The Step-By-Step Guide to Painting Your Garage Door to Look Like Stained Wood
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Do you want to paint your metal, aluminum or previously painted wood garage door to look like stained wood? Not sure what type of garage door paint you should use? Learn how to paint your garage door so it has the appearance of stained wood without needing a “wood look garage door painting kit” or product brand. Painting your garage door this way is easier than you think.
Can You Paint Garage Doors to Look like Wood?
Yes – you can paint garage doors to look like wood, and you can do it without needing an expensive paint kit. If you have ever painted a wall in your home or a piece of furniture, the preparations are the same – except you need to use a primer and exterior paint.
I painted my green garage door to look like stained wood using a very easy faux finishing wood graining technique that anyone can master in 20 minutes. By DIYing it, I saved myself a lot of money. I am thrilled with the results.
My Garage Door Before Painting
The existing garage door on my house functions and is structurally sound, its only problem was the fading green color.
Source: Hormann Garage Doors
I wanted the entire surface of the garage door to look like the stained wood doors in the photo above, but replacing a garage door doesn’t come cheap.
It can cost thousands depending on the type and style of door chosen, whether you need to repair or replace the hardware that allows the door to open and close, and even whether you need to resize the doorway or reframe the exterior.
If your door is in good shape and functions, then painting it is an affordable option that can add a lot of curb appeal to your home.
You may remember my tutorial on how I faux wood painted my front door to look like it was stained wood with transparent wood grain showing through.
I also painted a smaller door in the garage using the same faux woodgrain paint technique.
Both door painting projects were a success, so I decided to do the same faux woodgrain or faux bois finish on the garage door.
My Garage Door After Getting Painted to Look Like Stained Woodgrain
Now the garage door looks like the wood stained doors that are popular in home design now. It also matches my front door and the slat wall I added. We also had all the green trim painted.
How to Paint a Garage Door To Look Like a Stained Woodgrain Door
I used the same paint, tools, supplies and followed the same painting steps that I shared in this post and video on how I painted the front doors on my house.
Watching the Youtube video will give allow you to see how easy the faux woodgrain process is.
Faux Woodgrain Paint Finish On My Front Doors
materials needed:
The Paint Base and Topcoat Colors I Used:
- KILZ® Premium primer
- KILZ® Complete Coat in semi-gloss in the colors:
- Base coat: Golden Sunrise
- Top Paint/Glaze coat: Tonka Bean
- Liquid Mixing Medium – Sold in craft, home improvement and paint stores. Used to create faux finishes with paint.
Before painting, check the weather conditions. You don’t want to paint when it’s too cold, hot, or there is high humidity with rain in the forecast.
Also avoid painting in direct sunlight or when the surface is warm to the touch. Wait for the door to be in the shade when applying the primer, paint and glaze finish.
Step 1: Prep The Door For Painting
Prepping the door is the most important and time consuming part when painting a garage door if you want your new paint finish to look its best and last for years.
- Remove any existing loose paint with a wire brush and if it is a metal door, get rid of any rust with a paint scraper. You can use a chemical stripper and sandpaper on a sanding block or electric sander to remove all of the old paint.
- Hose the door down with water and then fill a bucket with hot soapy water. Use a scrub brush to clean the surface well to remove dirt. Rinse with clear water and let dry.
- Once the door is dry, use painter’s tape to mask the handles, trim, and windows.
- Put a drop cloth or a row of flattened cardboard boxes under the door to protect your driveway and garage floor from paint splatters.
- When priming or painting inside the garage, make sure it is well ventilated.
- Wear both a dust mask and safety goggles.
Step 2: Prime the Garage Door
For proper paint adhesion, use a paint brush or roller for the application of one thin coat of primer to the door. Use an angled paint brush to paint the inset areas around each door panel. Let dry, Read drying time on primer can’s label.
After priming the door – lift the door so the edges of each panel are exposed. Prime these edges and let dry before closing the door.
Step 4: Paint the Garage Door With an Undercoat of Yellow
Once the primer is dry, I put two coats of yellow paint/primer on the door. Why yellow? It is the under color that is needed to make the topcoat/glaze color look more like stain than paint.
Both the UPS delivery guy and one of my neighbors, skeptically questioned me… “You’re painting your garage door yellow?” I had to explain to them that it was only a base coat and they would soon see why it was needed.
Step 5: Add a Brown Paint & Glaze Coat
Once the yellow coat is dry, make a mixture of brown paint and clear glazing liquid.
To Make Paint/Glaze Mixture: Mix 4 parts Tonka Bean with 2 parts liquid glazing medium in a container. Mix well and stir a few times while you are using it on the door.
Apply the paint/glaze mixture in horizontal strokes to one panel section of the door at a time using a cheap “chip” paint brush that had stiffer then normal bristles.
A few minutes after applying the paint/glaze mixture, drag the ends of a whisk-broom through the coat to allow some of the base yellow color to come through.
On the vertical sections of the door, apply the paint and drag it vertically.
Once the first coat of brown paint is dry, apply a second coat in the same manner. On a few of the panels – also drag a wood-graining tool through the wet paint/glaze coat to make it look more like wood grain and knots.
If you are wondering… One of the bottom panels on the door had a cat door installed. We removed it when we first moved into the house and replaced it with a new piece of wood. Not a perfect fix, but we didn’t think we were going to keep the door at the time.
Faux Woodgrain Painted Garage Door – AFTER
After the door was painted to look like stained wood. We had the teal trim on the house painted in a Glidden paint color called Khaki Bronze.
It made the painted garage door look even better.
I also did an aging finish on the black metal planter by the side of the garage. You can read about how I created it in this post: Creating a Rusted Patina
I am very happy with how my painted garage door turned out. I especially like the fact that the garage door now coordinates with the other wood elements on the front of the house.
Garage Door Painting FAQ’s Answered:
Yes you need to prime, but to save time, make sure your base color of paint is a paint and primer in one formula of paint.
The best paint finish for a garage door is semi-gloss or gloss. I used semi-
gloss on my door. It is durable and easy to wipe clean when needed. A matte finish would get easily smudged and hard to clean.
Update: 08/1/22 – It has been 3 + years since I posted this wood look garage door painting tutorial and the door still looks amazing! If you follow the steps I did you can have a long lasting wood look garage door completed in a weekend.
It depends on the style of house and how much color you want to see.
Painting the garage door the same color as the front entrance door or the window shutters always adds a nice contrast.
When deciding what color to paint my garage door, I asked myself if I should I paint the front door and garage door the same color?
After more thought I decided it would look best on my ranch style home that has modern lines to paint them the same color. I even added a slat wall in the same color to create a color balance across the house.
This does not mean it is the only choice. Painting the doors the same color as the house trim or shutters also looks nice.
The key to getting the color combination right is to make sure if you have the color on one part of the homes exterior it should be on another section to create a balance.
A front door painted a color is an exception. It can stand alone, but other parts of the exterior look better when they are balanced.
For lasting durability and to hold up to the weather use a brand name exterior primer and paint in one formula.
I used a half gallon of each the base color, top color and glazing medium. This can vary depending on your garage door’s material, size, as well as the color of the paint you’re using as it compares to the color you’re painting over.
No. The type of paint to use to paint a garage door does not have to be labeled “garage door paint”. What it does need to be is water-based latex acrylic paint.
Any major paint brands exterior paint formula will work – Sherwin Williams, KILZ, Behr, Glidden, Benjamin Moore, and Valspar are a few.
Is it Worth Painting a Garage Door?
If you are wondering – do painted garage doors last? Then the answer is YES. If you prepare the surface correctly – sand, prime and roll on brush on light coats of brand name exterior paint, the paint can last for years.
More Home Improvement Projects You May Like:
Wow! That’s absolutely amazing looking, I’m going to try this on mine. Like you I am DIYing most things on my fixer upper. I’m saving up to have the cedar siding painted, and i love the woods grain look for garage doors. This is such a great technique!
Our garage door is tan in color, do you think that would work as the base coat or it MUST be yellow? I plan on using your instructions on garage door, man doors and shutters.
Hi Pamela – The tan base color of your door will be fine to create the wood look. You can always test a small area, let it dry and see if you like it. You may even like it better without the yellow depending on the other colors on your house.
What does the door look like when it goes up where the panels touch? This is what I worry about when opening and closing our doors, I don’t want the original white to be showing.
Hi Kit – Good question. I have no idea, so I just went out to my garage and checked. You can see the original white of the door. Not any green that was the previous color. It is hardly noticeable, though. If you don’t want to see the white, then you could open the door part way, paint the edges of two panels, let dry, then move to the next and repeat. You would have to let the edges dry and that would take time, but it could be done.
I really like this! What was the total cost of your project?
Hi Ryan – The cost of painting my garage door to look like wood was approx $65. Two gallons or Primer/Paint and a quart of glazing medium. I had the paint brush and wood graining tool already. I didn’t use the full gallon of each color and had enough to paint two other outside doors.
Hello. I’m thinking about a similar project for my garage door. I love the look. I have read a lot of reviews of others who have done the same thing with varying reviews. Fading, peeling. The weather here goes from the 20,s to a month off 100’s and a western facing front exposure. How is it holding up after it’s been done for a while? Thank you
Hi Ken –
I could not be happier with how my painted garage door came out. It has been almost 2 years since I did it. There has been no fading, chipping or peeling. It still looks great.
The door faces west and gets afternoon sun. It does have a roof that extends over it. This helps keep rain off, so this may help.
I am not sure what the other reviewers used? A kit? Or did they make their own faux finish like I did? The best advice I can give you is to sand well, prime, apply only light coats and let them dry completely before adding another coat of paint.
I hope this helps.
I want to do this to a beer fridge in the garage. We have a western themed bar in there, and the white fridge sticks out like a sore thumb . Do you know if these products come in smaller quantities?
Hi Ellen – After you sand and prime the fridge, you can use 2 oz. bottles of craft paint in the same colors I used to create the same effect. The colors don’t have to be the exact colors that I used, but find color that are close. It should be easy since craft paints come in so many colors.
You would need the golden yellow and then the brown to mix in with the glaze. The glaze is from the craft store and usually comes in small and larger sizes.
If you want the exact colors I used, check out this link: https://bit.ly/2BzGRBL for Tonka Brown. Looks like the yellow color I used is no longer in the KILZ line. Just get a golden yellow color and it will look fine.
Hi Diane,
I so enjoy your informative, inspiring site and creativity.
I am curious how your faux bois painting on your front door and garage doors are holding up now that you have gone through several seasons? Also, did you seal the faux bois with polyacrylic or another product? If so, what would you recommend for a sealer?
Thank you for your time and sharing,
Peg
Hi Peg – The painted doors – I did 3 – my front double doors, a side door in the garage and the garage door. I did not seal them and they have held up Perfectly. Better than I could have ever imagined. The front double doors are under cover and never see the sun, wind or rain. The other two get hit by all the elements and they looks just as nice.
If you are concerned about weather exposure, paint your exterior wood surface with a durable, waterproof acrylic enamel. This type of paint requires no sealer topcoat to protect it from abrasion and moisture.
If you paint the door with a gloss paint and use the glaze, a sealer may not stick to it. You could use Helmsman Spar Urethane by Minwax, but know that these sealers will probably break down before the exterior paint. I do not think a sealer is needed.
I was thinking about this effect on my garage door it is some kind of aluminum .
Can I use the same products you did?
Thank you Judy
Hi Judy –
Yes you can paint aluminum garage doors. Make sure to sand it and clean it well. You want to use a primer first on the door that is for metal. Most brand name primers will be fine for this. KILZ Premium is one I can think of off the top of my head. Once one coat of the primer is dry, you can follow the way I painted my door.
Hi, its Dana, Ann’s daughter! She’s been telling g me about your blog for a while now, glad I stumbled upon this tutorial, I want to try it! Do you think this same technique would work on a fiberglass front door?
Hi Dana –
So happy to hear from you. :-) Tell your mom, Hi for me.
Yes you can do the garage door paint technique on any surface, you willjust need to prepare the surface a little differently for Fiberglass. Since fiberglass is smooth you will need to use a primer for glossy surfaces. This KILZ formula will be good: https://amzn.to/2pET01Y
Once you scuff sand the door with 100 grit sandpaper, clean it well with detergent and hot water. Hose is off and let dry completely. Then apply 2 thin coats of the KILZ Adhesion primer or follow the can’s label directions for priming fiberglass. Let the first coat of primer dry completely, before applying the second. Read the label on the primer can for re-coating times.
After the primer is dry, then use acrylic latex paint to paint the door following my tutorial. My best tips are to make sure the door is super clean after you scuff sand it, no grit or grease. Only apply paint and primer in light coats and watch the temps. Now that it is getting colder out, your exterior painting window may close soon. Most exterior paint needs to be applied in around 70 degrees for optimal adhesion.
If you have any other question, don’t hesitate to ask.
What glaze did you use & the grain tool?
Hi Jessica –
You can use any clear glazing liquid. I used Valspar that I bought at Lowes, but any clear glazing liquid will work. Rustoleum has one, so do most major brands of paint. It is sold at most paint and craft stores. For the graining, I used this tool https://amzn.to/2ZxHKC5 and a stiff whisk broom after using that to soften the lines.
Great job! It looks amazing. Have you got the color names for the yellow primer and the brown you mixed with the glaze? Thank you – I will be using this tutorial on an ugly white garage door asap this summer before the rains come! Thank you so much.
Hi Ruby –
Here are the colors I used to paint faux woodgrain on my garage door:
KILZ® Complete Coat in the colors: Both in semi-gloss finish
Base coat: Golden Sunrise
Top Paint/Glaze coat: Tonka Bean
Liquid Mixing Glaze – Sold in craft and paint stores. Used to create faux finishes with paint.
If you would like to see more inspiration and a video on the same process and paints I used on my front doors, you will find it here: http://bit.ly/2xZDIWs
Thank you so much for all the details – very much appreciated! Have a great summer ~
Love Love Love It! Its 5am and woke up stressing on how we can get a new wooden garage door.
Your painting was just what I was looking for!!! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Karen – After I did the paint technique on my front door and it was such a success, I just had to do the same on the garage door. Everyone that sees it, can’t believe it is a painted finish. If you are new to using glaze and dragging, test it out on a piece of scrap plywood to get your dragging technique down. I hope it turns out fabulous!
hi there i have painted my wooden with the enamel paint please advise if i can do this process on the picture look like stain wood
Hi Rose – The process can be done on any surface. If it is enamel, I would sand first to rough up the surface first. Clean it and then follow the steps to paint the surface to look like wood stain.
I recently discovered this blog: awesome!!! I love all the “brave” jobs you tackle. Regarding your garage door makeup, is your door aluminum/metal or wood? I wondered if this work on my garage door.
Hi Anna – My door is wood, but you can do the treatment on any door. Scruff sand the door with 100 grit sandpaper to provide some tooth for the paint to adhere. Apply one to two light coats of a primer for metal. Most are nowadays – like a multi-surface primer. Once that is dry you can paint the door as I did mine. Make sure you paint when the door is in the shade so the paint won’t dry too fast.
thank you for this post. I have been wondering what to do with our white doors on our mid century ranch and you have given me the answer. I will send photos next fall after the 2 feet of snow is gone!
Hi Ann – I look forward to seeing your doors. Hope you are staying warm and cozy with all that snow outside. Brrrrr!!!
Painting the exterior of your home a dark colour is a fantastic idea! It would make it even more unique than it is now. The garage door also looks fantastic. Well done
Thanks Lesley – I think I am going to go dark. Now I am trying to figure out what is the best way to handle the gutter downspouts. They are what I dislike the most on the house, but they are needed, especially since the ground in front of the house is mostly a concrete driveway.
Your garage door looks great. A home in our neighborhood just had this done. They also did the German smear on the brick. It looks amazing.
You knew that this wood effect would be better than another color! That is a real home improvement! We all like colors, and such a large part of your home, the wood look is definitely the best shade you could have picked. I would have probably just found a ‘happy’ color and gone with it, but this looks so much better!!
Wow! This post will blow up Pinterest from all the pinning! It looks amazing! What an incredible difference!
Hi Diane,
Your garage door looks Awesome ! I know the color you end up picking for the trim will also turn out Awesome : ) Happy 2019!!
Garage door looks SO good! Love that you matched front door.
It looks fantastic! I can see why your neighbors were concerned with the yellow. ?
What a great job you did completely changing the look of the door. You always inspire me however I am too old to this much hard work anymore.
Unbelievable ! Who knew you could paint your door “wood”!
I do now!
Brave girl! Looks like a million bucks!
Looks amazing!! I love how the garage door & the front door relate to each other now. Beautiful.
Oh my goodness! It looks so, so good!! I LOOOVE faux finish technique posts!! Thank you! Now I want to go woodgrain something! Yummy, yummy!
Diane, you did a splendid job on your garage doors. I respect your ability to focus and persevere with a project – something we used to call “grit”. I did a cosmetic makeover of the dark kitchen with 50 years of accumulated grease in my daughter’s new 1967 fixer-upper this past year – painting walls, caulking, pulling cabinet doors down, cleaning AND sanding, soaking hinges, making alterations to make them hang right and fixing drawers that didn’t work – all in 7 days. Vent-a-hood filter must have weighed 4 pounds – ugh – but she found a replacement on the internet. I worked straight through the last night to finish and boarded my plane in the morning. But it made such a difference and gave her a bright, usable kitchen. Not bad for a 72-year-old with bad knees. Grit – you never lose it. Was as proud of myself accomplishing it as I was of the transformation.
I love all that you and Ed have done – you are my inspiration. And thanks for letting us see it all. Just goes to show what a little grit and focus can do.
PS. I do love the dark exterior on the sample photo – it almost looks navy, which ties in with the new navy in your hall and bedroom. Love to carry a color through a house!
Wow it looks amazing!
Great transformation! Well done Diane!
What a beautiful update to your home. I love the look. You are such a talented painter.
Very pretty Diane! you always do a great job with your faux painting. I don’t have the patience you have, :(…BTW, when we moved into our home almost 13 years ago, I did not like the white garage door so after a few years, I grabbed some brown paint I had and painted it without properly preparing it…I mean I did nothing other than dust as I painted and luckily, it has withstood our Florida heat and looks just as good as the day I did it, five years ago …with a bit of sun fade but not much. I guess I was lucky. LOL
Love how your garage door turned out. We bought a lake house and I painted the porch deck railing black. It was previously an awful tan. Best thing I did. I love the contrast. You know living near water in the south, moisture causes black/green on light surfaces. The black helps mask that until it’s cleaned off. I definitely vote for dark trim on your house. I’m betting you will love it.
JUST AMAZING LOOKING. LOTS OF WORK BUT, WORTH IT.
Looks great Diane. Can you share the exact products and colors you used for this project?
Hi Mary – I used the same products and technique that I used when I painted my front doors. I have a full tutorial and video in that post showing exactly what I used and the dragging technique. You can find it here: https://inmyownstyle.com/how-to-paint-faux-woodgrain-finish-on-front-doors-and-more.html
The garage door looks great!
Thanks Judy
That is perfect. What a great job you did!
You did an awesome job on your door. You are so good with colors. You give me inspiration. But, I’m still too scared to try anything. Right now my project is decluttering. .
Beautiful Job! Have you considered black on the trim and gutters? It does such a nice job of outlining and crisping things up. We built a new home a few years back and did the black trim and gutters (although my roof is black too) and I love love love it!
That looks amazing! We ate going thru the same thing only our brick home is really ugly brick so I am considering painting the brick. All of the trim and garage door is painted a dull brown but new windows were installed in white! And a brown roof. It’s a real mess but I think I have a garage door solution now! Thank you!
Looks great Diane – I am loving your inspiration for darker with wood trim – that dark blue/black is also fabulous for the exterior paint (we’re looking for colours for our new house, as well!). I hadn’t considered a wood door but now you have me thinking about it!
Hi Krista – I am so excited to see what you do to your new to you house. Funny thing.. I got the idea for the stained doors from one of your inspiration posts. :-) One of the images you shared a while back had the stained doors. I am tried to find it, but it is somewhere deep in my blog archives. If I find it, I will send to you.
Your garage door makeover is amazing. I knew you were good with paint from all your other projects but this one really shows off your talent.
Well done Diane the doors look amazing. Dark trims will make it look even better. Can’t wait to see the final result. Have fun and may your energy keep up with your ideas. Happy 2019?
Love it! I, personally, would paint those gutters and surrounding trim the same exact color of brick to make them disappear. Did that a few homes ago and it was magical.
Hi Sheryl – That is my plan to say goodbye to all the teal trim. When we first looked at the house with the Realtor 3 years ago, the first thing I said to Ed was that I didn’t like the teal trim. I have learned to live with it, since it is simply a cosmetic thing, but I will happy when the day comes that I can drive down my driveway and not see it anymore.
Well done, a very good job and lots of $$$S saved. The door will look even better when the trim isn’t teal. I’m sure you will want to make the other teal painted items ‘disappear’ into the brickwork. At the moment, my eye is drawn away from the garage door.
Hi Di – I plan to paint the teal trim all around the house. Just need the time and weather conditions to get it done. Luckily I live in the south where we do have warm days pop up. I will be watching the weather reports to find a few days like this so I can continue to paint the trim.
I thought that it was your intention but these jobs do take time and effort, especially for us of a ‘certain age’.
Diane,
Awesome job! LOVE following your DIY projects and I love the fact that you are not afraid to venture into new territory with projects. You go girl!
Thank you Kathleen. Sometimes I wish I could afford to hire someone to do it all for me, but when I look at the savings of DIYing, it always gives me the incentive needed to do the updates myself.
Hello,
The garage door looks beautiful! You are very good!
Wouldn’t the trims look good in a dark solid colour (black, charcoal, chocolate brown)?
Happy new Year! I am looking forward to all of your new posts!
Thanks Chantal – Yes, I think the trim would look better dark too. The paint testing I was doing on the garage door trim was when I was thinking of going with a light neutral color for the house and trim. I will start testing new darker colors now.
Hello, is your garage door made of wood or steel? Ours is wood, wondering if this would work for me?
My garage door is wood so you should have no trouble painting yours. If yours is painted a solid color and you want it to look like wood without having to strip the door to reveal the wood – painting it to look like wood is much easier. I did it a few years ago and it still looks great as do the front and side doors on my home that I did the same paint technique on.
Wow! That’s looks awesome – like you got a new door! Great job! Happy new year!
Thanks Kathy. I am so happy that I decided to go for it. Happy 2019! I hope it is a great one for you.
Thanks Kathy Happy 2019 :-)
Diane, the doors look so good. wow. that sure was a budget saver. We intend to replace our doors at some point but jeez they sure are expensive .
Hi Laura – Thanks. Garage doors are crazy expensive, especially when the door is one big massive door like mine, plus the installation. Cha…ching….:-)
The garage door looks amazing!! What a difference it makes ?. I love the inspiration photo of the dark blue/black paint that you showed. Really gorgeous look and I can see that on your house.
Thanks Lynn – After finding the photo of the dark painted house, I am leaning to the dark side. :-) There was a new house built across the lake from mine in the summer. It had all neutral exterior colors. After the owners moved in they painted everything dark. It was fun to see the transformation. The house now looks like it was always there. Fits in the wooded lakeside setting.