seems to be small in nature, you can do the repair work on your own.

Gather Your Materials

To do a successful repair job, you will need to gather the following items:

• Garden hose or pressure washer
• Mild detergent
• Non-abrasive sponge
• Needle-nose pliers
• Wood putty
• Medium and fine-grit sandpaper
• Sander
• Paint in same color as rest of door
• Clean piece of cloth

Clean The Panel

It is a good idea to clean the area needing repair beforehand so the wood filler you use will adhere without any debris obstructing the wood surface. Use a mild detergent to cleanse the area with the use of a non-abrasive sponge. Rinse the cleaner from the wood with a garden hose or pressure washer and allow it to dry completely.

Add The Filler

Wood putty is pliable and can be stretched or molded to fit into any crevices left from where the vehicle hit. Push the filler into the crack or indent and spread it over the edges of the wood still intact around the broken part. The wood putty will harden in place, filling in the affected area.

Sand And Finish

After the putty has hardened, sand it to make it smooth. Start with medium-grit sandpaper and switch to fine-grit sandpaper after a few minutes to give the putty a smooth surface. Wipe down the area with a clean piece of cloth to remove any sawdust. Afterwards, the garage door can be repainted in the area you had just repaired. This should hide the flawed area from view, leaving a smooth, freshly painted area on your door. If desired, repaint the entire door at this time.

For more information, contact a company like Overhead Door Co. of Everett Inc.