need advice refinishing interior door

[ed kerns]

Long story short- I have this friend who's German Sheperd scratched the living hell out of the inside of a bathroom door. The door is an old, solid four panel, built of pine or fir. The scratches are deep and many. I have sanded the finish and most scratches off the offending side of the door and done my best to blend in the areas that were scratched. My question is how to best match the inside with the outside. I don't think the original finish was stained, but rather clear coated with something that has likely darkened considerably with age. I assume it was either varnish or shellac. I tried a bit of Zinnser amber shellac as a test and it looks very orange compared to the original finish. I had the shellac on hand. Before I go buy a can of spar varnish, can anyone offer a better guess? The good news is an exact match isn't necessary as they are on opposite sides. I don't really want to fool around with dies or anything elaborate. It's just not worth it, and personally, I think paint would look really good on this door.
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[giradman]

Long story short- I have this friend who's German Sheperd scratched the living hell out of the inside of a bathroom door. The door is an old, solid four panel, built of pine or fir. The scratches are deep and many. I have sanded the finish and most scratches off the offending side of the door and done my best to blend in the areas that were scratched. My question is how to best match the inside with the outside. I don't think the original finish was stained, but rather clear coated with something that has likely darkened considerably with age. I assume it was either varnish or shellac. I tried a bit of Zinnser amber shellac as a test and it looks very orange compared to the original finish. I had the shellac on hand. Before I go buy a can of spar varnish, can anyone offer a better guess? The good news is an exact match isn't necessary as they are on opposite sides. I don't really want to fool around with dies or anything elaborate. It's just not worth it, and personally, I think paint would look really good on this door.
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Hi Ed - maybe time to get rid of the dog? 
    Some pics might be quite helpful to see the depth of these scratches and also the colors to be matched - or easier if the budget is there, a new door (plus a way to control the dog - don't understand why the animal needs to break into the bathroom unless he or she is 'potty trained - 
)   Dave

[ed kerns]

Hi Ed - maybe time to get rid of the dog? 
    Some pics might be quite helpful to see the depth of these scratches and also the colors to be matched - or easier if the budget is there, a new door (plus a way to control the dog - don't understand why the animal needs to break into the bathroom unless he or she is 'potty trained - 
)   Dave

Thanks Dave. In this case the dog actually belongs to the girl friend of a friend of mine. Apparently the dog was home alone when it wondered into the bathroom and somehow the door closed and latched. Crazy, I know, but that is how it was explained to me. The scratches have been basically sanded out now so I'm left with fresh wood to work with, just a matter of trying to recreate or at least simulate what is probably a 50 year old finish.

[Gibbcutter]

How about sanding the other side down to bare wood? You can also try garnet shellac that has a brownish tint. Also, dyes might help.

[Cooler]

The easiest way to match is to paint both sides.  

Bring a chip along to the Sherwin-Williams store.  They have a computer that will match the color.  You will have to specify the sheen.  The one time I used this process it was dead on.

[Cooler]

The easiest way to match is to paint both sides.  

Bring a chip along to the Sherwin-Williams store.  They have a computer that will match the color.  You will have to specify the sheen.  The one time I used this process it was dead on.

Oops.  Shellac finish.  Forget everything I wrote.