Need advise on Wood/Composite Stained Garage Door

[peterp]

We want to replace our 2 car garage door with a new one that is stained wood (cherry or some other natural looking color). We had an Amarr rep come out and the pure wood doors were very expensive and the installer indicated that they don't weather very well over time. He recommended their "Composite" model that has a blend of wood fibers because the composite wood is much more trouble free than wood over the long haul. Also, the composite are less than half the price of full wood. He cautioned, however, that the composite wood does not absorb stain quite as well as real wood.

My questions are:
1. Has anybody tried staining a composite wood door and does stained composite wood look like real wood?
2. How durable was the finish over time?
3. Is there another wood door we should be considering instead of the Amarr composite wood?

Thanks for your help,
Peter

 

[nova65ss]

We have installed several of the Amarr wood composite doors. They suggest a stain made by a company called ZAR and it turned out really well. It will need to be done before they are hung so you get all 6 sides. He actually did not like the first color of the stain and had them repaint with another color.

 

[hguerrero]

any pics???

 

[peterp]

We have installed several of the Amarr wood composite doors. They suggest a stain made by a company called ZAR and it turned out really well. It will need to be done before they are hung so you get all 6 sides. He actually did not like the first color of the stain and had them repaint with another color.

Thanks for the feedback, sounds like the Amarr is a good choice. I spoke to the installer today and he is going to drop off a 3' x 3' sample of the material so I can test stain it to see what it looks like. I looked at the dealer locator for ZAR and it looks like it's carried only by paint stores (not Home Depot or Lowes), but there are plenty of stores listed.

If that looks good, then I'll go with the Amarr door.

Thanks,
Peter

 

[peterp]

Our installer provided a 3x3 panel to test stains and a local ZAR dealer was kind enough to try out several stains in the store. I'm a bit mixed on the results. The composite door is made of wood combined with some kind of resin for durability an it's definitely more wood-like than fiberglass, but it doesn't absorb stain to the same degree that full wood does and you need to apply it thicker than typical stain and can't really wipe it off as you would a normal stain. So my concerns are:

1. It doesn't cover completely, at least in lighter stains (it doesn't help that the composite door color is white, would be better if they manufactured it with more of a wood color to start with)
2. How durable the finish will be given that it needs to be applied much thicker than typical (it was still tacky many hours later, but seems to be getting closer to being fully cured after leaving overnight).

The photos below are:

1. Close up of surface (shows grain of composite material)
2. View of all stain colors applied (all ZAR, except one MinWax gel that did not work very well on this surface)
3. "Cherry" ZAR stain (shows how light colors don't fully cover white composite color)
4. "Early American" ZAR - better coverage with darker color, still not perfect
5. "Rosewood" ZAR - darkest of all, coverage is pretty good with thick application
6. "Dark Mahogany" ZAR - second darkest, also covers pretty well with thick application

Hoping these help anyone else considering a wood stained door.

 

[peterp]

A quick update:

1. We ordered this door in April through Costco via their installer for NJ area. It still has not arrived and we have received very little info on expected arrival date. I don't know if this is typical, but if you are considering ordering this door, ask very specific questions on delivery dates up-front.

2. Since staining the test panel, we received exact instruction from the vendor and it suggests that the composite panels be lightly sanded with 220 before staining. We did not do this on the test panel above -- it may absorb better with sanding but we have not tried that yet. I will update this thread when we have the door and staining is done.

 

[tcianci]

Thanks for all the info! I am considering replacing my garage door, Although I will probably end up building my own because I want sliders, I would love a link to the Amarr site so I could learn more about the materials they use.

 

[peterp]

Thanks for all the info! I am considering replacing my garage door, Although I will probably end up building my own because I want sliders, I would love a link to the Amarr site so I could learn more about the materials they use.

http://www.amarr.com/residential/browse_material/composite.html

 

[cj7chris]

My Brother in law used gelstain to stain his metal door. looks just like wood. cost $40.

 

[tcianci]

Thank you!

 

[peterp]

It took a long time, but the door is here and being stained. Below is after stain applied and the first of 3 polyurethane coats. I'm pretty happy with the results - definitely better than the test panel. The door came in a tan color versus white, so that probably helps with staining. I'm not doing the work, but am watching the process pretty closely.

The stain used was mixed 4 parts Zar "Cherry" with 1 part Zar "Dark Mahogany" -- Zar was recommended by the manufacturer and MinWax Gel Stain did not work as well on the test panel. Surface prep was light sanding/scuffing with 220 sponge, wipe-down with denatured alcohol, then apply the stain with china bristle brush. It takes a while for the Zar oil-based stain to dry, so leave overnight. We are using Zar water-based polyurethane based on comments from paint store that it has better UV protection than Zar's oil-based (also water-based dries faster). Here are two photos, with and without flash:

 

[nova65ss]

Those look really good! Post some more when installed!

 

[peterp]

Those look really good! Post some more when installed!

Thanks for your original post pointing me to the Zar stain -- that helped immensely because I hadn't been thinking about any kind of special stain up to that point and certainly had never heard of Zar.

 

[cobrar97]

Also check out CHI Overhead door. They have a brand new fiberglass do available that comes pre-stained in a choice of a few colors.
Another option is Raynor that has door called the Showcase that's available in 4 stained colors...But this door is steel. Looks just like real wood, but is maintenace free and requires of re-finishing in the future. The colors look awsome too. It's called AccuFinish
http://raynor.com/homeowners/showcase_accufinish.cfm

 

[peterp]

Also check out CHI Overhead door. They have a brand new fiberglass do available that comes pre-stained in a choice of a few colors.
Another option is Raynor that has door called the Showcase that's available in 4 stained colors...But this door is steel. Looks just like real wood, but is maintenace free and requires of re-finishing in the future. The colors look awsome too. It's called AccuFinish
http://raynor.com/homeowners/showcase_accufinish.cfm

Thanks for info. I definitely would have considered the Raynor showcase if I had known about -- those look great. Have to see in person to really judge, but definitely looks great in the photos. I haven't seen prefinished fiberglass look like real wood, and the CHI doesn't as good to my eye.

 

[peterp]

Well, it took a long time and there were errors in the install process, but we're happy with the result:

 

[sharas]

The end result looks beautiful! Just a note that the sample you were test staining appears to be the prefinish white acrylic paint option that is offered from the vendor JELD-WEN. The standard factory finish is a water-based primer in a taupe color that is compatible with the heavy body stain that is required for composite wood surfaces.

 

[darkk]

Looks really nice inside and outside. I'm not usually aa fan of composite doors, but this one really does change my mind. Good Luck...

 

[5lima30]

That looks great! I just had my white metal garage door installed today and am debating whether or not to paint or stain (Zar). It actually looks decent white against the gray roughsawn siding.

 

[peterp]

Thanks very much for the compliments. We are very happy with this door. It's been installed for more than a year and looks every bit as good now as it did when it was first completed. The Zar clear coat really works well -- looks like it will last a very long time and completely seals the composite, so the one time I cleaned the door I just washed it with a mitt while washing the car and it worked great.

The end result looks beautiful! Just a note that the sample you were test staining appears to be the prefinish white acrylic paint option that is offered from the vendor JELD-WEN. The standard factory finish is a water-based primer in a taupe color that is compatible with the heavy body stain that is required for composite wood surfaces.

You are correct Sharas, the first sample that we used for stain testing was white -- we didn't know until we received the actual door that it was a taupe color (which is actually much better for staining because there is less bleed-through of color from the door panel).

I recommend this door, but be sure to get clear delivery dates before you order because we did have more delays than expected in the door being ready.

 

[peterp]

That looks great! I just had my white metal garage door installed today and am debating whether or not to paint or stain (Zar). It actually looks decent white against the gray roughsawn siding.

I don't have any experience with staining a metal door to comment on how it would come out (though an earlier post indicates it can be done). I would definitely recommend getting a sample panel of your door to try it on first. The composite door has some advantages for staining -- it is taupe rather than white and it is somewhat absorbent for the stain. I say it is only "somewhat absorbent" because it's nowhere near as absorbent as real wood -- so it just may well be that a metal door would come out very nice.

 

[KWolfe81]

The doors look amazing. Im glad they have held up. Im looking to do the same thing. How did you find someone to stain the doors? Since you bought them through costco - did they delay the install until they were fully prepped? Thanks for any info!

 

[peterp]

The doors look amazing. Im glad they have held up. Im looking to do the same thing. How did you find someone to stain the doors?

We just found a good painter. He had no previous experience with composite doors, but I'd seen his painting work and was impressed with his attention to detail. I also printed the PDF that the door manufacturer had on their website and gave him a copy, I don't think he followed it to the letter, but they ended up doing a very good job. We also used the Zar stain and urethane recommended by the door manufacturer, it seems to be pretty good stuff.

Since you bought them through costco - did they delay the install until they were fully prepped? Thanks for any info!

The installers are independent of Costco, you buy it through Costco and they recommend an installer that has a relationship with Costco. The installer dropped off the doors first, we had them stained and poly'ed in advance, and then the installers came back and installed them. Make sure to get a clear delivery timeframe for the door when you order it and ask them about it every couple weeks. Our door was delayed a long time -- it might have been faster if I had hounded them a bit. It was worth the wait in the end though. Good luck with it!

 

[Irvin01]

A garage door is a major investment that has significant impact on a home’s appearance. There are different types of doors available to suit your home or office environment. If you are thinking of changing your door style then you can search for different styles of doors online.

 

[gabedad]

I opted for amarr (or actually reliabuilt - same thing) and their wood grained metal door. Looks really good and no maintenance.