Giving the garage doors a fresh coat of paint had always been on my to-do list. When we built the house in 2019, the only colors available were white, gray and brown. While I liked how simple white doors looked with white siding, this white on white combination became increasingly boring over time. I was ready to bring some colors to our monochromatic house. This decision turned into a three-week-long project, which at times felt like a never-ending ordeal. If you’re thinking of doing something similar, don’t start just yet. Get the lowdown on this DIY paint garage door inside the blog post. It is full of nuggets.
The white house we lived in
Modern farmhouse was all the rage back in 2019. Since oak garage doors were pretty much non-existent (or too expensive even if they do exist), we went with the safe choice of plain white doors. They go well with pretty much any color scheme and are a timeless choice.
What our house looked like before the makeover. It had black windows and an almost all-white exterior. We sometimes jokingly said we lived in the White House.
The only faux wood color available to us when we picked out finishes for the new house was a dark brown finish with red undertone. It was a lot darker than what we liked and didn’t quite match our front door, which was a much lighter, cherry color.
| Skill Level | Project Cost | Time |
| Beginner | Depends on the product you use (The garage painting kit I picked cost $300 for a 3-car garage) | 3 weekends to prime and stain three garage doors |
Tip 1. Finding the best paint/finish is half the battle
I put off painting over the garage doors for 4 years, because I couldn’t decide which stain or exterior paint would look the best. Finding the right product is the key to success when it comes to painting garage doors, because once the paint is on, it can’t be changed easily like other interior paint jobs. It’s a visible change that the whole neighborhood will notice and possibly talk about (talk about pressure!).
At one point, I thought painting them black would look nice, but feared it would be too modern. I also bought a $70 Giani garage paint kit from Amazon. When I tested the English Oak stain, I immediately frowned–the finish was way too dark. It could be a good choice for a more traditional home, but not our Scandinavian inspired, modern farmhouse.
The turning point came when Abby Road Home refaced her garage doors. The finish she picked was this medium tone wood color, very close to white oak. I decided to go full steam ahead with this option, even though the product was on the pricey side. Just to be sure, I tested the furniture kit in the guest bedroom. They turned out exactly how I pictured (for more details read the blog post here).
Tip 2. Use good ol’ water to prep the garage doors for paint
Once I settled on a product for the DIY Garage Door Makeover, I checked the weather conditions in the next few days. I needed at least 2 days of sunny, 70-degree days without any rain in the forecast (or so I thought).
The first step was to wash off the dirt, dead bugs and bird poop. You can do that by using a sponge and a bucket of water, a garden hose, or a pressure washer. Pressure washing is the process of using high pressure water spray to blast off grime and mildew. It’s an effective way to clean exterior surfaces (e.g. deck, siding, concrete, etc.) without chemicals.
If your garage doors haven’t been painted/stained before, water alone is sufficient to prep the surface. The base coat acts like a primer and can adhere to metal garage doors. If the old paint has chipped, use a paint scraper or a wire brush to remove lose paint and sand smooth before continuing.
I was surprised to see the dirt hidden in the gaps. It was satisfying to watch the dirty grim being washed off.
Cleaning all three doors took me 1-2 hours. You can do this the night before to save time on drying.
Tip 3. Protect the surroundings if you want a mess-free work zone
It may seem like a waste of time, but taping off the surroundings can save you tons of time from removing paint splatters later on. I skipped this step when the frog tape I initially put up peeled right off. The weatherproof seals were slippery.
However, I totally regretted this decision. The main reason? The base coat and wood stain can adhere to anything (yes, they worked a bit too well). Once they’re dried, they stick to the rubber seal like super glue and was impossible to wipe off.
Trust me when I said it’s worth spending time to lay down drop cloth and add painter’s tape beforehand. I got lots of paint drips on the garage floors and smear on the weatherproofing seals. I ended up rubbing them off with some smelly paint remover. It took lots of elbow grease.
Tip 4. Set realistic expectations on timeline
Most online tutorials categorized this as a quick and easy project that takes only a few hours.
It wasn’t exactly my experience.
For this faux wood garage door makeover, I had to do two coats of primers, three coats of gel stain, waiting for each coat to fully dry, and lots of detailed brushing around the windows. It was not quick or easy by any means. It felt more like painting a giant mural with layers of colors and intricate details.
Forget what others say about this being a weekend project. If you want to achieve the faux wood look, it’s going to take multiple layers of paint, and days and even weeks of work.
Tip 5. Painting in sections
Not going to lie, I thought of giving up on day one. Probably because I had an expectation of this being a 3-hour project. I wasn’t prepared for the amount of work it would take.
The primer went on shiplap panels smoothly (see details in this blog post here). But the surface of the garage doors was more textured and a lot bumpier. The crevices and wood grain soak up paint like crazy. Of course, it didn’t help that I picked the time of the day with the brightest sunlight and the hottest temperature to prime the doors. The primer dried almost instantly (a big mistake!).
To make this project more manageable, I used a paint brush around the recessed panels and edges, and a paint roller on the other flat surfaces. I found it easier to work in sections, so the brushed areas don’t get too tacky.
It looked pretty bad after the first coat of primer. The painted area looked very patchy and uneven, even though I’ve painstakingly hand painted each section. The color also wasn’t very convincing. It was this creamy, orange-y tone that didn’t match our house at all.
After the second coat of primer, it was still this weird creamy color, but the finish was a lot more uniform. I breathed a sigh of relief–at least I made it through this part of the DIY.
Tip 6. Avoid staining in direct sunlight or when the doors are warm to touch
After the garage doors were primed, it was time to add stain to give them the faux wood look. This is where the real transformation (torture) began.
I am not even exaggerating when I said this part of the DIY felt like torture. It took layer upon layers of stain to make the finish look half decent. It was not an instant transformation. You will read more on this in section tip 7 and tip 8. But the main reason for this being so difficult was that there wasn’t a clear path to the finish line. It looked awful for the first 90% steps. I was brushing, and brushing, there was no end on sight.
Few tutorials mention this but avoid staining in direct sunlight or when the doors are warm to touch. The stain dries fast. It is a lot easier to work with and spread out in cooler temperature. This gives you enough time to fix imperfections before the stain dries out. It’s an important aspect to keep in mind. I could have saved myself some frustration if I had planned the time to stain more carefully.
Our garage doors face south. The ideal time to apply stain is early morning between 6am and10am, and late afternoon after 5pm.
Tip 7. Create sections of faux wood grain with long, even strokes
To achieve a realistic faux wood look, spread on stain in long, even strokes that mimic wood grains without overlapping between each section. The zigzags and crisscrosses are what give it away. If you look closely at real wood doors, you will notice they’re made up of horizontal and vertical panels. They rarely have the same direction of wood grains throughout.
You would want to recreate the same pattern on the garage doors.
Start by planning out what each section of the garage door would look like: horizontal or vertical wood grain.
As you can see in the photo above, the left and right brush direction (horizontal wood grain) creates a much busier look on the recessed panels, compared to the up and down movement (vertical wood grain). If you want a less streaky and more natural faux wood look, apply wood stain in the direction that has a longer distance.
What I found that worked the best was: after brushing on stain in the same direction 5-6 times, brush the ends in the opposite direction right away. Work quickly in sections to ensure the stain is wet throughout the process. Try to start from one end to the next in one stroke without going back and forth to minimize overlaps and create a more even and consistent look.
Note: the painting kit came with a wood graining tool that I can drag along the wet stain to create wood grain. I tried it out on scrap wood and felt it was too hard to get right, so I decided not to use it on the garage doors. But if you’re up for the challenge, check out the video tutorial here.
Tip 8. Layer on stain to minimize brush strokes
The staining process for this DIY Garage Door Makeover went through the phases of “this is awful” to “what have I gotten myself into” to “I just want to be done with it”.
The instruction says the first coat of stain may look rustic. To me, the brush-on stain was more than rustic, it screamed “amateur”. It was no better than my six-year-old’s scribbles.
Both of my kids commented the garage doors looked ugly. But my husband was unusually optimistic and said: “why don’t you try a second coat?”
There is not a better alternative than to keep trying. My backup plan was to paint over the whole thing with a solid color if the stain didn’t work out. I brushed on another layer of stain and held my breath.
Lo and behold, the second coat of stain was a HUGE improvement. It was still a bit streaky (there were some spots that looked uneven under sunlight), but overall a lot better.
Because I had three giant doors to paint, I ran through wood stain quickly. I used a whole bottle of stain on the one car garage and had to buy a new bottle (32 oz). The second bottle didn’t last very long either. I had to get a third one. Womp womp.
All in all, I spent around $400 on materials ($100 of which was to get extra wood stain) and three weeks on and off to finish this project.
DIY Paint Garage Door Final Result
If I had to give only one tip for this DIY paint garage door project, it would be this: trust the process. You will have to get past the heat, fatigue, self-doubt, and see through the patchy, ugly first few coats to reap the rewards of having freshly painted garage doors that look like real wood. It’s a winding road. But if you trust the process and stick to it, it’s all worth it in the end.
The fresh new paint/stain definitely improved our home’s curb appeal. The color is a close match with our front door. A much more cohesive look than if we had gone with the reddish brown garage doors.
Close up view of the painted garage doors.
A note on the gaps between each panel. You can see in the image below the unpainted gaps (and the poor box elder bug that got squashed in between). I was so tired from manually painting all the doors I didn’t have energy left to paint these gaps. But if you have the time, painting the gaps will make the garage doors look even better.
Well, there you have it. This is our new DIY faux wood garage doors. When I come home and pull up to the driveway, I still do the double take as I am still getting used to the new look. I hope my neighbors like the new look too, and the finish will hold up well in outdoor conditions for many years to come.
Project would have gone smoother if you use glaze on top of a paint basecoat. (Primer is usually not necesssary.) I usually use oil based glaze of 3 parts turpentine 1 part linseed oil, cap full of japan drier. I mix that with artist oils or tints. That way I have an extended open time to manipulate the glaze.
Thank you for sharing these tips! It goes to show having the right product is so important.
How was it looking two years later?
The finish looks kind of faded, probably need a good rinse and a protective sealer, so stain and dirt won’t stay on.
What color paint and stain was used?
Retique It, Barn Wood
Thank you so much for being honest about the process and the cost. Your doors look great but I wouldn’t be willing to spend $400 on something that might not end up looking amazing. We have just one 16 ft door so maybe the cost would be less? We live in a high desert climate. I appreciate your comment that the doors faded within two years.
You may want to look into the Giani garage door paint, it’s a lot cheaper and probably would work the same. Good luck!