Step 1 wash the metal door.
Minwax gel stain metal garage door.
It s a pretty easy thing to do overall.
However the garage door will need to sit for up to 48 hours to allow the stain to dry completely.
These bubbles are permanent and can ruin the finished look.
A unique way to give metal doors and other metal furniture a worn out and antique like look is to stain metal.
Most garage doors are stamped to look like wood grain even though they are metal.
Gel stains are best for staining metal since they stay in place longer.
Gel stains are thick and designed to cling to and penetrate the surface.
How to stain a metal garage door to give it a faux woodgrain finish.
It s recommended that you use a gel stain rather than a conventional stain.
Gel stain is easy to apply but it sets fast.
Avoid stains with a high gloss finish.
A matte finish is preferable.
It has a thicker consistency so it won t be as likely to run or drip.
When brushing work on each section of the door at a time and try to mimic the direction of natural wood grain.
Since we moved into our home our brown painted aluminum garage door had faded more and more.
Most garage doors are stamped to look like wood grain even though they are metal.
In fact gel stains are often applied to give steel doors the look of wood grain.
Our gel stained garage door makeover happened one year ago so i m giving you guys an update.
It s a pretty easy thing to do overall.
Bruce recommends using minwax gel stain for vertical wood metal or fiberglass projects.
Wet or tacky gel stain can be removed easily with a rag moistened with mineral spirits.
The best way to color a steel door is with a gel stain.
Affiliate links included for your convenience we used a less than 20 can of gel stain to transform our paint faded aluminum garage door.
To complete the graining process wait until the first coat of minwax gel stain is completely dry 24 48 hours then apply a second coat of gel stain with a natural bristle brush in the direction of the grain pattern created.
We ve lived in our home almost 7 years now.
Or you can follow the direction of the garage door pattern.
In this edition of just ask bruce he demonstrates how to stain a vertical surface such as your front door without letting the stain drip.
Instead gently stir don t whip the gel stain with a stir stick.
Gel stain usually dries very quickly especially on a sunny day.
Do not shake the gel stain or it will bubble as you apply it.
Below are the materials that you need along with the instructions on how to stain a metal door.
So here s my tutorial on how to make your garage doors look like wood.
Once applied they settle into the grain of the steel door to give it a textured look.
I used the mahogany wood gel stain by minwax even though it s for wood it works on metal.