Partially gel stained garage doors

How to Gel Stain A Garage Door

Are you tired of looking at your faded, chalky, aluminum garage doors? Revitalize your garage doors with Minwax gel stain. Gel stains come in several colors and provide a nice finish that will last for years. We used Minwax gel stain on our aluminum garage doors back in 2015 and they look great.

Gel stain works great on other surfaces too.  According to the Minwax website “Gel Stain can be applied to non-wood surfaces, including metal, veneer, and fiberglass”, as long as the surfaces are properly prepared. It’s a great product and easy to work with. Give it a try.  You won’t regret it!

Recommended Materials For Applying Gel Stain

To help get you started, below is a list of recommended materials you’ll want to have on hand to get started. There are a couple of application methods listed, so use the one you prefer or have available. I am including links to some of the material for pricing and informational purposes.

I am required to let you know that some of our links are “affiliate product links”. This means if you click on a link and make a purchase, we could make a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps offset the cost of maintaining our website.

  • Minwax Gel Stain – When checking the price, be sure to select the desired color, because the price does vary between colors.
  • Paint brush or Clean cloth – A good, natural bristle brush is recommended.
  • Nitrile Disposable Gloves – Rubber gloves are highly recommended. Along with staining your skin, this is a petroleum product, so avoiding contact with your skin is best.
  • Scotch Brite Pad – Scotch Brite pads work great for loosening debris and cleaning the surface to be stained.
  • Mineral Spirits – Mineral spirits is required to clean up gel stain.
  • Painter’s Tape – Needed to tape off surrounding areas to protect them.
  • Drop Cloths or plastic sheeting – To protect cement and garage doors for drips. Gel stain is a thick product designed to be applied to verticle surfaces with minimal dripping. However, drips and spills can occur, so this is an added precaution. Plastic sheeting or large pieces of cardboard can be used as well.
  • Minwax Clear Coat (exterior) – Although Minwax recommends a clear coat, we did not use one and the results and durability have been just fine here in Michigan.

How To Prepare A Surface For Gel Stain

As with most painting and staining projects, surface preparation is very important. We used Minwax Gel Stain on a bathroom vanity during a bathroom makeover project and it worked great.  But for this article, we’re focusing on gel staining aluminum garage doors. Some materials, such as certain woods, have slightly different preparation requirements. So be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the surface you’ll be painting.

gel stained vanity before, during, and after application
Gel Stained Vanity

For the aluminum garages doors, they will need to be clean and dry, with no oily residue or loose debris. There are a couple of ways you can prepare them. Wash the doors using a mild soap, that leaves no residue, with a sponge, and rinse them well. For more thorough cleaning, you can use a Scotch Brite pad instead of a sponge.

Another option, which we used, was to use our pressure washer to clean the doors. This works well. After the door is completely dried, wipe them down with a clean, dry cloth to make sure there is no loose debris.

Things To Do Before Starting

Be sure to use painters tape to tape off the weather stripping and trim around the doors. Use a drop cloth, plastic sheeting, or cardboard under the door to prevent any stain that may drip from getting on your concrete floor. If you accidentally get the stain on any surrounding surface, use mineral spirits or paint thinner to clean it up quickly.

Partially gel stained garage doors

How To Apply Gel Stain

Once the cleaning preparation is done, applying a gel stain is much like painting. Below are the steps we used for a nice even finish.

  • For best results apply the gel stain at temperatures between 55 and 85 degrees.
  • Be sure to stir the stain thoroughly prior to applying.
  • Use a good quality, natural bristle brush to apply the stain.
  • You should start by doing the raised panels first.
  • Finish with thin even strokes, in the direction of the embossed wood grain.
  • Additional coats can be applied to achieve a darker finish, but allow at least 6 hours between coats.
  • UPDATE: For additional protection, we are now recommending that you use the Minwax clear protective coating. We did not use the clear coat on ours and it looked great for several years. However, after 5 years of Michigan’s weather, we are starting to see some minor flaking beginning. We would hope the additional protection will extend the gel stain’s life to 10-15 years.

Update: Gel Stained Polebarn Garage Door

This little project has been on our radar for quite a while, but we finally got it done in 2019. The door was beginning to show its age, so we had to do something. The gel stain transformed the old faded aluminum door into a door that looks brand new.

As with the garage doors attached to the house, we couldn’t be happier with the results! We think it gives the place a nice consistent look. Even though the garage door gel stain is 5 years older than the polebarn door, they have held up very well.

However, now that we’ve started seeing signs of flaking on garage doors, we will be applying the clear protective coating to our polebarn door. We will also redo our garage doors and seal them as well. We still love the product.

Enjoy Your Efforts

Applying gel stain to your aluminum garage doors is something you can easily do. It will certainly spruce up your home and improve how it looks. Give it a try and let us know how it turns out. We’re confident you’ll love the results!

Garage doors after Gel Stain application
Finished Product

If you have any comments or questions, you can leave them in the comments section below or you can email us at [email protected]. FYI, we do not collect or share email addresses.  We will only use them to reply to your comments or provide answers to your questions. We are also required to let you know that some of our links are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on a link and make a purchase, we could make a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps offset the cost of maintaining our website. So, if you like what you’ve seen, please be sure to give us a “Like” and “Share” on Facebook and Instagram too.  Thank you for reading and good luck with all your home projects!

42 thoughts on “How to Gel Stain A Garage Door”

  1. I think it would be fine as long as the paint is clean, oil free, and not flaking. A light sanding, with a fine sandpaper, will help the gel stain to adhere.

  2. Sorry, but I’m not familiar with the desk. However, with operating telescoping legs several times a day I imagine there are a few potential “wear points” and I’m not sure how well the gel stain would hold up.

  3. Catherine Edwards

    Any idea if this would work on an electric sit stand desk frame? The frame is aluminum. If you aren’t familiar, the legs raise and lower in 3 sections. Telescoping might be good way to describe. $2,000 functional desk for my need to sit a bit then stand many times a day for work but not fond of gray frame. Thank you!

  4. 1 quart of gel stain will cover 200 square feet according to Minwax. We did two 7×8 garage doors and had plenty. We only needed to apply one coat and the doors looked good.

  5. I have a new (side) metal garage door I would like to gel stain ,it is new and been all ready primed from factory , it doesn’t have a would grain on it like a garage door can I use the gel stain and if so what direction do I apply it ? Thank you

  6. Our garage doors have a wood grain pattern stamped into the panels and the gel stain goes on nicely allowing you to see the pattern. If yours has the word grain, then I’m sure it will work for you too.

  7. Thank you for sharing your experience, your tips are very helpful. My double size aluminum garage door is already painted dark brown. In your opinion, will it be possible for me to achieve similar results?…a wood grain is my goal.

  8. We live in Michigan and our garage doors lasted for over 10 years before showing any signs of flaking. And that was without applying a clear coat finish over it. I know we rarely, if ever, get down to -30 below, but we do have below zero temperatures frequently. All I see on the Minwax website is that the product is good for outdoor use, but you should use a clear coat. With our experience, we now definitely agree with using the clear coat. I believe if you properly prepare the surface and apply the gel stain and clear coat according to the Minwax recommendations there is no reason you shouldn’t get 10 years plus out of the gel stain. Although I have no way of guaranteeing that claim, especially in those extreme conditions. Have you tried reaching out to Minwax? They may be able to provide more information based on test results of their product.

  9. Is this gel stain suitable for colder climates? I live in Edmonton where we can get -30 degree nights.

  10. Minwax says a quart will cover 200 square feet. However, when we did our pole barn single door (9’x8’=72aq.ft.) we used a little more than half a quart. That was using a single coat. We must have put it on a little thick. (?) if you are doing standard size garage doors (9’x7′) you may be able to do 2 doors. Good luck with your project and let us know how it turns out.

  11. It looks great! You’ve inspired me to transform our garage doors too! 😁 How many cans of Gel Stain per door did this project require? Thanks!

  12. That’s awesome. Gel stain is a great product and can be used on lots of things. We just need to use our imaginations. Thanks for sharing your results!

  13. Looks great! I’ve been on a gel stain kick as of late. I’ve gel stained my front door which is a fiberglass door with wood look grain. It looks absolutely fabulous. We were going crazy figuring out replacing the door to match our new garage doors and then after a few youtube searches I realized I could gel stain at a fraction of a fraction of a cost! Voila! I did apply an exterior urethane to protect the gel stain from weathering. I didn’t use the wipe off method for front door. Our family is really happy we saved a ton of money and got the same result. I gel stained our pool table as well before we got the felt replaced too. It looks amazing as well. The pool table we did use the wipe off method. I gel stained and wiped off gel on the pool table twice. Very elegant results. Wish I could post pics.

  14. You should be able to apply over the paint with proper preparation. Remove any loose paint, sand those areas smooth and for best, longer-lasting results, scuff the entire surface with 220 grit sandpaper or Scotchbrite pads. Going over the light color may require a second coat for good, even coverage. The stain should be applied at temperatures over 50 degrees. We do recommend using a clear finish for a longer-lasting finish. Good luck and hope you let us know how things go!

  15. Can this stain be put over a garage door that is painted a cream color? Does it need to be taken off? Power washed verses hand scrubbing ? What happens to color if stain is placed over cream color ? How many Coates ? Best time … temperature wise should this be done in? Thank you … looking forward to a really cool experience !

  16. The color of the gel stain you use may make a difference, but if you clean and “scuff” the door before you start, you should be fine. At worst, you may need to apply a second coat. Good luck!

  17. Love it! I want to gel stain my garage door for the faux wood effect. I am concerned about my current moss green colored door. Can I gel stain over it? Should I paint it an orange base first? Or does that just depend on how dark I want the door?

  18. Your question comes at a very good time. We gel stained our garage doors a little over 5 years ago and they have looked great. However, looking closely at them they are beginning to show signs of a little flaking in a few areas. It may be in your best interest to use the protective coating to increase the life of the gel stain. We will be updating the article to recommend using the protective coating. We will also be applying the protective coating to the pole barn door we gel stained last summer. If the protective coating helps extend the life of the gel stain to 10+ years, it would make it a cost effected option.

  19. This looks so good. I live in MN with a colder climate in the winters, similar to Michigan. Just to confirm, this gel stain has held up for you without a protectant coat? Even through winter?

  20. As long as the paint is not peeling or cracking I don’t think it would be a problem. Of course, you will still need to clean and properly prepare the surface before applying the gel stain.

  21. can i put the gel stain over an already existing garage door that has been faux painted to look like wood.

  22. To date, we have not applied it to bare aluminum. However, we have applied it to smooth cabinet finishes and had good luck as long as you scuff or light sand the surface. We believe it would work fine on the bare aluminum as long as you run over it with fine sandpaper. The textured surface should hold the stain fine.

  23. My garage door was peeling, so we pressure washed it and got off all the peeling paint. There are spots that are bare aluminum where the paint came off. Would you recommend painting the door first and then applying the gel stain, or would the gel stain be okay going directly on the bare aluminum?

  24. The “Minwax Gel Stain” can be used in both interior and exterior applications. They do recommend a different clear coat product for interior versus exterior but can be used outside. There is a link to the exterior product Minwax recommends for exterior applications in the material list (Minwax Clear Coat). We did not use the clear coat on our doors and they have held up nicely for 5 years now, so we list it as optional in the article.

  25. I’m thinking of doing our garage door this same color did you use exterior stain?Or is there such a thing I checked Lowe’s and Home Depot all they carry is interior stain where I live.

  26. It would probably depend on what you are trying to achieve. If the surface is prepared properly (clean, dry, and scuffed/roughened slightly), the gel stain will probably cover the white door. However, if you want some of the caramel base color to come through, so it looks like wood grain, then we think the satin might work better. The smoother surface texture should allow you to put the gel stain on thinner and the base color would show through better. If you have a more specific question, let us know and we will try and help further.

  27. I plan on painting my white garage door with a caramel color before applying the Gel Stain. Would you recommend a flat or satin exterior finish for the base color?

  28. Sorry, we do not have any photos with brick at this time. FYI, there are several different colors of Minwax Gel stain available.

  29. I’ve seen several photos of the mini wax/painted wood-look garage door up against lighter color frame garages but never next to brick. Would love to see that done somewhere before trying it. Anyone have photos?

  30. I have to be honest and say I have never applied gel stain to a fiberglass surface however, I truly believe it should work just fine. The key would be to thoroughly clean the surface and make sure it is free of any loose debris and/or oils. A Scotch Brite pad used with a mild soap and water mixture does a good job of cleaning and then rinse it well. The Scotch Brite pads should help loosen and remove any surface debris and help add a very fine surface profile (texture) for the stain to better adhere to.

  31. [email protected] have a fiberglass front door its like a brown color thinking of painting this door the door is now like chalky in most places from sun n weather ..can i use the gel stain..door has texture….thank in advance

  32. If you clean and prep the surface good, I think there is a very good chance you’ll be fine with one coat. I’ll be honest though, I’ve never applied the stain to a white door, but at worst you may have to apply a second coat. If you have to apply the second coat be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions and allow it to dry properly.

  33. My garage doors are white. Do I need to paint them a tan color first before I apply the stain or will the white color work?

  34. We’ve only applied the gel stain to wood textured, aluminum garage doors. We did use it on a smooth laminate cabinet in our “Bathroom Update” project and had good results. Are your doors metal or wood? Do they have paint on them already? If you can run over the surface with a coarse Scothbrite pad or fine sandpaper, the gel stain will go on and cover much better. You still may need to apply a second coat to get a good even color. Just be sure to allow the stain to completely dry between coats.

  35. I am fairly certain it was a walnut color. We are very impressed with how durable the gel stain is. It’s been several years since we stained our doors and they’re still looking great. Good luck.

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