How to Restore Sliding Parlor Doors

Remove the door frame on one side of the door and release the door from the pocket. Top-mounted doors have screws that attach up to a plate or a device called an interference fitting below the wheels. Once the screw is removed, the door can taken out the center of the doorway. Lift bottom track doors up into the header cavity in the soffit above the door and pull the bottom out at a slight angle to remove the door.

Clean the door. Strip or re-paint painted doors, depending on the original finish. Clean varnished doors with turpentine or mineral spirits to remove the dirt and wax. Refinish, using a lintless rag to apply several thin layers of varnish to preserve the original finish.

Check the slide guide at the base of the pocket side of the doorway -- there will be two guides for converging door pairs -- for wear and replace it if needed. Slide guides keep the door from wobbling as it opens and closes.

Check the upper track for missing pieces. Upper track sets should have stops at one side for a single -- in the center for a converging pocket door -- as well as at the end of the rail inside the pocket. Check carriages and wheels for rust and wear. Clean and lubricate the moving parts.

Replace rubber “tires” that have broken down. Rubber and early synthetics called hard fibers replaced iron wheels to reduce the noise created by moving doors.

Clean and wax the bottom track and check the wheels in the door for wear. Early doors ran on channels rather than header tracks. Replace worn wheels and seized-up carriages that cannot be freed. Oil the works to remove rust -- sand lightly if necessary -- to ease movement.

Replace any missing parts, such as door stops, hangers, or wheels with parts from an architectural salvage service. Replace door hardware from salvage or from a preservation hardware source.

Tip the door back into the center of the pocket. Reattach the set screws in header track models and screw them in until the door sits about 1/2 inch off of the floor and is level.