How To Repair A Hole In A Hollow Door

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Hollow cadre doors are much cheaper and more mutual than doors made of solid wood, but they are also a lot more fragile and prone to damage. While holes in your doors or cruddy scratches might seem difficult to repair, you tin can get them fixed upwards in no more than a day or 2. Simply patch up holes or fill up in the scratches earlier refinishing the surface and your door will look good equally new in no time!

1. 1

   Cut away whatsoever loose or broken wood from around the pigsty or crack. Depending on how the door was damaged, there may be some loose splinters or fragments effectually the edges of the pigsty or cleft. Rather than trying to repair these, apply a utility knife to cutting away any damaged wood until y'all're left with a clean hole gratis from rough edges.^[1]

   • Always cut away from yourself when working with a utility pocketknife, particularly when cutting through something sturdy like wood.
   • Yous may need to make the hole or scissure bigger before you can begin repairing it. Information technology's much easier to repair a larger hole free from damaged wood than it is to repair a smaller one that'southward fragmented or cleaved.

2. ii

   Pack the hole with paper towels. While the paper towels won't make the door stronger or repair it, they are an like shooting fish in a barrel and affordable mode to hold the insulation foam in place while it dries. Bunch up a few paper towels and stuff them around the bottom and sides of the pigsty or crack you want to repair.^[2]

   • Paper towels work equally they are light enough to hold their ain weight inside the door. If you don't have newspaper towels, use some tissue paper or something similarly light.

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3. 3

   Make full the hole with expanding cream insulation. Expanding insulation foam comes in a spray can with a long nozzle on the top. Bespeak the nozzle into the hole or fissure in your door and begin spraying. The foam volition aggrandize to fill the infinite inside the door, with any excess expanding exterior the hole through the face of the door.^[iii]

   • Expanding insulation foam should be bachelor online or from your local hardware shop. For a smaller space, a low-expansion type may be easier to handle.

4. 4

   Exit the insulation foam to dry overnight. Once the insulation cream has filled in the pigsty or crack, it needs to dry all the way through earlier it tin be cut or sanded down. Leave the foam to sit for 4 to v hours or ideally overnight so that information technology can dry completely.^[4]

   • Check the instructions on your own brand of insulation cream for more guidance on how long it will take to dry.

5. v

   Trim away the backlog foam with a utility knife. Position a utility knife slightly in a higher place any protruding insulation foam and then that it is flush with the face of the door. Run the knife downward the face of the door to cut away any excess foam, trimming it until the cream sits no more than 0.1 inches (2.v mm) below the face of the door.^[5]

6. 6

   Apply a layer of machine-trunk filler for a strong repair. Mix together ii parts of an motorcar-body filler and 1 part of a hardener catalyst and spread the mixture over the hole in your door. Utilize the border of a putty pocketknife to smear and press the mixture over the hole, filling in any gaps and making it roughly flush with the door.^[6]

   • Auto-body filler is a compound that will give you a very potent door, but it can be quite difficult to work with. It will unremarkably come packaged with a hardener catalyst designed specifically to activate it. This product is available online or at your local hardware or auto store.

7. 7

   Encompass the pigsty with spackle for a quicker fix. ^[7] If you don't take auto-body filler, you lot can utilize spackle instead. Use a putty knife to scoop out some spackle and spread it over the hole in your door. Piece of work in long, smooth strokes to smear the spackle over the door every bit smoothly and evenly as possible.^[viii]

   • Spackle is readily bachelor, affordable, and very piece of cake to work with.
   • Spackle is available online or from your local hardware store.

8. 8

   Wait i hour for the surface to dry out. Whether you repaired the door with spackle or an auto-body filler compound, it will take around 1 hour for your repair compound to dry completely. Go out the door to dry until it is hard to the affect.^[9]

   • Check the instructions on your spackle or auto-trunk filler compound for more information on how long it will take to dry.

9. 9

   Sand down the surface of the door. ^[10] Use a sheet of coarse grit sandpaper, effectually 100- to 120-grit, to begin sanding down your repair chemical compound. Sand off the spackle or auto-body filter until it is level with the surface of the door and it looks apartment.^[xi]

   • Sanding down the door will help y'all smooth out the repair job to make it less visible. However, it will rough upward the surface around the pigsty or crack. To fix this and make the door look completely undamaged, paint or stain the door.^[12]

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1. 1

   Use very fine dust sandpaper to remove loose splinters and paint. Apply 320-grit sandpaper to sand down any areas where the paint is peeling and/or the forest is splintering. Make clean up the scratched area and so that you tin can patch it rather than piecing it dorsum together.^[13]

   • If the wood is significantly splintered, wear heavy gloves while sanding to avoid injuring yourself.

2. 2

   Apply a generous coat of wood filler to the scratched surface area. Squeeze or spread a small-scale dollop of wood filler over each scratch on your door. Use your finger or a putty knife to spread the filler around and press information technology into the scratches. Try to achieve a polish cease that is fifty-fifty and level with the rest of the door.^[14]

   • Wood filler is available online or from your local hardware store. It will either come up premixed in a tube or in 2 dissever parts that demand to be combined earlier using it. Follow the instructions on your woods filler for the all-time results.

3. 3

   Leave the filler to dry for xv to twenty minutes. The filler needs to set up and fully adhere to the wood in order for it to repair the door. Once you lot accept pressed filler into all of the scratches, get out it for 15 to twenty minutes to dry out fully, until it is completely solid to the touch.^[15]

   • Cheque the instructions on your wood filler for more information on expected drying times.

4. 4

   Sand downward the wood filler with 320-grit sandpaper. Once the filler has dried, use very fine dust sandpaper to sand down previously scratched area. Work in smooth, deliberate strokes to remove whatever backlog woods filler and flatten the surface of the door.^[16]

   • Painting over the sanded area will make any irregular bumps more than obvious. Run your hand over the area you patched with woods filler to grab any areas that need more sanding and smoothing.

5. v

   Make clean the area with a damp paper towel or sponge. Sanding the wood and paint around the scratched area can produce a significant corporeality of dust and debris that can ruin the look of the repaired door. Dampen a clean material or a newspaper towel and lightly wipe downwardly the area to make clean up whatever dust left behind.

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1. ane

   Sand down the area y'all repaired and wipe away the grit. To make certain the paint or wood stain sticks evenly to the expanse you are painting or staining, use 220-grit sandpaper to sand down the repaired area. Use a vacuum cleaner or a damp cloth to wipe away any dust or debris.^[17]

   • Dust will prevent the paint from sticking to the door properly, leaving an uneven surface. Make clean away any dust before refinishing the door.

2. 2

   Remove whatsoever hardware or hinges from the door. It's best to paint or stain the unabridged door to achieve an even finish, rather than only painting or staining the area you repaired. Use a screwdriver to remove the hardware from the door. You might need to remove the doorknob, hinges, or a strike plate near the base of operations of the door.^[18]

   • If you lot want to remove the door from its hinges entirely, printing a blast against the base of each hinge pivot and use a hammer to popular out the pins. This will allow you refinish the door elsewhere and make the task easier.
   • Bank check the screws in each fitting or fixture to choose the right screwdriver to use. Yous should always remove and reattach fixtures to a hollow core door with a screwdriver, equally an electric drill can easily damage the door.
   • Alternatively, you could use painter's tape to record off areas you lot don't desire to paint over.

3. 3

   Notice pigment or wood stain that matches the color of your door. Choosing the right color of paint or woods stain will make sure that the repaired door matches the remainder of the doors in your domicile. Ask an employee at your local hardware store for some pigment or forest stain samples or ask for assistance in choosing the correct pigment to match the color of your door.^[19]

   • While taking a picture of your door to help match the color might seem similar a skilful idea, it won't e'er lead to a direct match. The lighting in your home, the type of camera used, and the way the flick is printed or displayed will all change the color.
   • If you can, bring in a sample of the door to help friction match it — such every bit a slice of the door you cutting away when first repairing it.

4. four

   Use an even coat of paint or wood stain to the unabridged door. Apply a wide, all-purpose paintbrush or a paint roller to employ a single glaze of paint or wood stain to the door. Pigment or stain whatever grooves or panels first, then paint long, even strokes over the residue of the door to avoid leaving visible lines.^[20]

   • If you're worried nigh making a mess, lay downwardly a drop cloth or some old newspaper underneath the door before yous begin painting.

5. 5

   Leave the door to dry out for 3 to 4 hours. Once yous've practical the showtime coat, allow the door to dry for 3 to iv hours. Even slight contact with the door can damage the finished look, so make sure everyone who might come up in contact with information technology knows that it is still wet.^[21]

   • Check the instructions on your chosen paint or stain for more information on the expected time it takes for it to dry out.

6. half dozen

   Apply a second coat of pigment or forest stain and let it dry. Each coat that you apply to the door will darken the colour slightly and meliorate the wait overall. Once the first glaze has dried, apply a 2nd glaze to help obscure whatsoever imperfections visible from the first coat. Leave it to dry fully until the door is no longer clammy or tacky to the bear on.^[22]

   • Many interior paints and stains will accept several days to cure completely. Be careful with your repaired door for i calendar week after painting it to avoid dissentious your glaze of pigment.
   • You lot tin apply equally many coats of paint or stain every bit you want, but ii or 3 coats volition normally exist enough to brand your door await fantastic.

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• Question

  Should I fix my door or replace information technology?

  

  Barry Zakar is a professional handyman and the founder of Niggling Red Truck Abode Services based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over ten years of experience, Barry specializes in a variety of carpentry projects. He is skilled at constructing decks, railings, fences, gates, and diverse pieces of furniture. Barry also holds his MBA from John F. Kennedy University.

  

  

  Support wikiHow by unlocking this skilful answer.

  Most hollow core doors are fairly inexpensive and esasy to replace. If the pigsty in your door is big, just go ahead and replace the door. However, for a small hole, you may be able to patch it with spackle, so sand and repaint information technology to friction match.

• Question

  Can you patch a hollow core door?

  

  Barry Zakar is a professional person handyman and the founder of Little Red Truck Home Services based in the San Francisco Bay Surface area. With over ten years of experience, Barry specializes in a diverseness of carpentry projects. He is skilled at constructing decks, railings, fences, gates, and various pieces of article of furniture. Barry likewise holds his MBA from John F. Kennedy University.

  

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• If the hole in your door is adequately large, it may exist more effective to just supersede the entire door.^[23]

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Things Yous'll Need

• Utility knife
• Paper towels
• Expanding insulation cream
• Machine-body filler or spackle
• Putty knife
• 120-dust sandpaper
• 320-grit sandpaper

• 320-grit sandpaper
• Wood filler
• Putty knife
• Damp cloth or paper towels

• 220-grit sandpaper
• Paint or wood stain
• Broad, all-purpose paintbrush or paint roller

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Article Summary 10

To repair a damaged hollow core door, start by cutting away any loose or broken wood around the harm using a utility knife. And so, pack the hole or crevice with paper towels, and fill it in with expanding foam insulation. Next, let the insulation dry completely before trimming away the excess with a knife. Finally, cover the surface area with spackle, and let it dry before sanding it down so it's flush with the rest of the door. To learn how to refinish a hollow core door, scroll downwardly!

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