Staining a Douglas Fir Entry Door

10 years ago

I just purchased a douglas fir entry door. I want to stain the door mainly for UV protection. The door faces mostly north and will have a storm door in front of it. I want to stain it a light color, just enough for UV protection.

Here's what the manufacturer states:
The first coat should be a stain-and-sealer, a combination of stain-and-sealer, which colors the door and seals the surface. It is available in a wide range of colors. The stain-and-sealer should have an alkyd-resin base. Under no circumstances should a lacquer-based toner or any other lacquer-based finish be used on exterior doors.
The second and third coats (two top coats minimum) may be a solvent-borne (oil-base, alkyd resin-base, polyurethane resin-base) or a water-borne (latex resin-base) clear finish.

1 What type of stain should I use? Can the same stain be used inside and out?

2. What kind of pre-stain product should I use?

3. What kind of protectant coating should I use? Can the same protectant coating be used inside and the outside?

4. What is a stain and sealer?

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Comments (8)

User
10 years ago
I want to stain the door mainly for UV protection.

Stain will not provide UV protection. What you need is UV-resistant topcoat.,

Can you link to the manufacturerÃ¢ÂÂs web page for that product? Is that the door manufacturerÃ¢ÂÂs requirements?
theresa2
Original Author
10 years ago
Oh, I thought, just like with deck stain, that color itself acts as a layer of UV protection. I don't want the fir to turn a silver grey color. I do understand, as you say, that there are topcoats that provide UV protection.

Here is a link that might be useful: Simpson Doors
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It will be worth your time to do some research on staining and finishing, especially fir. For instance, an oil based finish---like varnish will create an amber tint---very often just what people want. Woods like fir and pine often need a preconditioner to even out stain color. Stains or dyes can be thinned to change the deepness of the color. Often testing is the only way to find the right stain/dye/finish combination. Buying some similar lumber and doing the full range testing means the final process you choose will be worth looking at for years.
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I own a collection of all wood Marvins - no clad for me either due to being a historic property. Most of mine are the VG fir exterior and interior upgrade, but I do have one pine unit that was my first order (learned my lesson). I also looked at the Lowen products closely and my neighbors house is done with them. Lowen are nice, but have less options then Marvin and a very very limited dealer network. If things go south with your Lowen dealer, there is likely not another one in your state. The basic Marvin pine units are a mixture of solid pine and finger-jointed pine - if you read their architectural specs you will see this in small print, but not in the consumer catalog. In my experience the exterior trim, sill, etc were all finger jointed pine. My pine unit was primed outside and clear stain grade inside so the inside faces are solid or at least thick veneers. The jamb is also solid and cover up what lies beneath. Marvin's VG fir exterior and interior are a huge up-charge as you've seen, but the wood is solid without veneers (except if you get interior screens etc). Here in the NW a moist climate - finger jointed pine will rot for sure. From my experience, moisture kills pine and kills the glue in finger joints even worse. I had to replace some out just the other day - 12 years old - and painted/caulked every 2 years. Also, not entirely related, but since this is a historic property if you must match the existing brickmould/casing and Marvin doesn't have that profile you need without going to their Signature level, you can always get the windows without brickmould/casing (jambs only) and have your carpenters trim out the window with casing you can get reproduced locally at a nicer lumber yard. There is usually a ~$100-150 charge to replicate a knife for a trim profile, but you'll be ahead of signature costs and can have enough made to fix up any other windows with damage. Go fir here too. Finally, be careful if you are getting very large operable windows that are at or near the limits of their sizing chart - suggest mulling together two or more smaller units to create a similar total dimension.
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Thanks to everyone who replied! I really appreciate your feedback. Couple of additional questions, if you have time: 1. Do you feel it is a bad idea to paint Douglas fir, rather than stain it? My husband thinks I am crazy for wanting to paint stained doors. FYI: The 1985 house that we moved into has stained molding, doors, and trim throughout. I am updating the house with taller molding and painting the molding, doors, and trim white. I'm also purchasing Emtek Delaware levers with sideplate: https://emtek.com/sideplate-locks/delaware-9-nonkey. 2. I'd like to convert all of our bi-fold closet doors to French doors. Again, the contractor tells me that it would be cheaper to purchase a pre-hung, solid-core door made of wood veneer than to convert the old doors. However, our current doors are solid Douglas Fir, and I don't want to replace with cheap doors. I've included photos. Thoughts??
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paintguy22
10 years ago
Interesting! I don't know what the heck a stain with sealer in it is. It's true that deck stains have UV protection, but these are not meant to be topcoated. I have always just used a stain (standard interior wood stain) and then applied multiple coats of some exterior varnish. For something like this, you should look into the Sikkens Cetol Door and Window finish. It comes in 4 colors plus clear and is pretty much my go-to product for varnishing exterior doors.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sikkens Cetol
PRO
Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
10 years ago
Lots of work, but I stain and apply 4 coats of marine spare varnish

Here is a link that might be useful: varnish
theresa2
Original Author
10 years ago
paintguy, I hear what you are saying about, "what the heck is a stain with sealer." I'm thinking it may be an error in the literature?

christophern, I think I may follow your advice on finishing the door. I saw a lengthy video last night that explained the steps involved with finishing an exterior door with spar varnish. I've provided a link below.

I still have two questions:

1. Can I forgo using any stain at all, leaving it natural, and just finish the door with Spar varnish. Will I risk the door turning grey?

2. Can I use Spar varnish on the interior side of the door too?

Here is a link that might be useful: Finishing an exterior door
theresa2
Original Author
10 years ago
Another thing.

Would it make sense for me to do a spar finish on the outside and sides and a tung oil finish on the inside?
paintguy22
10 years ago
Actually, I suspect the literature that comes with doors these days is written in a way that makes it hard to comply with the instructions so that when you have a complaint, they can say hey it's your fault you didn't use a SealerStain!

You do not need a stain. You can just apply the varnish directly to the wood, but be aware that the oil varnishes have come amber color so the color of the door will change so test it at the bottom first to make sure you will like it. You can use the exterior varnish inside but this is not really necessary as the interior varnish will be durable enough. The main problem with using the exterior varnish is the smell and it also takes many hours to dry.
thetradition
9 years ago
I believe the manufacturer is calling for a product like Minwax Polyshades.

Staining a Douglas Fir Entry Door

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Staining a Douglas Fir Entry Door

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