How To Repair Cracked Wood Door Panel

A common problem with older wood doors is split panels.

How to repair cracked wood door panel. How to fix cracks in door panels without taking the door apart. The advantage to wood putty is that it is thick and the repair you make may last a long time. I realize that this might be a new house issue as well however a door in a new house is a little easier to replace than one that is old and an odd size. Most of the time years of paint or caulking the seams around the panels will cause the wood to stick and not allow the panel to expand and contract with the weather.

Wooden doors will develop cracks over time especially if the panels aren t free to expand and contract. If you go the route of a wood filler versus putty in order to sand and paint your door i have to give a shout out to dap s wood filler. Fill in hairline cracks with an exterior wood filler. If a crack has gunk in it clean out the space with a strip of sandpaper.

When dry sand lightly with 220 grit sandpaper and use a stain pen available at hardware stores to match the color of the finish. To repair the years of nicks gorges and cracks on my interior doors i use dap s plastic wood professional wood filler. Repairing cracks in wooden door panels. Wooden panels were typically fitted into grooves plowed in the door rails and stiles and left to float so they could expand and contract without binding and splitting for a primer on making wooden panels see my last post however varnish wax and dirt can build up over the years and stick the panel in place so it isn t able to expand.

Once the broken panels slide use a hot glue gun to attach wooden blocks to both side edges of each of the panels.