anpak Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 OK, we have painted and glued together our front door. It looks darling (you can see it in the Alaska Orchid Gallery. However, the edges look ugly if you look at it from a side view . Any way of finishing it so it doesn't look like two different pieces of wood glued together? Any ideas for door knobs? Finally, the door trims don't come anywhere near fitting over the door - even before we painted. I guess we'll have to very carefully sand them down so they fit? I'd love to hear front door tips from everyone who has been there/done that! Thanks, Abby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 For the door edges, you can spread wood filler along the edge to fill in the gap where the two pieces meet. When it's dry, sand it if necessary (if you use a small amount it might not be) and then paint. The only downside is that this makes the door larger so if it's a tight fit it might not fit into the hole anymore. So you might want to sand the door a bit *before* you do this. If you want to, you can also add wood filler to the inside edge of the doors and windows, for a smoother finish. I'm having trouble visualizing the door trims that don't fit, can you post a picture? If you're talking about the trim that goes around the doorway (the equivalent of window casings), if it's too tall you can trim a little bit off the bottom. But I'm not sure that's what you mean. Miniatures.com carries a variety of doorknobs here. You could also make one with a bead or jewelry finding (a stud earring, for example). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anpak Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 Thanks for the wood filler tip, I will do that! Also along the inside of the door! I also like the tip about using an earring for a door knob! Yes, I was talking about the trim that goes around the doorway. Height isn't the issue, it's the inside width (too small for the door). Only one of them is like this. Abby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Since the Orchid has a standard rectangular door, it might be easier to make new trim out of strip wood than to sand the existing trim. Another thing you could try would be to carefully cut off one edge of the trim so you're left with an upside down L and a straight piece. When you glue these pieces arounds the door you'll be left with a small gap at the top that you can fill with wood filler and then paint. It depends on how you feel about painting something that's glued inside the house. It can definitely be done, but it's a bit scarier than painting something outside the house. (Also depends on how big the gap is, if it's a hairline that's going to be easier to fill than a large gap. But I can't imagine the width is *that* far off?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I hang my doors with chamois strips sandwiched between the two halves of the door and the other halves sandwiched between the wall & the trim, so I do a LOT of shaving & sanding to get the door to fit within the doorframe, sand the edges of the door so it's lovely and smooth, and just before I paint I smear a little spackle along the edges, let it dry really well and wand it smooth again before painting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris P. Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I had to sand and sand and SAND the doors to the Aster before they would fit. Once I finished sanding, the edges didn't look so bad. Since you are planning to paint the inside edges, you will need to do even a little more sanding to accommodate the paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anpak Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 Do you have any close up photos of your chamois strip system? Is it too late for me to do something like that if I already glued the two halves of the door together? I hang my doors with chamois strips sandwiched between the two halves of the door and the other halves sandwiched between the wall & the trim, so I do a LOT of shaving & sanding to get the door to fit within the doorframe, sand the edges of the door so it's lovely and smooth, and just before I paint I smear a little spackle along the edges, let it dry really well and wand it smooth again before painting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anpak Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 It's good to hear I am not the only person who has this problem! Sand paper is my friend! I had to sand and sand and SAND the doors to the Aster before they would fit. Once I finished sanding, the edges didn't look so bad. Since you are planning to paint the inside edges, you will need to do even a little more sanding to accommodate the paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Abby, in my portion of the Team Arthur building blog I describe my hinging method: http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=blog&blogid=7&showentry=85 and there's a picture here: http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=blog&blogid=7&showentry=72 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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