How to Stain a Door

In this video, we are going to learn how to stain a new interior door.

Staining a wooden door protects the wood without changing its natural appearance. The wood can breathe and the stain prevents chipping.

Please note: this is a relatively long process due to the drying time required for two coats. You should allow two days if using a water-based stain and four days for a white-spirit-based stain.

For this job, you will need: one round paintbrush, one flat paintbrush, one paint roller tray, fine sandpaper (120-150 grit), and a tin of stain to cover 6m (19.685 feet) ² for a whole door.

There are two steps involved in staining a door which we will now look at in more detail.

STEP 1: Preparing the door

Begin by taking the door off its hinges. Next, use the sandpaper to sand the door. Clear away the dust and then cover up the metal parts of the door.

The important parts of the door to cover are: the exposed part of the lock, called the strike plate, and the hinges. Use masking tape to cover and protect these areas.

STEP 2: Staining the door

Begin by pouring some of the wood stain into the paint roller tray. If the door has spaces for glass panels, start by painting the edges of these openings using the round paintbrush. If you would like to learn how to install panels in this type of door, please refer to the video "How to install glass panels in a door".

Always apply the stain in the direction of the wood grain. In order to reduce brush marks, apply the stain firstly to the horizontal panes and then to the vertical panes.

Use the round paintbrush for corners and the flat paintbrush for larger areas. It is very important that the wood stain coverage is equal. Should you need to touch up a small section you should go over the entire length of the panel.

Apply the stain to the whole door and then let the first side dry for the recommended amount of time (see manufacturer's instructions). Once one side of the door is dry, apply the first coat of stain to the other side.

Repeat this process for the second coat.

You now know how to stain a wooden door.