Faux Finishing Garage Doors to Look Like Wood

Jenni Ingram
by Jenni Ingram
5 Materials
$50
4 Hours
Easy

Spring has finally arrived so we decided to tackle the outside house projects. The exterior of our house is a yellowish color, with gold trim. It was one of the first things I said, "If we buy this house we have to paint it.” I also wanted to try to have a little fun with the garage doors giving them a faux wood finish.

My garage doors are wood, flat panels with no wood grain or details, and we were still able to achieve the wood look I was hoping for. Most newer metal garage doors have the "wood grain" in them, so it would look even better on a metal door! 

The first layer is General Finishes Millstone Milk Paint which is rated as an interior/exterior paint and holds up very well for this use! 

Next we added some texture with Exterior Water Based Wood Stain. 

Finishing it off with another layer of Antique Oak Water Based Wood Stain. Notice the second stain color (on the left) really gives it more dimension.   

Look at all that texture we can achieve!! Once it's all dry, it's sealed with an exterior finish to keep it from fading in the sunshine.


I was anticipating it would take A LOT to cover the garage doors, and I was really surprised when it only took a half of a quart of Milk Paint to cover both garage doors (they are each a single garage door size).

Click my blog link to learn more details on this project.

👇👇👇👇

http://www.rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/garagedoor


I’ve also created a video giving step by step instructions in case you'd like to try this on your doors. Subscribe to my emails for other helpful tips and tutorials and be sure to follow me on Facebook @RootsandWingsFurniture


Until next time, stay creative! 

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Jenni Ingram
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  2 questions
  • Margaret Green Margaret Green on May 28, 2018

    Were the existing doors plywood? Could they have been stripped and stained instead? I realize that would be a lot of extra work. It's amazing the effect that paint can accomplish.

  • Pineapple Pineapple on Jun 11, 2020

    Many garage doors are fiberglass. Would this work on fiberglass. Great work.

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  • Nancy Nancy on Jun 11, 2022

    Spectacular job!

    I would live to see a picture of the entire house to show how this project contributes to the overall look. ♥️

  • Jan26845216 Jan26845216 on Jun 11, 2022

    If you tire of them you can always paint a contrasting house color.

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