# Restaining Previously stained Fiberglass doors



## Dlberryman

Have a customer who tried to stain his fiberglass door with Minwax Gel stain. Came out very splottchy and uneven. I tried to touch it up but that makes it worse looking. 

Anyone have any experience with redoing a fiber door? Does it need to be stripped and started over?

Thanks for any tips or suggestions. 

Dlberryman


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## ewingpainting.net

Strip and re-stain.


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## ewingpainting.net

To avoid stripping you can also apply (spray) a thin coat of primer (tinted) and re-restain


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## summertime14

Avoid minwax


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## Paint Works

We do many fiberglass doors and both of the above ideas will work, but for priming it, like wing said I would spray. I think if you can get the right money for the project, stripping and starting over is the best. The primer will build a thicker film and will be a big nightmare if the door ever has to be done again. do NOT sand the door. Use a stripper to remove the varnish and small scrub brushes to get in grain and corners. After the varnish is removed, laquer thinner will do a good job of removing the stain off of the fiber door. Clean door very well with water and little tsp after you strip. These are not that big of a deal to strip. Be carefull with the plastic around the windows, they are not as strong as the fiberglass door and the stripper will mess them up if left on too long, strip them and wash right away, As far as the miniwax, We have used it a few times and havent had any problems.

Good Luck, These are good money makers if you can get a good system down, Many builders in our area tell people they will last forever. so people dont maintain them. You can also get maintance agreement s with people to come back every couple years to varnish.


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## ewingpainting.net

Thanks I didn't want to explain all that. and you nailed it.


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## MNpainter

summertime14 said:


> Avoid minwax


:yes::yes:


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## Connecticut Painters

I agree with "paint works" 
Exterior Painters


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## Dlberryman

*Thanks*

Thank you guys...
Appreciate Paint Works detailed process. I kind of thought that would be the way to go but appreciate the special techniques noted.

Dave


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## slickshift

ewingpainting.net said:


> To avoid stripping you can also apply (spray) a thin coat of primer (tinted) and re-restain


As with all faux, as this seems to be, your "base coat" is your eraser
Yes, you can prime (tinted) over the "mistake" and try again with the gel stain


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## jack pauhl

Yeah been there done that. All you need to do is repaint the door with Old Masters Graining Base and start over.

Find a fiberglass door and match the original color again. Will look similar to this photo or the 2nd or 3rd photo. (most likely the 3rd)



















To save you the run around, I shot this photo below for you showing Old Masters Graining Base in Maple which is a great color to match many stock fiberglass doors but will note MAPLE color is also limited to a range of stain colors. For example you dont want to use maple for red mahogany stain colors, use Walnut Base instead. Also Maple isnt good for natural or super light stains, use a different lighter pale graining base color. Regardless, this graining base will give you a sheen and finish very similar to original non-finished fiberglass.










If you want to get technical, use a base color for the stain color you need and use ZAR brand Solid Stain rather than Gel. This way you can apply the stain as you would apply any solid stain and do it as if you were painting a door rather than ****in around like you are painting a mona lisa.

Below is a metal overhead garage door I stained using ZAR to match a fiberglass door. Can shown is stain used. I stained that overhead door in under 20 mins to give you and idea how easy ZAR Solid Stain is to use.


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