Jimmie's Guide to Staining White Doors

Here's the standard issue Builder White 4 panel composite door. It's surrounded by the stock "casing" door moulding, also in Boring Bland Builder White.

And here is one with about $5 worth of stain! Note that, although these "4-panel" doors were plastic composite, they actually had a "wood grain" effect, which the grey stain brought out nicely. The inner "panels" were manufactured with a surprisingly realistic simulation of real wood. Even with just the grey stain they would have looked pretty good. But, after a little experimentation, I found that adding some reddish colored accents provided an authentic-looking wood appearance.
 I also replaced the doorknob assembly with Kwikset Matte Black "Pismo" type passage locksets, which - along with a set of black hinges - amounted to about $35.
 Total: 40 bucks!
 I have also replaced the boring builder moulding with "Montana Ghostwood", (available at Home Depot). This is stained wood from pine trees that have been killed by the Pine Bark Beetle. The stain color is "Silver City". The side pieces are 1x4 and the top piece is a 1x6, which I also used for the floor moulding throughout the house.

In case I haven't sold you on the idea yet, here's the top part of another of these renewed doors - in this case the bathroom door.

And a zoomed in shot of yet another door. Notice that the accented pattern is different with each one of these doors. This makes each of them look unique, as if they were real wood.

To stain these plastic veneered doors, a Gel type stain is much easier to use than thin liquid type stains. I used "Old Masters" oil-based stain. It dries to a tough finish that already has some gloss, and doesn't seem to require an additional coat of any type of polyurethane or similar compound.
 The main color was "Weathered Wood", shown on the left (applied to a pine paint stick).
 The "accent color" was "Aged Oak" - the slightly reddish stain on the right paint stick. I used this to create a "real wood" look, as seen in the above picture on the right. It's the reddish areas.

To compare the results to real wood, here is one of our kitchen cabinet doors, in "Rustic Hickory". Note the prominent U-shaped irregularity - apparently a branch of the hickory tree. This is the sort of wood-look effect that I was seeking with the two stains.
 

To clean and protect your hands while doing this sort of thing, here are two items:
 The hand cleaner is available in auto stores. I used to use it when I was an auto mechanic. (Another brand is "GoJo".) When you have finished staining, wipe off the excess stain with a paper towel and a bit of charcoal lighter fluid (naptha) - or paint thinner. Then wash your hands with this cleaner without water. After you have scrubbed a bit, add some warm water, scrub some more, and then rinse.
 The hand lotion is used before you begin to stain. Applying the lotion helps keep the stain away from your skin - your hands are easier to clean.

I used Matte Black door knobs and hinges. Kwikset has recently introduced their "Pismo" line of knobs. They have a unique shape that you might consider in place of the traditional round knobs or the "handle" style of hardware. They are also available in nickel, chrome, or bronze.
 The 3 pack of hinges is "Everbuilt" brand. They are available in packs of 12 for somewhat less money, but the 12 packs aren't "Smooth Action". The Smooth Action acts like the hinge is damped a bit, with a tighter opening and closing operation.
 Both items are available at home Depot, or even Amazon.

Staining Tip 1:
 If you try dipping the stain rag into the can of stain - even if you try to dip "just the center part" of the rag - you'll get stain on the edges. This excess will smear, especially if you are near the panel borders - the part that is sunken into the door.
 So dip a spatula into the can and just put small amounts in the center of the rag each time.

 NOTE: If you use some of the stain and then store it for a few weeks or so, a thick solid film may form on the surface. Simply lift it out and discard it. The stain underneath will be fine (stir it a bit before using.)

Staining Tip 2:
 Use smooth rags! Old towels DON'T work. They leave ridges in the applied stain, and you can't smooth them out. So the light colored rag on the right is better than the blue towel on the left.

1 The Accents
 The simplest and easiest thing to do is to just use the one color of stain on the whole door. This would be the "Weathered Wood" of my two stain color choices.
 But for a really authentic effect, you can apply the "Aged Oak" - a slightly reddish color - in certain areas of the panels, following the shape of the "grain". If you decide on this, apply the accents first. Do one side of the door, then stand the door up against the wall and apply the accents on the other side.
 Try to have the outer edges of the accents line up with the grain, as shown in this picture and the next one on the right.
 Right after applying the accents, wipe the outer edges with a dry rag to help blend them into the overall appearance. You are "feathering" the edge of the stained area.
 NOTE: Allow these accents to dry overnight before applying the overall "Weathered Wood" stain. This stain is oil-based, and it's slow to dry. If you attempt to apply the second stain too soon - even after a few hours - the accents will smear when you try to apply the second stain.

2 Here's another example of applying the accents. Note that I have even applied the accent down into the sloped area of the panel, giving the appearance that the irregularity extended down into that area!
 Note again the feathered edges.

3 The Overall Stain
 Start with the panels. Wipe the outer edges of the panels. This is the stepped areas in this particular type of door. If you use a generous amount of stain here, it will fill the channels and create a darkened border.
 Wipe stain on the curved areas next (surrounding the raised section).

4 Continue into the raised section. Here I have applied stain around one side of an accent. If you get some inside the accent, just gently wipe it off with a dry rag. However an interesting effect is to gently wipe near one or both of the ends of the accent, leaving a lightened area. (See the finished door pictures above.)
 Also, overlapping some of the grey around the edges of the accent stain gives it an outline, which can also be seen in the finished door pictures.
 If you have extended an accent section down into the curved area, make sure you have wiped off the grey stain if it covers the accent. I found it easier to just stain the whole curved inset area and then just wipe of the grey stain from the part of the accent that extends down into the curved area.

5 Finish the panel. Check all areas for excess stain or unevenly applied stain, and wipe gently with your staining rag. The staining rag should be just "damp" with stain at this time.
 After finishing a panel, wipe around the edges with a dry rag. This is important because excess stain will dry before you have a chance to stain the stiles, and will leave an irregular area due to this partially dried excess. But you can leave the edges of two adjacent panels wet, since you are about to stain the partial stile between them.

6 Here's two panels stained. Their outer edges have been wiped clean of most of the excess stain. But note that the edges next to the partial stile do not need to be wiped, since you are about to stain the partial stile - (the "Mullion").

7 Here I have wiped stain onto the short vertical stile - the Mullion. No need to wipe off the excess stain at each end because the top and middle rails are next.

8 The bottom rail has been stained. Note that the left and right edge excess stain has been wiped dry.

9 The middle rail has been completed, and the excess on the edges has been wiped dry.

10 I have stained the longer Mullion. Its edge excess can be left because I am about to stain the top rail.
 "6 panel" doors will have, well, 6 panels. So there will be 3 mullions.

11 The top rail completed. Notice that I have wiped off the excess on the right side. I am about to stain the left stile (which runs from the top to the bottom of the door).
 But NOTE: If the door is on a workbench up against the wall, and you can't go around the door to stain the opposite stile, then stain it first. If you stain the closest stile first, you are likely to smear the stain when reaching across the door to stain the opposite stile.

12 And here's the completed door! You can apply stain to the edges where the door latch and the hinges fit, if you want to.
 Allow it to dry overnight. Then turn the door over and do the other side. It might be well to lay the door on some cardboard rather than directly on the workbench.