Staining or Painting: Choosing the Best Option for Your Door

March 15, 2021

The overall appearance of your home is significantly affected by your door. From its core material to its surface finish, all these elements must be considered thoroughly so that the door can effectively enhance the curb appeal of your property.

When it comes to the final appearance of your door, there are two options that you can go for. One of these options is staining. Staining is normally conducted to allow the door to preserve its wooden appeal. Another option is painting, which is a process that is intended to coat a door with a solid colour finish. While both options can guarantee you excellent benefits and advantages, there is only one option that can perfectly fit your preferences as well as other conditions and elements.

In choosing the best option for your door, here are some elements that you must think about thoroughly.

Current Condition

One vital element that you must consider when choosing the best option for your door is its overall current condition. Knowing its current finish to the material used allows you to determine if it can handle the products that will be used for either staining or painting. If you will be processing a new door, then it can easily handle both options. Alternatively, an old door might have already been stained or painted, which must be removed or prepped first before carrying out your preferred option. Just remember that painting a stained door requires additional steps to make it effective and long-lasting.

Project Duration

Another element to consider in choosing between the two options is the project duration. Opting for painting doors can guarantee you faster results since it only involves easy steps that can be finished in under 2 hours. The steps required for painting the doors include cleaning, taping off the hardware, painting the needed coats, and allowing these coats to dry.

Staining, alternatively, requires more steps before obtaining the results. Your door must be sanded first to get rid of the current finish. Afterwards, two coats of stain must be applied before sanding the door again. Once the sanding process is finished, the door must now be applied with around 3 coats of varnish and sanded in between each coat. All these steps can only be finished in around 5 to 6 hours.

Overall Expenses

One more element that you should consider properly is the overall expenses of the processes. Comparing the tools needed for both options, the painting option seems to be cheaper than staining. The painting option would only need sandpaper, paint, paintbrush, and drop cloth. The staining option, alternatively, requires sandpaper, stain, varnish, paintbrush, rag, mineral spirits, and drop cloth. The products needed for staining are much more expensive than the ones needed for painting, making the former more costly.

Even with maintenance, doors that are painted would only require fewer expenses. Do take note, however, that the staining option can hide more wear and tear than its counterpart.

To know more about these two options, you can contact us at Shandfield Doors.

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