Best stain and sealer for wooden front door?

General Finishes gel stain. Goes on line paint, so prep is much easier. Follow that with General Finishes Exterior 450.

I got tired of refinishing my doors and had them painted instead in “faux stain”.

It lasted almost 10 years at my last house and has been on for 6 in my current one and still looks fine.

If in the BR Area, Rice Sutton is who I have used.

ETA: my rear cypress posts are stained, and I’ve used Helsman Spar polyurethane and it normally last a couple years before I have to reapply with a roller.

Do you have spar varnish on there currently? Kind of looks like it in the pictures. I used that for a few years but realized once it starts cracking then you are screwed. Had to sand down my columns to fresh wood. Ill never use it again.

I switched to TWP sealer a few years ago. Just pressure wash and reapply once every 2 years or so. No more sanding for me and it applies super easy with a roller or brush.

I will go this route next time I have to redo them. I just need to find someone in Lafourche Parish that does a decent job.

You’re saying spar varnish doesn’t do the trick? I do my front door and poles every year or so and they look great compared to the folks in the neighborhood who don’t.

This is what I use



Eta: that door and posts look bad. Mine get sun most of the day and they are super shiny and wet looking still

I had similar doors on my last house. I think some of your problem is the glass sweating and running down on the raised panels (I had the same problem ) I used mcclosky man o war spar varnish without stain. 14 coats on the exterior, 8 on the interior. I then caulked the windows with Lexel sealant so water couldn’t get behind the wood. Looked amazing and should last 5-10 years or longer with maintenance (I moved after a year and 1/2, so I can’t confirm)

This was almost certainly more work than most people want to invest in refinishing a front door, but I enjoyed making it pristine.

Edit: I primed the mahogany with smiths multi wood epoxy and applied the first coat of varnish while the penetrating epoxy was still tacky. Pretty much treated it like a wood boat.

stain with whatever color (general finishes) and top with Man-o war (marine/satin) cut with solvent and put 3/4 coats. Will last (and look new) a couple years

LINK

Yes, after 45+yrs of sanding and refinishing our front leaded glass door and side lights with Helmsman Marine finish, we called Sherwin Williams and they recommended Man O War. We removed all of the finish down to bare wood and stained lightest color. Looks like a new door. Well worth $100 a gallon!!! We even refinished the cypress post and beams on our outdoor kitchen facing hot west sun everyday.