Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - restaining birch kitchen cabinets

Hi, i am new to all of this. I think I have birch kitchen cabinets that are white washed. They are a very light color and were installed in 1992. I would like to restain them to a darker color. Is restaining white washed birch cabinets a bad idea? I have seen postings on oak, but not birch. I am not even sure if I am even using the right terminology! Thanks for any advice you can give. I have looked all over the internet but can't find much on this.

Welcome to the forums!

Birch can be stained but first you need to remove the existing finish. Stains are formulated to be used over raw wood.

Sure you can re-stain birch cabinets. First remove old varnish stain with chemical paint remover/sanding or just sanding -- a LOT. Presuming that you're dealing with a veneer, be careful that you don't sand so much that you sand right through the top layer.

Be sure you have all the old varnish/stain off before proceeding. You can verify this by wiping the sanded cabinets with a cloth containing paint thinner. If any old finish remains, you'll see it.

Then stain. I prefer oil based stain because it is more forgiving if you make a mistake. Others prefer water based stain. I don't because it sets up too rapidly and is unforgiving if you don't move fast enough or of if you make a mistake

Then varnish - probably three coats minimum. I prefer Helmsmen Poly because of the moisture/water present in most kitchens

Be aware that depending on how many cabinets you have this could be a very time consuming job. It's also pretty dirty. I own an old 1950's two flat with lots of cabinets - maybe 40 doors (20 cabinets) per kitchen. It took me a solid month at 8 hours a day to do it right - per kitchen.