The best way to color a steel door is with a gel stain.
Gel stain for exterior door.
Apply stain with the foam brush and use the 2 bristle brush to soften and blend stain to match the door and trim.
Materials needed to refinish a wood door with gel stain.
Its thick formula allows easy application and superior color control necessary to achieve a rich and uniform color on most surfaces in a single application.
You can save a decent chunk of change by purchasing an unfinished fiberglass door as well as opening yourself up to a variety of custom stain options to.
With a damp rag clean front doors and allow to dry.
Gel stain will not require you to sand the product to a raw wood finish.
How to gel stain over a painted exterior door.
For exterior applications apply a coat of clear protective finish every 12 24 months to keep the door.
Once applied they settle into the grain of the steel door to give it a textured look.
Old masters gel stain is a highly pigmented oil based stain designed to achieve intense colors on interior and exterior wood fiberglass primed metal and composition surfaces.
Since publishing this post over three years ago i have tried other brands of gel stain.
Remove door hardware and apply painter s tape where needed optional.
We also decided to ditch the storm doors as they were in pretty poor shape.
Staining the doorjamb door frame the gel stain can also be used to stain the doorjamb door frame and mullions.
While gel stain does go on thick and sit on the surface of the wood i found that you can still see and feel the natural wood grain beneath unlike paint.
Gel stains are thick and designed to cling to and penetrate the surface.
General finishes gel stain in brown mahogany other colors are available here update.
Minwax gel stain is a non drip stain that adds natural color and accentuates the beauty of a wide range of wood and non wood surfaces.
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The gel stain is a relatively new invention in the school of exterior woof staining and is considered by some to have a better spread across wooden furniture and the coloring of a stain is also more easily controlled using a gel so you can get a more even finish.
These varieties tend to absorb thin traditional stains unevenly looking messy and unfinished no.
With the oak cabinets the grain was very evident post staining.
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Gel stain is especially recommended for woods such as pine.
Allow the finish to dry at least 6 hours before installing or closing the door to avoid sticking.
These instructions are also helpful for other simulated wood surfaces.
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Gel stain is particularly forgiving with splotch prone woods like birch cherry maple and pine.
How to gel stain fiberglass entry doors.
In fact gel stains are often applied to give steel doors the look of wood grain.