it's not gum. looks more like a Walnut. Hard to tell with such close up pictures. Is this a veneer door or a solid ? (veneers can go over solid wood,,,solid walnut would be the entire thing is made of walnut,,,which would be very heavy. veneers are usually put over cheaper, lighter woods)

this is walnut

show me the side where you've removed all the paint. i want to see the layers if there are any. Solid Walnut is a dense wood. it has some heft to it. if this door was solid walnut, which I don't think it is, you would need someone to help you lift it or carry it. It would be heavy. can you rub some mineral spirits on the raw wood part and then take a pic?

look at the very top left corner above the hinge, is the top layer peeling? a solid door won't do this

I just climbed up and looked at the top edge of the door... it is a veneer!!

yes,,as i thought. be careful when sanding it, especially the edges. it can still be stained or oiled.

That could easily be a walnut veneer. Maybe over birch.

I know this will sound crazy, but It has taken me over three years to slowly/safely get the paint off to this point. What a project!! Thankfully the veneer is quite thick... no worries about going through it.

And the pattern is certainly what confused me.... a veneer makes so much more sense!

I tend to agree with gumwood.

The American kind popular in the 1920's, not the Australian species. :)

Casey

Your labor of love has paid off! Whatever kind of wood it is, it's beautiful.

Gumwood. http://www.architecturalartisans.ca/gallery/custom-doors/ flip through this gallery to see a photo of a sliding wood wall with similar graining.

Doesn't look like walnut but you have to remember for every wood species there is a sub species such as English walnut or whatever. It is a nice looking door shame it was covered with paint.

I would like to see a pic from the top as maybe its my eyes but I don't see the bookmarking. I also couldn't see someone using a veneer that wasn't a better quality wood?

Get yourself some stripper and some scuff pads or steel wool. You can use a brass brush to get the corners. Three years? you are persistent.

Try Waterlox as a finish. Start with gloss and then choose your final sheen for the last coat. Don't forget to neutralize any stripper that was used.

If some strange reason it is walnut it will lighten considerably when it reacts to light. You can use a UV dye to prevent or match sap wood to rest. It evens out the coloring of the wood.

<Why would anybody paint such a fine looking door?>

Some people, like my MIL for example, will paint anything. She thinks she is making it look better. Her favorite color to paint everything is white. Oak, cherry, any sort of wood...slap some white paint on it.

Very pretty! Now you have to do all the trim and doors in the rest of the house. :)

492 years from now, I’ll post pics when I finish! Haha :) ... but actually, it is tempting.