Is there any way that I can restain these cabinets myself?

Karen
by Karen

The cabinets have a lot of detail and they're very shiny. what can I do if I would like to keep the woodgrain look but staying them in a gray color?

Is this an impossible task? Or is it something I can do myself?

I've never done anything like this.

Is there anyone in the community that knows how to help me do this?

  8 answers
  • William William on May 08, 2019

    You can stain over stain with gel stain. You can go darker but not lighter. To stain lighter they would need to be sanded down to raw wood. Another option is to paint them but you will loose the grain.

  • Virginia S. Virginia S. on May 08, 2019

    I had dark cabinets similar to yours, and I had someone paint them white. What a difference it made! Really brightened up the kitchen a lot. I see you have white appliances, so it would blend in nicely. I would change out those pulls as well. I go to an antique shop in Maine that has tons of beautiful hand painted pulls for little money. Maybe you can find a shop near you. Good luck with your project!

  • Karen Karen on May 09, 2019

    Thank you for your input. Have a happy Mother's Day !

  • You would need to sand them to raw wood and with the trim details, that's not going to be a fun job. Maybe something like this would work: https://www.blesserhouse.com/how-to-create-a-weathered-wood-look-with-paint/

    • See 1 previous
    • Karen Karen on May 09, 2019

      What about something called liquid sandpaper?

  • Betty Mincer Betty Mincer on May 09, 2019

    Have NONE OF YOU PEOPLE GIVING HER ANSWERS every heard of "STRIPPING" paint & stain off of something?????

    There is a stripper out there that is ORANGE and it smells like ORANGES so you don't have to worry about passing out when using it. You can buy it at Wal-Mart, and Lowes, for sure, and probably at Home Depot, Menards, Busy Beaver and any other do it your self store.

    All you do is take the door off, brush the stripper on, not super heavy, but not real thin. Go upstairs and sweep your floors or watch tv. for 30 to 45 minutes, then go back to the basement and using a scrapper gently, so you don't gouge the wood, start at one end and place the scrapper on an angle and push it to the other end of the door.

    If you have a tough spot that doesn't want to come off try lightly scrapping it and if still no luck then reapply the remover and wait another 15 minutes and try again. Now if you have an area on the door that is set in then you would put the remover on wait the allotted time then put rubber gloves on, and using an old CLEAN RAG, wipe the remover off and repeat the process if necessary.

    Now for the area around the doors, you will have to put plastic down on your counter top to protect it, then brush the remover on, BUT DON'T PUT IT ON AS THICK BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT IT TO RUN RIGHT OFF AN FALL TO YOUR COUNTER TOP, then use the same process of removing it as you did with the set in area of your door.

    Then when everything is all said and down and the wood is clean and dry, STAIN AWAY in whatever way you want.

    • See 1 previous
    • Karen Karen on May 10, 2019

      Thank you, for your input I will give that a try. Have an awesome day!

  • Teresa Teresa on May 09, 2019

    Thanks Betty-couldn't figure out why all the opposite answers to the question. Also if applying plastic sheeting over the wood while the stripper works would help in keeping the stripper from drying out would help. Numbering the doors and laying them in a row to keep them organized is helpful. They should be removed as it'd be difficult stripping while hanging.

    • See 1 previous
    • Karen Karen on May 10, 2019

      Thank you, for your input. Where can I find the plastic sheeting? Is that a Home Depot product? It sounds like I'm getting it over my head. Have an awesome day !

  • Bobbie Bobbie on May 10, 2019

    I rather have them a lighter color.

  • William William on May 14, 2019

    Liquid sand paper just removes gloss for painting. You can use Citristrip stripper, plastic putty knife to remove the stripper. Won't scratch the wood. Wire brass brush for the details. Brass will not hurt the wood. Then some minor sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. Remove the doors, label them where they go. A lot of work but doing it right the first time.