lkremodel, which style and finish did you mean? I went to Lockhouse but didn't see anything different. I went to 3 Emtek dealers today. I saw your Rectangular Full Length one. Did you know how massive that thing is? It's really big and heavy. Make sure you see one in person first. I'm considering the smaller rectangular one, the rectangular monolithic. But it's so plain! Plus it has a curvy handle, and my door is all straight lines. I saw the Arts & Crafts one, the one I wanted, but the ORB finish is just not going to go with my black-leaded glass. It's way too reddish, and the hammered texture in the middle really shows the brassy color. About the texture: depending on the method of casting, some have more texture than others. So, the sandcast bronze ones have kind of a rustic look, not totally smooth. The Wrought steel have the roughest finish, like pebbly, but on a small scale. Those are the ones that come only in black, rust and satin steel. The cast brass ones are all smooth. I'm really striking out here on Emtek. I will have to look further to find an Arts & Crafts one in black, or get the Wilshire in Pewter. It's not black, but it's at least a little darker. Sigh.

Sand the outside of the door until the color is even and all the finish is gone. Sanding will take a long time and a lot of sandpaper---use a random orbit sander---NOT a belt sander!!!!!---but will not hurt the surface of the wood. Start with 100 grit and finish with 150 grit. Apply an outdoor deck type stain if desired. Now, use 200 grit sandpaper on a hand sanding block---buy one or simply use a flat piece of wood/plastic---and knock down the fuzzies left by the stain. Using a really good brush---I prefer brushes made by Purdy and use a manmade bristle variety---apply the first of three coats of marine spar varnish with UV protection included or added. I prefer spar varnish from Sherwin Williams paint stores, but any name brand spar will work. Let dry 24 hours. Lishtly hand sand , wipe with a rag dampened with thinner to remove all the sanding dust/grit, and apply the second coat. Let dry 24 hours and repeat sanding and the third coat. Now, from this point, all you need to do is inspect the finish monthly. Once you see checking/crazing----that is when tiny cracks start to appear-----simply sand with 150 paper on the ROS(random orbital sander) and apply one coat of spar varnish. The first job should last a year or more. The only caveat is that the spar varnish will add an amber tint to the door color----most folks call that tint a warm amber glow and prize it for interior finishes.

I have a south faced fiberglass faux wood door in my Connecticut house where typical July days can be weeks of 90 s. It is ten years old. I re gel stained, no sanding just cleaned with tsp first once for it turned redder about five years after install with no prior maintenance. I now spend about ten minutes once per year cleaning with tsp and apply poly sealer.. It is very easy to DIY . Much better maintance than my real wood side door and so much prettier than my painted steal back door. People ask me how I have keep my 90 year old door looking so good. Everyone thinks it is the orginal wood door to the house until I tell them.

Ideally (with staining wood) it would be the same as floors to millwork - you want them about 2 shades apart on the same palette, so they compliment eachother but aren't identical. Too close (1 shade apart) and there's a good chance it'll look like you tried to match but failed, and too many shades apart it's just harder to get it to work. Loophole is to jump to a color on the front door. White is easy/foolproof, many people go red, I'm seeing a lot of teal/aqua recently too for an accent color It'll probably help to lay out all your current colors on a table: shingles, siding, siding trim, masonry, window casings, then pick front door and decking if you have it, then landscaping stone/etc