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Anybody out there have advice on finishing fibreglass exterior doors, other than the factory recommended two coats of gel-stain? Seem to recall hearing somewhere that a coat of colored paste wax over the dried stain enhances the illusion. Of course I know that nothing will fool the trained eye of an experienced craftsman, I’m just looking for the best we can do with what we have to work with. Already been through the wood vs synthetic options with the home owner in agonizing detail, their minds are made up and the customer is often right… Any advice or experience in this area will be appreciated and considered.
Freehand
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Freehand, My experience with the fibreglass exterior doors is limited to the stains which I covered with a couple of coats of exterior polyurethane. I have only used the Fibreclassic doors made by I think Thermatrue Doors. Not a bad product, but I wonder if the rally hold up as well as wood over time. I just refinished one on our house that got pretty beat up. This time I used a water-based urethane supplyed by the company. I like the old oil-based better. The critical factor in the top coat is UV protection. When we finished the door the first time around, I was amazed at the number of people who commented on the beautiful door. Like you say it is not wood, but the majority of people who stopped by thought it was.
A few considerations; our door came with primed jambs which presented problems with the clear finish we used on the inside of the house. I ended up painting the exposed jamb area white, but it would have matched better natural. If you are painting it is better to have it factory-primed. You might try a finishing wax to the door after the clear-coat. It would add added protection and deepen the visual effect of the faux graining. walk good david
*Freehand,I haven't done any exterior fg doors, but on my interior "6 panels" I mixed varying colors of stain and applied slightly differing colors to the "rails", "stiles" and "panels" (Not a different color for each, but the color difference between "pieces" adds to the illusion, IMHO.)Bob
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Anybody out there have advice on finishing fibreglass exterior doors, other than the factory recommended two coats of gel-stain? Seem to recall hearing somewhere that a coat of colored paste wax over the dried stain enhances the illusion. Of course I know that nothing will fool the trained eye of an experienced craftsman, I'm just looking for the best we can do with what we have to work with. Already been through the wood vs synthetic options with the home owner in agonizing detail, their minds are made up and the customer is often right... Any advice or experience in this area will be appreciated and considered.
Freehand