Help with faux painting please.

Use a tan or medium brown base coat. Then use a darker shade of gel stain. Experiment on scrap wood to get the desired finish.

im not sure a primed door will take a stain without sanding...,,the color you are looking for looks like red oak stain or walnut on my monitor....however a paint could be used to get the color you are looking for...is the door "real" wood or a composite?

Removing the paint from a painted door it´s not easy if it´s a "new" door (for example they began using mdf in the 60's)

First thing it´is to know what's beneath the paint.

First check the sound by knocking in the door, compare the sound with another that you know is wood.

You must check by peeling the paint that in the front or the back of the door, better in the side you have the hinges, if you mess up and the repair isn't great at least you don´t see when the door is closed. But be aware, don't do that in the sides, up or down, there is the structure of the the door (almost certain is wood). If you have wood great. The final color that you achive depends of the wood you have beneath , how many coats of stain. If you don´t have wood or vener there some techniques to make faux wood but I don't recommend to do that at least for the first time in something so big and exposed as a door.

One more thing don't sand if you have vener. the vener is very thin you must chemical stripping the paint

It's composite

Whoa there everyone! The whole purpose of a "primed" door is that it is ready to accept paint. Therefore, there should be no need to do any additional prep on this door except perhaps to vacuum it to be sure it has no dust on it.

I would use a brownish base colored paint. Choose a brown with undertones (red or yellow) to match the color wood you are trying to imitate. Then, faux paint the "wood grain" with a brownish black glaze. I use Floetrol paint conditioner with color added for my glazes. (It is the same thing as "glazing medium" but costs about 1/4 as much.) Do NOT use a Gel Stain or any stain for that matter. Stain is designed for raw wood not primed wood. Once you have the grain pattern you like, seal it with a satin or semi gloss sealer. That should be all it takes.

P.S. You CAN use a very fine sandpaper (220 or higher) to VERY lightly sand between the painting and the glazing but do not take off much - just a few tiny bumps here and there.

I ended up painting with Sherwin WIlliams ProClassic followed by 3 coats of gel stain and I am thrilled with the results.