Staining fiberglass entry door.

[Thomas]

As i stain, can i use mineral spirts to remove dark spots? I have been but want further stain to stick before top seal. Looks ok so far. Therma tru door and minwax stain. Minwas clear on top.

3 coats stain and 3 clear on top. I hate this. I picked a finished door and it came raw. Both 84 lumber and therma will not make it right. Next is to fill nail holes in prehung white frame, drill the bolt holes and satin white paint that. I asked about half by 3 q trim for windows, i bought 34 by 34 and will cut 1 fourth off in another post. Home maker frustration.

[Thomas]

nothing? Real home question without trump.

Ok trump says 10 but really 4. Good now?

[Dean Hoffman]

I'd gladly answer but don't have a clue about the issue. Arguing politics just for fun is one thing. However, this is important.

[Dan Espen]

I did some fiberglass doors with stain and poly a few years back.

But I couldn't figure out what your question was.

I put on one coat of stain. You wipe off the excess to get the color you want. They provided door pieces to practice on.

The doors still look great. Keep some of the stain to repair scratches.

[Thomas]

Thanks. Question is can I use mineral spirits to wipe dark spots and still apply stain before clearcoat? Is the stain compatable with mineral? Is there a longer dry time?

[Dan Espen]

I got kits from the manufacturer what included mineral spirits. I don't remember using that to remove stain but I put on the stain then wiped off enough to get the color depth I wanted. Tf yours has dried so much that you can't just wipe it off I'm sure the mineral spirits will be fine.

I was a bit confused about your multiple coats question. I was using a darker color (mahogany). It went on darker than I wanted so I was mainly removing excess, not adding coats.

I hope you get a good result, mine came out great. The doors are fiberglass but they give a good impression of being wood even right up close.

[Thomas]

Thanks Dan. The inner round plastic surrounding the oval glass was hard to stain but I installed the door today. Lookers said it is showroom quality but I can see my shortcomings.

[Dan Espen]

I did 3 doors with square windows and wooden inserts to imitate grids. It was hard to get the wood to match the fiber glass. The front door with the oval used fiber glass, not plastic so it matched with no problem. Just checked, they were Therma Tru also.

[Thomas]

Staining new trim now, easy. Filled in the nails raw from therma tru and will paint white frame tomorrow. Bought a storm door Lorson Tradewinds to match but it is one quarter inch too big. I have never hated a project so much. Can I take 1/4 off? 585293 320 bucks from lowes.

[Dan Espen]

That's an aluminum storm door. I don't see how you're going to make it smaller. Making the opening a bit bigger might be possible. A plane or one of those plunge cutters.

I think taking the door back might be your best bet.

Projects that don't go well can be a pain. If I can get a cool new tool out of a project that's a win.

[Thomas Argo]

I got a Kobalt chissel. 12 bucks.

[Dan Espen]

Some of my favorites from projects:

Electric plane Plunge cutter Heat gun Sawzall Tiller

Each one lets you do things you could only do with great difficulty before.

My chisels are still useful but that plunge cutter is sometimes the better tool.