How to Refinish Your Interior Hollow Core Doors

If your hollow core interior doors need an update, consider refreshing them on your own. This project is great for veteran DIY-ers and newbies alike because it requires only the most basic tools and materials to complete, like a screwdriver and sandpaper, and just a few hours of work.

Use this guide to refinishing hollow core interior doors to make every entryway in your home shine like new with minimal effort.

Prepping to Refinish Hollow Core Interior Doors

There are a handful of important things to know before you can begin refinishing hollow core interior doors, like how they’re different from solid panel doors, why that matters, and how to distinguish the two.

Get to Know the Difference Between Hollow and Solid Panel Doors

Hollow core and solid panel are the two most common types of interior doors that appear in residential buildings. As the name indicates, solid panel doors are composed of one, solid wood panel. On the flipside, hollow core doors have a cardboard or plastic interior covered by a thin layer of wood or fiberboard.

When comparing hollow core doors vs. solid core doors it’s worth noting that hollow core interior doors are less expensive than their solid panel alternatives, and the reduced price reflects their quality. They aren’t as good at blocking out sound or providing insulation, and cracks, splinters, and fading in the finish are likely to appear more quickly, too.

Fortunately, hollow core interior doors are easy to refinish, but the process isn’t identical to refinishing solid panel doors. That thin, outer layer of wood is too delicate for the chemical strippers and finishes used on solid wood panels. But gel strippers and stains are gentle enough to change this type of door’s appearance without creating any unintentional damage.

Knowing what kind of door you’re dealing with before updating interior doors will ensure you’re using the right materials. But if you didn’t personally install every door in your home, you may not be aware of each door’s type. 

There are a couple of ways to determine which door is which. For one, hollow core interior doors are often 25 to 30 pounds lighter than their solid panel counterparts. They will swing open more easily, and feel much lighter when removed from a doorway. You can also check for cracks between layers at the base—this will not occur in solid panel doors because they don’t have layers.

DIY Refinishing Hollow Core Doors vs. Hiring a Pro

There’s not much of a difference in cost between doing it yourself and hiring a door pro, unless you already have a lot of the materials and tools that you need. On average, you’ll pay between $40 and $90 for professional hollow core door repairs and roughly the same for the materials involved in DIYing the project.