How To - Fill And Redo A Door Handle Bore Hole
We decided to redo our basement and remove the remnants of the previous owners from the house for good. One issue I encountered with all the renovations was the door to my home office. The bore hole was not positioned far enough from the side of the door for modern handles.
Tools Needed
These are the tools I used:
Drill
Orbital Sander
Plastic cutting board
A Zip-Lock bag that can fit the cutting board inside it. I used one from IKEA.
Bondo Plastic Spreaders, 3-pk. I used the smallest spreader.
Enter My Experiment
I had seen numerous videos online showcasing a product called “Bondo”. Bondo is a product originally used for bodywork repairs; however, it has also been used for wood repairs.
Unfortunately in Canada, you can’t order Bondo Wood Repair. Bondo Wood Repair is paintable, stainable and has a similar colour to wood. The original Bondo for Car repair is grey and paintable, but it isn’t stainable.
We plan to paint the door white, and we believe this product is the perfect choice to achieve our goals.
NOTE
Read, memorize and understand all these instructions BEFORE starting. Bondo sets REALLY quickly, and if you have to keep going back and reading, you might have poor results.
Bondo is REALLY stinky. You should perform this work in a well-ventilated area. When sanding, it is advisable to wear a mask to prevent inhaling the fine dust.
Fill Instructions
Duct tape one side of the current hole. This will be a form for that side of the door.
Place Duct tape inside the door latch hole. This helps prevent much Bondo from going into the current latch hole.
Take a plastic cutting board and place it in a large zip lock bag. This is what you will place the Bondo on to mix.
Prep Bondo. Make a 3-inch blob on the plastic bag that is covering the cutting board. Add the Bondo Hardener, which comes in a tube with Bondo. You need to apply a straight line across the blob. Mix the two items together very quickly. Once done, take one of the Bondo Spreaders and fill in the hole about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full.
Wait about 45 minutes and remove the duct tape from the back of the door. The Bondo should be hard.
Now fill the hole the rest of the way, and the product should be just slightly thicker than the rest of the hole. Try to feather the Bondo on the door, just as you would with wall putty. You will also need to do the same on the side of the door that originally had the duct tape.
Remove duct tape from the key hole.
I let the door hole cure overnight to be safe; however, it probably cured quicker.
Cut A New Door Hole
Read the instructions in the Door Cutting Kit. I recommend that you ensure the latch hole is perfectly aligned with the existing key hole.
Sand Door
Now that everything has been cut, I recommend sanding the door to a flat surface.
Final Steps and Thoughts
Paint the door with two coats of paint and then install the new Handle. The results were fantastic.