Of should I paint it white? I don't want to have to shave the door
next summer. The door in question is under an awning, and behind a
white storm door that does not trap air, so it should be OK, but I just
want to throw out the question, just in case I really shouldn't do
this. The stain I plan on using is MinWax "Golden Oak" and it is a
medium brown...

My preference is because I can stain and varnish better than I can
paint, and I do prefer the look of stained wood. That and as far as I
can tell varnish does hold up a lot better than paint.