If the discoloration is subtle, use a pencil and draw a circle around the area. This will help you find it when you are using the plane.
Once you have identified this area, you can look closer for additional signs of rubbing.
If the door doesn’t close all the way, close it as much as you can and then push all around the door to see which areas feel loose and could close further and which feel tight. The tight areas are where the door is catching.
Covering the entire area that you want to plane with marks will allow you to keep track of what you have and have not planed while you are doing it. Mark spots with a pencil on both the front and back of the door to help you maintain the door’s symmetry as you plane.
Whichever way you do it, get a helper to hold the door while you undo it. They can help hold the door steady to avoid binding the pin, damaging the hinges, or stripping the screw holes in the door. Tape the screws to the hinges to avoid misplacing them. Place the pins in the half of the hinge that is still on the door jamb so you don’t misplace them.
When positioning your door, take the area you are going to plane into consideration. Put the area that will be planed in a spot that will be easy for you to access.
Use painter’s tape because it comes off easily and will not remove the finish on the door the way that other types of tape can.
There are also a wide variety of specialty planes that will work for planing a door. In general, if you have a plane already, it will likely work well enough to plane small areas on a door.
To check that your plane is removing the right amount of wood, run it down a scrap piece of wood. If the plane easily removes the wood as you push, it should work well on your door. [7] X Research source
Focus on keeping the bottom surface of the plane flat on the wood as you move the plane. Rocking it or having it raised up on one side will give you uneven cuts.
On many doors the grain runs from top to bottom, instead of side to side. This means that the plane should be run in this direction as well.
In most cases, the difference between planing off enough wood and too much is small.
When sanding, try to take as little wood off the door as possible. You have made your adjustments to it with the plane and the sanding is just to make the door surface look smooth finished.
If you have the paint used for the door originally, use that for your planed area. If you don’t have it, try to match it the best you can or use a whole new color to paint the entire door. Once the stain is dry, be sure to apply wood sealer to the planed area to protect the stain and to give it a nice finish.
Make sure to tighten the hinge screws properly to prevent sagging.
