Add Amazing Curb Appeal With Gel Stain

Here you can see the sad state of our porch posts and the bland front door. The posts were wrapped in a fiberboard siding and painted white, so they couldn't just be sanded down and stained.

The only prep that the door got before staining was a light sanding with a sponge sander, and a good scrub.

So I grabbed some Old Masters Gel Stain in the color Provincial, and an inexpensive synthetic bristle paintbrush. Using long sweeping strokes, and working with little stain on my brush, I finished the first coat on my front door.

Something I learned really quickly is that a little gel stain goes a long way. Another tip is blend, blend, blend. Use those sweeping strokes to avoid getting any blotchyness between the sections you work in.

I opted to do a second coat on the door to make it a bit darker, and this is how it turned out.

For the porch posts, I used the same method as the front door.

I also added some 1x6 boards to each post base. This not only covered up the damaged parts of the posts, but gave them a bit of a chunky, farmhouse look.

Because this gel stain just seemed to be absolutely bottomless, I made some quick and easy planter boxes and stained them to match the door and posts.

Even though the boxes are solid wood, I painted them white before staining since that was the base for the door and posts. This way the stain just came through the same on everything.

Everything but this one fingerprint turned out great.

Most importantly, after seven months the gel stain (with no added sealer) is still holding up as new. Our front door faces into the hot afternoon sun, and this has not affected the finish at all. Also, the stain hasn't budged through rain and snow storm.

Good luck with your DIY projects!