The Best Paint Choices For A Diy Faux Wood Garage Door

There's no denying the warmth and charm that wooden garage doors bring to a residence. The natural beauty of wooden doors can dramatically boost your home's curb appeal, but they also come with a hefty price tag. The average price for a single installed wooden garage door is between $1,500 and $6,500 (up to $10,000 for a two-car garage). Fortunately, there's a more affordable way to get the look of elegant wooden exterior doors – all you need is a couple of cans of paint and stain. Using these inexpensive materials, you can create a faux wood effect on your garage doors that's just as stunning as real wood. However, the key to ensuring your paint job is as authentic-looking as possible is to pick the right exterior paint and gel stain combo. 

This technique is about layering two colors together to produce the look of wood grain. You start by applying a yellow, orange, or light brown paint as the undercoat to mimic the lighter tones of the wood. Then, you apply a brown gel stain as the topcoat to give the appearance of darker wood tones. Brushing it on creates a wood grain effect, though you could also use a wood-graining tool, like the XDONEF 6-Piece Wood Graining Tool Set on Amazon. No matter what type of wood tone you're going for, ensure your paint color and stain coordinate well together and have enough contrast to produce the desired effect. You'll also want to use a high-quality paint and gel stain to ensure your paint job's durability. Done correctly, the faux wood grain will be long-lasting and look convincingly real.

Choose your paint color based on the wood species you want to emulate. Try a yellow or light brown paint like Sherwin Williams Rookwood Brown or KILZ Golden Sunrise to mimic oak or maple. Use an orangey hue like BEHR Glazed Pecan or Benjamin Moore Rio Grande Clay to resemble mahogany. For gel stain, you could go with Minwax Aged Oak or Minwax Brazilian Rosewood for a lighter wood look. Opt for General Finishes Antique Walnut or Minwax Coffee for a darker wood tone. Don't use a liquid stain — gels have a thicker consistency, so they won't run or drip. They sit on top of the surface instead of soaking in, making them easier to layer over paint.

If you'd like an all-in-one kit, the Gianni Wood Look Paint Kit for Garage Doors includes paint, stain, and paint supplies with a nearly 5-star rating on Amazon. It comes in several different color schemes, including English Oak and Black Walnut. You'll find statements like "I'm obsessed!" and "Amazing! Looks like wood!" among the over 2,400 reviews. A few reviews, however, pointed out they preferred using a brush over the provided mitt to apply the stain. The Garage Door Kit from Retique It is another option with additional colors, like Barn Wood. The unique thing about this product is that it contains real wood particles to give the paint a thicker, wood-like finish. There are no reviews on the company's site, but a few DIYers have shared good results. However, one mentioned she had to order extra stain to cover her three garage doors.

As with any paint job, you'll need to properly prep the surface first to ensure you end up with a durable finish. You may want to use sugar soap to clean your doors before applying a fresh coat of paint. You could also use a pressure washer to remove any buildup of algae or mildew. Use a wire brush to remove any rust spots or chipped paint, and then patch/sand if needed. Next, apply a coat of high-quality acrylic exterior primer and allow it to dry completely.

After priming, you can apply your first coat of paint. If you're not using one of the kits suggested above, be sure to use exterior paint, which contains special additives that can withstand harsh outdoor conditions like rain, humidity, and UV exposure. For the sheen, it's best to stick with a satin finish. This will provide better durability against the elements than a matte or eggshell finish, and it has a subtle gloss that's easy to topcoat with gel stain. Apply two coats, let dry, and then apply your gel stain. Once the stain has dried for at least 24 hours, seal your "wood" doors with a coat of clear spar urethane, like Rust-Oleum's Varathane Exterior Oil-Based Spar Urethane, to give them an extra-durable finish.