When my new front door came in the wrong color, I decided to take it into my own hands to upgrade the front door I already had to the door of my dreams. I have seen so many amazing transformations using this faux wood technique, and the result is truly mind blowing! This can be used on any material, so don’t worry about what your door is made of. My door is fiberglass with a faux wood grain texture.

Materials:

Paint (choose a color that compliments the stain you are choosing
Gel Stain (I used Coffee)

Tools:

Staining Brush
Staining Pad
Painters Tape

: From this

: To this!

Step 1: Prep!

To get ready for the project I cleaned and prepped the door for paint. I used used warm water and a little bit of soap. Instead of removing the hardware, I just taped around the hardware and windows. I had a storm door also, and decided that for this revamp I wanted to completely remove the storm door so my front door would pop! It’s pretty easy to remove and made a huge difference.

Step 2: Paint

The next step is to paint the base color on the door. I’m using the color Rookwood Brown by Sherwin Williams in satin finish. Choose an undertone that is complimentary to the stain color you are using. I’ve found what works best whenever you paint a door is to paint the grooves first with a brush, then finish with a roller. Two coats was perfect for this project.

Step 3: Adding the Faux Wood Texture

I used a Minwax gel stain in the color Coffee. Brush it on with a staining brush to help get the faux wood texture look. My door has a faux wood grain texture in the door, so I brushed with the grain of the “wood”. Brush it on first with a staining brush, and then wipe with a staining cloth to blend before it dries. This helps blend it in a little bit and soften the color. Add as much or as little as you like to get the desired color. Make sure you work in small sections as the gel stain can dry pretty quickly.

: Step 1: Brush on the stain

: Step 2: Wipe with stain pad

Step 4: Repeat Paint/Stain on the Door Frame

This is the most important part! Paint the entire door frame using the paint technique so that the door looks more substantial and like the entire thing is made of solid wood. I didn’t add a top coat because our porch is covered but you could add a polyurethane clear coat for extra protection if you’d like!