Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Finishing unfinished oak cabinets (black)

I have some unfinished oak cabinets and I want to stain them black or espresso colored. I would prefer to stain them as opposed to painting them, as I don't really like how painted cabinets look. I don't care about how much wood grain shows through.

Is it possible to get a nice deep, dark, finish using stain? I see that Minwax has a black stain in its water based formulation, but its sample does not look real "black" to me. Is it just a matter of using multiple coats?

Any tips specific to staining such a dark color would be appreciated (if any different from staining to more natural wood tones).

Thanks in advance.

Here are a couple ideas for you, try the Minwax water based stains:
Minwax® Water-Based Wood Stain - Wood Stains - Minwax.com (http://www.minwax.com/products/wood_stains/water_based_wood_stain.html#Colors)

The nice thing about water based stains is that the second coat, really makes a different compared with only a moderate difference with oil based stains. Get a scrap or an inside of one of the doors and try it out, If you aren't happy with the "blackness," my next suggestion would be, buy some oil based gloss black paint, add some thinner to it, brush it on and wipe it off to suit. If a second coat of that is needed, go for it. Thirdly, try a coat of water based stain, let it dry, then wipe on the oil based black, one of the three processes should work. Years ago you could buy water and ammonia stain crystals and make your own stain, but the brand name escapes me, as does probably the availability. Behlen is a name but not the one I was thinking of if you want to try.

Behlen Wood Finishes - Dry Powdered Aniline Dye Stains (http://www.cheyennesales.com/catalog/behaniline.htm)


Let me know how you do,

Bill

Thank you for you help. These all seem to be good ideas and I will try some samples to see how it looks. I would prefer to just use stain, as I like how that typically looks.

I can see very dark shades being more difficult to reproduce without painting though

Thank you for you help. These all seem to be good ideas and I will try some samples to see how it looks. I would prefer to just use stain, as I like how that typically looks.

I can see very dark shades being more difficult to reproduce without painting though

The water stain in two coats may be what you're looking for, I saw what you meant by a brown look to the black stain but that is one coat, the second coat should come out blacker. I personally like oil products and have done the paint thinning process many time. One of the nicest "black" jobs I did was for Julia Childs in her dining room on the floor, in Cambridge MA. A black stain and 3 or 4 coats of Sherwin Williams Beautilock varnish. She put an oriental rug down and several Chinese vases. The black floor is a great look.

Bill

Another product that we have found quite successful is Stain and Seal by Faux Effects

Faux Effects products, Faux painting supplies and faux painting books and videos and faux painting tools, Faux Effects Gold label and faux finishing brushes at Faux Marketplace (http://www.fauxmarketplace.com/catalog/product_info.php?keywords=stain%20and%20seal&sort=2a&products_id=665&osCsid=e7bb88c68d787a2e09cf4c11a82cf8eb)

A very simple and fail safe method. The product comes in many colors but I have noted the ebony. Liberon waxes create a beautiful finish as a option.

Thanks to both of you. I am going to try out some stain in the next few days on some sample pieces to see what happens. Maybe two coats of minwax and a nice poly finish is al I will need. Its just that I am more familiar with this method and have more confidence that I can pull it off, as opposed to trying something new and having it look half a$$ed.

"buy some oil based gloss black paint, add some thinner to it, brush it on and wipe it off to suit. If a second coat of that is needed, go for it."

I assume I still need to be using a primer before doing this? Just want to be sure as I have never done it. Oil based?

You don't need a primer when using a stain. I usually use a flat oil paint when making a stain but gloss black should work ok - not that I make a habit of thinning paint to use it as a stain, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do - to get the job right.

You don't need a primer when using a stain. I usually use a flat oil paint when making a stain but gloss black should work ok - not that I make a habit of thinning paint to use it as a stain, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do - to get the job right.

But I am not using a stain, per-say. I am using an oil based paint, with a little thinner added. Or is this the same as a stain when you do this? Its just that everything I have ever heard about painting is you never put "paint" on bare wood.

You aren't using the paint as paint. By thinning it drastically, you've pretty much turned it into a stain. Primer would prevent the 'stain' from penetrating into the wood. If you primed, the thin black paint wouldn't cover well and would need multiple coats = paint job.

thats what I thought you meant, but just checking!