staining front door

[spederman]

Our front door looks like shit after 3 years of sun beating down on it. Its a fiberglass door that has the front stained. I sanded off all the old stain and tried to stain it today. It looked like shit when i got done. It was very splotchy and had visible brush strokes, no matter how hard i tried to keep it an even coat. I had to wipe off all the stain with some mineral spirits before it dried. Is there a proper technique to staining? I've painted all of the inside of our house, and staining obviously is no where near as easy.

[8mpg]

staining fiberglass? Call me crazy...I didnt know you could.

With stain, try using a foam brush and wipe it on, then use a cloth to follow it up and wipe off the excess.

http://www.house-painting-info.com/staining-a-fiberglass-door.html

[Chili]

Staining wood properly is a multiple step process. Apply stain, wipe off, sand or steel wool, reapply, etc. You will also need to have periods of letting it dry before reapplying. Look at the do-it-yourself sites and you should be able to get some good info.

[Fox466]

It's not wood sucka!


Try spraying it with light coats, if you have an old cup paint gun. Otherwise Harbor Freight will have a cheap one that will work...

[shaft]

Use a gel stain made for fiberglass doors and apply it with the fake woodgrain. Just take your time and it will turn out good.

[Yellowstang]

Just buy a new one with a warranty.

[CJ-95GT]

Helped a friend do his door with red engine paint. It supprisingly looks badass.

[spederman]

painting it would be so much easier. I'm going to try to re stain it with the directions from the link above. At first we were looking at buying a new door since we dont really like this one anymore anyways, But damn, doors are expensive. We have an 8 ft door and looked at home depot and all the decent looking one's are between $1000-1500.

[Sgt Beavis]

We have an 8 ft door and looked at home depot and all the decent looking one's are between $1000-1500.

You're looking in the wrong place. Try 2nds and surplus. Craigslist is another good place to check. Just look under "materials"

[Chili]

It's not wood sucka!


Try spraying it with light coats, if you have an old cup paint gun. Otherwise Harbor Freight will have a cheap one that will work...

Just saw this.. I guess I didn't read the post. :p

[Vertnut]

Chili, from my experiences (several), it is VERY difficult to get stain to look right and adhere to a fiberglass door. I've tried many times, with my painter using several products, and overall, they look shitty in no time. Pick a contrasting color, and paint the damn thing. It will weather well, and won't peel off.

[Chili]

Chili, from my experiences (several), it is VERY difficult to get stain to look right and adhere to a fiberglass door. I've tried many times, with my painter using several products, and overall, they look shitty in no time. Pick a contrasting color, and paint the damn thing. It will weather well, and won't peel off.

Yeah, I thought it was wood, I didn't pay attention to what I read. That was what I was saying to Mike. :o

[Special K]

Seconds and Surplus rocks. They usually have a nice variety of doors that are reasonable. I bought ours there for under $200 bucks and Wade painted it.

[BOOSTED32V]

Sounds like you have a mess on your hands. Most fiberglass ANYTHING comes with a factor applied gel-coat, it's pretty durable, I would reccomend using mineral spirts to remove the stain you have applied and then sanding the gel-coat with dry sandpaper (P320 grit)* You can then apply a Krylon color and clearcoat and have a pretty decent finish for a home door.

Gary Roush (LT12NV) has done some magnificent work with rattlecans on underhood parts and interior pieces and fiberglass as well...'Henry

*apply a decent Wax & Grease Remover before sanding to remove ANY and all stain left over from the mineral spirits.