Finally got a stubborn, 80-year-old pocket door to slide smooth after three hours of trying every trick I knew.

3 comments

3 Comments

Oh man, I feel that. Those old pocket doors are a special kind of battle. Sometimes you gotta get creative beyond just cleaning the track. I've had luck using a bar of soap on the wooden runners for lubrication. A little candle wax works too. It's all about finding what that specific old piece of wood wants.

logansingh3mo ago

Honestly, I've found wax just gums it up worse.

rivera.jesse23d ago

Right? "What that specific old piece of wood wants" is the most true thing I've ever heard. I had this old window sash once that just refused to budge with any kind of wax or soap. Ended up dry-rubbing a plain graphite pencil lead along the edges, and it slid like it was on ice after that. Every single piece of old sticky wood has its own secret move, you just gotta find it.