Painting a wood look fiberglass door

If paint is chipping and peeling you will want to use a chemical stripper to remove all the paint. Unlike a wood door, you don't want to put a heat gun or sander on this material for smoothing out the chipped and peeling areas.

Remove the door and set it on saw horses to make your work easier. Remove all hardware and start stripping using a plastic scraper instead of a metal one and a stiff bristled nylon brush to get in the hard to reach places.

Once the paint is removed, use a towel dampened with water to help neutralize the stripper and wipe the door down a few times to make sure all the stripper is removed.

Then it's just a matter of priming and painting the door. Check with a good paint store like Sherwin Williams or Helm as to their recommendations for products to result in a good finish.

I'm partial to the exterior latex paints SW has and have been using them for over 30 years with great results.

ETA: If you plan on staining it, use a gel stain and brush it on as evenly as you possibly can since the product will not get absorbed into the fiberglass. It will only lay on top. Once the stain is to your liking, let it dry completely then apply your finish coat of poly or varnish-----and do 2 to 3 coats of that.

Will the chemical stripper affect the door itself being fiberglass

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Could I do something to refinish that area and rehab the overall door?

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Spot refinishing is never a good idea. Just bite the bullet and do the entire face and be done with it. I mean, it's only around 21 or so sq. ft. of surface.

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To piggy back on this, we have some gel stained fiberglass doors facing south. What should be any routine maintenance activities for these and how often?

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Personally, I'd just clean them until the finish starts looking rough and then simply redo them. They are fiberglass, so it's not like they will rot, but you have to worry about punctures or cracks in the surface if they get hit hard enough.

I absolutely hate metal doors for their ease of denting when hit. I'd never have on of them on my house.

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Thanks, I think. Is it absolutely necessary to strip?

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You mentioned no peeling or chipping on your door. Give it a shot to see if you can closely match the stain already there and do a spot repair and see how it comes out. If you don't like it, then strip it.

Like I mentioned, it really isn't all that much area to do it right from the get-go. Personally, I would not try to refinish it in just a few spots, but that's me being me.