To paint or varnish my door...

I need to replace a door in my house but it is a non-standard size and I couldn't find a replacement anywhere.

I have just bought an external door from a friend who works for my local council (all above board - honest!) and it's the ugliest door ever. No problems though because I plan to stick some mouldings on it and a pretty stained glass panel (there's an aperture cut out).

Anyway, I'm not really sure what kind of wood it's made of but there are no knots or anything and I can't even really see a grain. It's a solid door. Just wondered if it would look really really stupid if I stained and varnished it. Should I just paint it white?

What do you think?

Claire

Sounds like a mahogany fire door, is it a darkish reddy brown?..in which case it will take a varnish.

Has it been varnished before?

Depends if the door is all dis-coloured. If it is i would paint it white.

If it is a flat flush door then I don't think it will look right varnished, even if you trick it up with applied mouldings.

I would reserve varinish (or breathing stains) for panelled doors.

It's like a light ash colour and it's there's no stain/varnish/paint on it. It's basically a big thick plank of wood.

I suppose I could stain and varnish it first then paint over it if it looks stupid right?

C