Staining Fiberglass Door?

painttofish

wondering what the best tech is to staining a fiberglass door. I have heard dry brushing gel stain is the best way. any tips to further that idea wood be helpful!!!

johnthepainter

i dont like to use gel stains on fiberglass doors,,,,,,,and when im done with them they look outstanding,,,

if you dry brushed a fiberglass door with a gel stain, my guess is that it would look very light in color, and not very uniform

i wash the door

then mask off the glass and weatherstrip at bottom

i drive 2 lag bolts into each end of the door (be careful not to drive it thru the face,,,drive em nice and straight)

rest the lagbolts on horses

now brush on a light coat of stain from the therma tru door kit, and wipe off excess,,,,,the object is to just fill in the grain at this point,,,,,carefully flip door and repeat

let dry

next step is to shoot on a very nice neat even coat with a cup gun and turbine,,,,,,,turn your material waaaaayyyyy down,,,,,

tip it off gently with a brush,,,,,,,dress it up nicely,,,,,this is the money shot,,,dont screw this coat up,,,,,,,,,,,,flip and repeat

let dry, and shoot it with the clear provided in the therma tru door kit or stays clear from minwax minimum of 2 coats,,,,prefer 3

i prefer the stain included in the therma tru kit over ANY OTHER stain,,,,,if i could find somthing that replicates it, i would try it

you can get these kits from most lumber yards,,,

when your done, they should look identical to a wood door

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johnthepainter

ive got at least one pic on my site that shows a "horse" that the door pivots on,,,,,,one screw in each end,,,,,,one man easily flips the door,,,,,,

i use saw horses and 4 lags when im in a pinch at a customers house,,,but have a pivot- type horse at the shop,,,,easy to build, and youll have it for life

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jackrabbit5

I've never really cared for the ThermaTru kits myself. I prefer the Old Masters gel stains. I apply it sparingly by brush and then, using a dry brush start taking it off and blotting the brush on a rag to remove the stain from it. It can be tedious work, but no more so than the ThermaTru kits. And I have more color options as well. For the finish I'll use a satin polyurethane for interiors or marine spar for exteriors (I always recommend that exteriors be painted for better durability but the customer wants what the customer wants).

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PAINTWERKS

That looks great. Is that just one coat of stain.


Dan

jackrabbit5

Yes, one coat of gel stain and 2 coats polyurethane.

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S B Bolson & Sons

johnthepainter

and i wasnt kidding when i said id try somthing if it replicated the look i get from the therma tru kit,,,,,,

and that door looks great,,,,,,

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jatweedy

I agree, gel stain is the most efficient way to go and old masters has a variety of colors to mix for the right color.

4thGeneration

Door looks really good. I love Man O'War® Spar Marine Varnish.
A customer once asked of its durability. I emphasized "MARINE"

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StefanC

I use the same technique when I do them, I've had good luck with the Therma-Tru kits and the Zar stains

OraarO

Bumping an old thread here, but I have a door like this to do on my current job.

The customer is hoping to match the fiberglass door to nearby woodwork, and the door color is kind of a "taupe" color to start with. If I put on a light color gel stain, will the base color prevent it from staying "lighter" in color?

Very ambiguous without pics, sorry, but thanks.

Any pictures of lighter color fiberglass doors online you know of?

jbbach

I have used this great tool to stain and paint all kinds of doors; solid, hollow, metal, paint and stain grade. Its called a SuperStacker. It is amazing. You can finsh both sides of the door at the same time and then stack upto 10. They make the job super easy; no mess, they save space and they are so cost effective and I can use them over and over and over! I know you can get them at Sherwin Williams Paint stores and also online at superstackers.us! You will love them!

jbbach

Hey John,
I found an easy efficient way to finish doors at the same time. It is by using a tool called a super stacker. You screw a stacker into each end of the door whether it be metal, solid wood, or hollow core. Then finish both sides of the door and then set aside to dry and stack up to 10 high. Works great on multiple door projects. I found them on their website. superstackers.us. You will find a great video showing how they work.
I think you can get them at Sherwin Williams too.

ModernStyle

Thanks for the tip spam boy, I will be sure not to buy your product.

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Gough

This is way late, I realize, but maybe it will help someone out. When this comes up, we prime the door with a lighter base color, using a HVLP and thinning the primer a little more than usual. From that point, we finish the door in the usual way (Old Master's Gel and Poly).