Technical > Home Improvement > Painting Bifold Doors

Painting Bifold Doors

Wood veneer ?

. . . or go to a big box store and buy some replacements that are real wood.

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March is National Noodle Month

reply to bryank
I see your trim is mainly the color of those doors. Have you thought about just keeping the color the same but putting some kind of wood shellac or urethane to make them shinier? It would be closer to the color you want yet should still blend in with your trim. Might want to just test out the inside of one of the doors and see if you like it anyway.

reply to bryank
Pigmented stain?

Or as dandelion suggests, a shellac. You can get various shades of amber shellac so you might be able to bring out more of a red shade coming closer to the red chestnut.

reply to bryank
Is it real wood veneer or is it a plastic type surface? As long as it's real wood you can stain it. MDF is real wood but it's very heavy so I doubt your closet doors are made of it. I don't see any repeating grains in those doors so I'd guess they are real wood veneer. If they were mica or plastic the pattern would repeat.
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"Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others." - Winston Churchill

reply to bryank
I just touched based with a certified master woodworker. They recommend a gel stain. It will work on veneer, fiberglass, wood, metal, etc. so should do the job. They are also made for vertical application so you could just put a paint cloth down and leave them installed to stain provided you can open a window to vent the fumes. Minwax makes some you can get at the box stores. Test a small area on the back of the doors first to be safe.
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"Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others." - Winston Churchill

reply to bryank
Sorry I did forget to mention it is a veneer....the trim you see in the picture is not of this room. I am remodeling an office for my wife with bamboo floor, white trim, the red chestnut door color and last is these bifolding doors. I did think of the Gel stain, but I thought it still would need to soak into the wood for the effect to work. I have painted these doors white (in another room) and had to sand the shiny finish off, prime, then paint...and it has worked great. But in here, I need a more red color door.

You can't stain over a finish. I would not recommend trying to sand it off either. The irregularity of the wood makes it hard to get the surface and look uniform. Strip off the old finish and then sand very lightly before re-staining and refinishing.

reply to bryank
So I ended up getting some Minwax Gel Stain in a Mahogany color and so far I like the look. Gonna throw a coat or two of poly on it and we should be good.

reply to robbin

reply to bryank
All I did was sand with 220 grit paper, taking most of the shiny off, then gel stained right over it. The first two doors I did look good, the other I think I got a little too zealous, and are a little darker. But my wife likes them, this is for her office, so that's all that matters I guess.