Fiberglass Door Finishing

[Ray Thompson]

Before I run off and do something (else) stupid what do the sages have to say about staining and finishing new fiberglass doors. The sales folks suggested gel stain but some painter friends wrinkled their noses, without suggestion. So I thought I would throw it out for discussion.

Ray

[Jason Roehl]

Ray,

Personally, I hate gel stain. But not for fiberglass doors--I've heard that's why it was originally developed--for that application it works like it is supposed to. I do have a preference that you may have to special order. I like the kits that Therma-Tru puts together for their doors. Comes with the stain and a Int/Ext WB poly that doesn't yellow and lasts quite a while. Ignore the instructions on technique that come with the kit--I just brush it on, and then brush it out to the color and evenness desired. If you goof it up too much, mineral spirits and a rag will take it right off. You will not get a perfectly even color if you look close, but it will still look excellent (trust me--all my stained fiberglass door customers are quite happy).

Feel free to shoot more questions my way if you have them.

[Ken Garlock]

Ray, we installed Stanley fiberglass doors in our new home. We just had them painted the same as the trim color with highlites on and around the 6 panels. They look great from the road -- 400 ft away and up close. ;) Our doors have a wood grain texture embossed in the fiber glass and had a primer coat applied at the factory.

Actually, I never considered staining since it was not real wood.

[Ray Thompson]

Originally posted by Jason Roehl
Ray,

Personally, I hate gel stain. But not for fiberglass doors--I've heard that's why it was originally developed--for that application it works like it is supposed to. I do have a preference that you may have to special order. I like the kits that Therma-Tru puts together for their doors. Comes with the stain and a Int/Ext WB poly that doesn't yellow and lasts quite a while. Ignore the instructions on technique that come with the kit--I just brush it on, and then brush it out to the color and evenness desired. If you goof it up too much, mineral spirits and a rag will take it right off. You will not get a perfectly even color if you look close, but it will still look excellent (trust me--all my stained fiberglass door customers are quite happy).

Feel free to shoot more questions my way if you have them.

Thanks Jason, my experience with gel stain is something south of satisfactory so I was reluctant to use it again without someone validating it. It is a Thermatru door and I knew about the kit but wanted to check before ruining the silly thing. Ray

[Ray Thompson]

Originally posted by Ken Garlock
Ray, we installed Stanley fiberglass doors in our new home. We just had them painted the same as the trim color with highlites on and around the 6 panels. They look great from the road -- 400 ft away and up close. ;) Our doors have a wood grain texture embossed in the fiber glass and had a primer coat applied at the factory.

Actually, I never considered staining since it was not real wood.

Hi Ken, after what I paid for this thing it had better look like wood or someone's head is going to roll. Probably mine, usually is.
This is SWMBO's statement door so we want it to be just that. Ray

[Dan Bussiere]

Ray,
I just did mine this weekend. It's a Therma Tru door and like Jason said, it came out beautiful. Almost looks like real wood even up close. .
Dan

[Jason Roehl]

Ray, here's the $3000 Therma-Tru that I finished in February or March. Total finish time was around 6-7 hours for stain and two coats of the int/ext WB poly (on the inside and outside of the door), and some misc. sanding up front on the real oak areas. But most of the door and sidelights are fiberglass.

<img src="http://www.mintel.net/~roehl95/fiberdoor.jpg">

The finish is satin and the pic is dead-on, so there's no apparent sheen in the photo, but it's there.

[Ray Thompson]

Originally posted by Jason Roehl
Ray, here's the $3000 Therma-Tru that I finished in February or March. Total finish time was around 6-7 hours for stain and two coats of the int/ext WB poly (on the inside and outside of the door), and some misc. sanding up front on the real oak areas. But most of the door and sidelights are fiberglass.

The finish is satin and the pic is dead-on, so there's no apparent sheen in the photo, but it's there.

Is that the factory kit or some other stain, and, does the factory kit come with W/B finish. Looks real to me, nicely done.

[Jason Roehl]

Ray, that is the factory kit, and the W/B poly comes in the kit, though I have since found something similar for sale at a local hardware store/lumber co. I don't remember what color the stain kit was, though. Some of it is real, too. The brick mold and jambs are real red oak, but the rest is fiberglass. They've come a long way with "fake."

[Doug Olds]

Jason
The link to your picture posted on 5/2003 is too old and I have a situation with a contractor who is doing the fiber glass door staining for the first time and it dosn't even come close to the real oak frame and jambs. He says that because of the different material (real oak and fiber glass wood grain doors) it will never be close to the same. Is this true? When asked if fiber glass is used for door frame and jambs he indicated no. Now I see that the door manufacturer has fiber glass jambs and that one can order it pre-finished. Any suggestions would be helpful...