Garage Door: Take 2

If you have the time/weather for one more outdoor project this year, let this be it.
Because it's fab.u.lous.

Okay - from the beginning...
Last Spring, I attempted to turn my metal garage door into something more decorative. I lusted after those super expensive wood doors, and had seen the standard metal doors painted to look like wood, and I decided I could do that, too. I didn't go at it blindly...I did some internet research...and the results were pretty impressive. At least, I was impressed. Here's the original Garage Door Makeover post.

Unfortunately, the finish did not hold up to the elements. Our home is on top of a mountain, and we have pretty severe Winters. Gusting winds...driving snow...you get it.
The garage door came away from the Spring thaw looking a little (lot) worse for the wear.

(not quite this bad - this picture was taken later in the summer...)

So I thought and thought about what to do to fix it.
Meanwhile, the garage door got worse and worse.

My darling husband begged me just to paint it black.
"But it's so boring!" (I wailed)
To which he replied "It's a garage door" (and he's thinking - how exciting does it need to be?)

But I'm nothing if not a rebel. And anyway, I figured my garage door is 50% of my home's curb appeal! It DOES need to be exciting!
So I did a little more internet research - I even looked into having the door faux painted by a professional. The cheapest price I could find for that, though, was $450.
Um...no.

Here we go.
First, I pressure washed the garage door. The old stain was still flaking off in places, though, so it had to be sanded. I won't lie - the husband did 90% of this part.

(sanded and ready to go!)

When that was done I painted it this disgusting caramel color. The neighbors were terrified, I'm sure.
Next I added some faux wood grain marks (using a wood graining tool) to random spots.

Finally I started painting it. I used three different colors - the gross caramel color I started with, a chocolate brown, and black. I mixed them on the brush, in buckets, and on the door, working towards a natural wood look - with lots of color variation.

When I was done, I applied 2 coats of spar urethane to seal it.

(in the sun)

 (in the shade)

This took a long time! I only worked on it while my little one was outside playing near me, though. If I had just worked on it straight through, I'd guess it would have taken about 3 days. One day for the base coat and first set of wood graining, one day for the painting part, and another day to seal it.

I love the way it turned out, and I've gotten a TON of compliments on it. Several of my neighbors have stopped to tell me how beautiful it is, and one even asked if she could pay me to do hers! I declined...for now. I'm pretty confident that this will hold up - the door was sanded first, I used all exterior paints, and I sealed it with an exterior urethane product. But still...if this one chips off, I don't want it happening on someone else's house!

Here's the original before. The garage door as the builder painted it. Blah!

Here it is after my original "faux wood" treatment

And here it is today - absolutely gorgeous :)

The new finish is a HUGE improvement over the old one - live and learn, right?!
Linking up all over town to show off my oh-so-labor-intensive project!
Transformation Thursday at the Shabby Chic Cottage
Get Your Craft On Thursday at Life as Lori
Show Off Your Stuff at Fireflies and Jellybeans
Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple
and maybe some Friday parties, too. I'm really proud of this one! lol