Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Refacing/Re-staining kitchen cabinets

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Donna J
02-11-07, 09:44 AM
I read the DIY article on Refacing Kitchen Cabinets. It mentioned using a stripper on the cabinets. Can you use this on stained cabinets? After you strip them, can you then stain them a different color?

Thanks!

HotinOKC
02-11-07, 12:44 PM
The best option is to use a orbital sander and sand the surface of the cabinets. You then can restain to a darker color. It will be difficult to get a lighter stain shade without having to sand off all the original stain. Sanding does take a long time, so be prepared.
marksr
02-11-07, 06:23 PM
The stripper is effective to remove the finish - poly, varnish,etc. It may not remove the stain but all stripped wood should be sanded anyway prior to refinishing. To make the wood ready to accept new stain will require more effort than stripping to repaint.

destruct05
02-19-07, 07:16 PM
I'm going through the process as I write.
I tried several methods to remove the poly/stain and many stain options.
I started with golden oak cabinets. Tried strippers. But in any case I had to sand on the end. I decided to sand only. That probably depends on your current stain. Also, I found that Oak really works only with darker stains.
marksr
02-20-07, 08:04 AM
I found that Oak really works only with darker stains.


There are 2 main species of oak - red and white. Oak can be stained light colors, what you can't do [very effectively] is stain any wood a color that is lighter than the wood itself.