Staining a Wood Door

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been staining this knotty alder wood door. This was my first staining job, and it came out pretty well! Now I know what to do and what not to do for next time! We're going to be replacing some doors in our house, so there will be more to come!

Before:

After: 

Here are the materials that I used: 

Medium grit sandpaper, tack cloth, paintbrushes (specified for oil stains and polyurethane),  wood sticks to mix the cans, MINWAX pre-stain, stain, and polyurethane. 

I originally bought indoor poly; however, after doing more research I found out that I would need the Spar Urethane Poly for a door- this will help protect the wood from rain, sunlight, cold, heat, etc.

Don't forget your face masks! The pre-stain, stain, and poly all have VERY strong odors. In fact, I can still smell it in our basement even though the door has been gone since Monday. 

Other materials I used: old t-shirts for staining and mineral spirits for cleaning the brushes.

I watched a bunch of videos and did a lot of research on how to stain knotty alder wood and then I got started! 

First, I lightly sanded one side of the door and wiped it down with a tack cloth after to get all of the dust off prior to putting anything on the door. Sanding the door helps open the pores in the wood to allow it to take in stain better.

Next, I pre-stained: (I started and completed one entire side of the door, then flipped it and did the other side): 

I applied the pre-stain with a 3 in china bristle brush. I made sure to get all of the corners and grooves. The pre-stain helps condition the wood and prime the surface so the stain goes on easier and more even.

I let this dry for 15-20 minutes.

After the pre-stain had time to soak in and dry, I applied the stain. I started staining with a brush because I thought it would be easier to get into the grooves that way. I only stained a little bit of the door this way as it did not work well for me. Using an old t-shirt that I cut up worked much better. It was easier to get the stain on and made it look a lot better. The color I used is English Chestnut.

This is after one coat. It takes 8 hours for the stain to completely dry, but you can put on another coat in 4-6 hours. Keep in mind that the temperature of the air can affect drying times. I was working in our basement when it was 30-40 degrees out and I had doors and windows open. Lower temp can lead to longer drying times, so I let the stain dry overnight before doing a second coat.

Lastly, I applied the Spar Urethane. 

It has a light amber color, so it does make the stain seem a little darker. I used the semi-gloss because I wanted a shine but did not want it to be too glossy. I applied two coats of poly on each side using a 2.5 in China bristle brush. 

Here is what the door looks like up!

I am really happy with how it came out! Knotty Alder wood has so much character and is really fun to stain because the stain brings out all of that character.

Something else I had to do a lot of research on was how to clean the brushes after using them in oil based pre-stain and polyurethane. Soap and water does not clean them, it actually causes the oil to harden on the brush. This is what you will need: a can of mineral spirits from the hardware store, tupperware, an old coffee can or something that seals (to pour the used mineral spirits in), a wire bristle brush, and paper towels. Set the brush in the tupperware, pour some mineral spirits over the brush and scrape with the wire bristle brush- do this 4-5 times. Then, squeeze the brush to get the excess out and wrap in paper towels (be careful not to wrap too tightly as that will deform the bristles). Pour the used mineral spirits in your container and seal it. That's it! You can leave the brushes in the paper towels until you're ready to use them again.