staining a fiberglass door?
well i stepped off and bought a fiberglass entry door and don’t have much faith in the info i got from salesman so here i am. i have been staining wood with a oil base stain but was told to use a gel stain. any suggestions on staining and getting the grain to look real? thanks larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Replies
You have to use the gel stain. Do the staining before you hang the door. Be careful not to overlap the stain. Do the panels first, then the rails. Use masking tape on all cross intersecting pieces. It will take a while to do this but the result will be worth it. Figure it this way, do all six panels. Do all horizontal rails. then the vertical rails. It should not take long at all. Then use the water base poly to seal the stain, this is real important. The more coats the better.
Good Luck, Jim Z
did it the way you describe this eve. looks pretty good,do you use the water base to keep from disturbing the stain with oil base?looks like it could take a few days for the stain to get real dry. thanks larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Hope you post a pic and a fully detailed write up of the process when you are thru.
I've got one to do soon.
;)
gel stain was definently the way to go. takes a while for it to dry.if this an ext door you need to use the meanest marine U.V. resistant finish monet can buy. spray the first coat on. use the spar varnish poof can you can get anywhere for the first coat. that will get things sealed so you can go to putting on a finish that will last in ext. environment. darker the door, the harder the finish has to work[[absorbs more heat].get it sealed with spray finish so you don't smear the stain around then build your finish. on boat decks we use 400$ dollar a gal epoxy for the strength, then protect it w/varnish. understand that most U.V. blockers in finishes are nothing more than micro-fine talc added to the finish to bamboozle the light rays.some finishesmostly high gloss actually have som kind of high-tech goop in them that does the same thing. post a picture! jim
The stain takes a while to dry, did you do it in a heated enviorment? The poly will protect the door from UV. I did my door and decided not to poly till latter and had to restain. The more poly the better. And, I would deffinitley spray it on. Thin coats.
Good Luck, Jim Z
I have discovered through veritable legions of frustration (staining fiberglass doors) than all gel stains are not created equal. Blessed was the day my Sherwin rep slapped me upside the head and told me to use Old Masters. And he doesn't even sell it. That and a nice black china bristle made all the evils of the finishing world dissipate greatly. And I would not put a waterborne poly on top of an oil based gel stain. You're asking for problems. Spray it with a spar varnish. Since you only have one door, go buy a couple of aerosol cans of it and be done.
"A bore is a man who, when you ask him how he is, tells you." -Bert Taylor