Personally, I think Tony may not be describing the scenario accurately. I = think he is using terms not quite appropriately, as we understand them, tho= ugh his intentions are obviously well meant.
That door, the sidelights and the sill are in bad shape, finish-wise. Some= one mentioned mahogany. I can't tell if the wood is mahogany, Spanish Ceda= r or what.
It appears to me some finish is still on the woodwork, giving those areas t= he wet look, and Tony may be assuming these areas are stained areas. It ap= pears the finish has been removed from some areas (no matter what removed i= t, if so) and these areas may appear, to Tony, to be raw wood or a differen= t "stain" color. Other areas seem to have been silvered/grayed, from sun e= xposure.
If this above assessment is correct, then Tony needs to strip, sand, scrape= or whatever it takes, to completely clean the doorway of all previous fini= sh (and stain, if applicable), so that he has a completely raw wood doorway= . Once clean, he can wipe down some or all areas with mineral spirits to s= ee how dark the woodwork will be, when a clear coat is applied, i.e., the w= et look. We all know what this wet look is, but is Tony aware of this wet = look effect? I'm suspecting not. This wet look may be the same "stained" = look (darkness?) he is assuming is at the bottom of his door... and sill.
He needs to clean the door of all finish and whatever, then give it the min= eral spirits wipe down, then assess if he wants a stain. I highly suspect = he will not want a stain. I really think the wet look is the darkness he w= ants to achieve, that same darkness that is still on some areas of his door= - way.
Sonny