OT cabinet refinishing ?

[jfl14609]

I know there are a lott of skilled people on here so I thought it would be a good place to ask. My wife and are debating on refinishing out kitchen cabinets to a darker color. Since we are using a darker stain do we have to do through the while stripping procedure or could we just sand the wood to get the seal off then stain and seal?

 

[Srixon]

I would strip them.....but you could try your method on a small door or small drawer front to see if it will do what you want it to do.

 

[jfl14609]

whats the disk of doing it that way just a different color?

 

[robkoi]

what kind of wood?if oak should be stripped because of the deep gran.

 

[jfl14609]

i believe its oak and I know they should be stripped but I am just trying to make them look better and get a few years out of them we did a large renovation on the kitchen so we are just trying to save fore a few years and get new ones but these just look tired

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

IMHO painting (with an opaque paint) is significantly less effort if you're just looking to freshen them up. Just scuff sand the surfaces and go. No need to lament stain looking weird if you don't get the old finish completely off.

We painted our cabinets when we moved into this place 8 years ago, thinking we'd replace them shortly, but it looked good enough that we've kept them.

 

[jfl14609]

I was thinking about that but we have been afraid of having to redo them all the time any way to get a pic of them after a few years

 

[superkat]

jeff, i refinish antiques all the time. i also redid all the hardwoods in our house by hand (Lizz will tell you how nice they look). I have never stripped the wood. I use a hand sander to buff off the surface, then i use a wood oil and let that sink into the wood and dry. then i go over it with the stain (i usually use stain/poly seal...MinWood, i believe.) I refinished the floors in the aviary every summer (for obvious reasons...12 birds = big mess). I do the same with furniture. With the oak, you may end up getting a deeper tone on the grain.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I was thinking about that but we have been afraid of having to redo them all the time any way to get a pic of them after a few years

Pardon the mess, I just finished dinner:

There's a LITTLE bit of wear near the most-used doors:

But for an active family of 5 who spends a lot of time in the kitchen it's holding up well.

jeff, i refinish antiques all the time.

Ahhhhh! Haven't you ever seen Antiques Roadshow? Refinishing makes things worth like 10% as much!

(I keed, I keed)

 

[superkat]

refinishing great pieces of furniture (i have a EB Carpenter Pump Organ built in 1810...when it was only being made for royalty in England...that still works) is therapy. I so appreciate the craftmanship and true ART that went into design and build of an era long gone.

 

[Srixon]

Jeff.... I am also a fan of antiques.....and have a few too....trust your options....I can lead you down the path.....but in no way will I accept responsibility....

 

[reefman5511]

Jeff, to properly refinish the cabinets you should strip them first. Reason being is that the orignal sealer & topcoat has sealed the surface. If you put stain on top of that it won't penetrate into the grain of the wood. MinWax does make a combination stain/poly product that could be used. However it will no doubt take multiple coats to get the color you want. If you decide to go that route, be sure to clean the cabinets first to remove any cooking grease. Lightly sand & then solvent wipe to remove any dust.

 

[jfl14609]

Jeff.... I am also a fan of antiques.....and have a few too....trust your options....I can lead you down the path.....but in no way will I accept responsibility....

funny stuff so what do all you guys think want to refinish my cabinets for frags hehe. I have a cabinet I use in the garage I pulled out when I installed my dishwasher so I figure I could grab m palm sander sand the door get a few different shades of stain and see what I like that way I will know my color. and if I hate all of them off to painting I go although I am a terrible painter so I would be afraid of streaks where as stain and poly are a bit more forgiving

der did you paint those by hand or spray them?

 

[jfl14609]

Jeff, to properly refinish the cabinets you should strip them first. Reason being is that the orignal sealer & topcoat has sealed the surface. If you put stain on top of that it won't penetrate into the grain of the wood. MinWax does make a combination stain/poly product that could be used. However it will no doubt take multiple coats to get the color you want. If you decide to go that route, be sure to clean the cabinets first to remove any cooking grease. Lightly sand & then solvent wipe to remove any dust.

I believe this is the product I used on my aquarium stand I think ids called poly shades or something like that given say three coats would it give as strong of a finish? I mean you looking at 1 coat of stain and at least two coats of sealer if I strip it right? also even though that has the poly mixed in can you add an additional code of straight poly over it if you really want a strong coating

 

[Gravesj1s]

I would strip the seal coat then bleach the original stain.You can use wood conditioner to get an even stain finish that might help, too.

FWIW-
I hate gel stains as well as any types that incorporate stain with poly/varnish,it is far to time consuming doing multiple coats.I use thinner to those types to break down the poly or varnish saving alot of time.By doing this the stain will penetrate deeper IME and dry far quicker. If not you'll have to let the first coat dry all the way then sand the poly/varnish surface to apply more stain to acheive the color you want,major PITA.

 

[jfl14609]

jeff, i refinish antiques all the time. i also redid all the hardwoods in our house by hand (Lizz will tell you how nice they look). I have never stripped the wood. I use a hand sander to buff off the surface, then i use a wood oil and let that sink into the wood and dry. then i go over it with the stain (i usually use stain/poly seal...MinWood, i believe.) I refinished the floors in the aviary every summer (for obvious reasons...12 birds = big mess). I do the same with furniture. With the oak, you may end up getting a deeper tone on the grain.

Kat any pics of any cabinet syle furniture you've done the quick and easy way haha

 

[superkat]

no...but give me today to take some...i'm leaving for Buffalo in a few...i'll be back this afternoon.

 

[block head]

i've painted about 25 kitchens. with a little bit of searching ,you can buy new cabinet doors for less than $15 a door. a fresh coat of paint and new hardware is the way to go.

 

[reefman5511]

I believe this is the product I used on my aquarium stand I think ids called poly shades or something like that given say three coats would it give as strong of a finish? I mean you looking at 1 coat of stain and at least two coats of sealer if I strip it right? also even though that has the poly mixed in can you add an additional code of straight poly over it if you really want a strong coating

Stains for the most part are just dyes & pigments dispersed in some sort of solvent. Adding stain to poly is basically what they've done. You can always put another coat of clear to give it additional protection. I normally use 3 coats of poly on everything. Important thing is to be sure you get the next coat on before the previous one cures completely. Otherwise you need to sand between coats. When sanding be sure to remove all dust with a tack rag or a rag soaked in thinner. Poly dust doesn't redissolve like lacquer dust does.

 

[jfl14609]

Now here is a big questing it seems like the poly on the cabinet wore through would make a difference if I left them the same color could I just sand stain and poly then?