Gel stain will not require you to sand the product to a raw wood finish.
Gel stain over painted cabinets.
Like paint gel stain coats the surface instead of penetrating it.
It was time to freshen up my lavender guest restroom and part of that included painting the cabinets.
You can paint over gel stain as long as the surface is.
I was aiming for the lower cabinets to be a couple shades darker than the flooring.
I used general finishes java gel stain n also used antique walnut.
Clean your project with a scotch brite pad and a 50 50 mix of denatured alcohol and water.
So your painted kitchen cabinets are looking old and faded and the color just doesn t complement the room s decor.
Find out which is better for the grade or type of wood like oak cedar and mahogany.
Gel stain comes in many colors and the thicker the stains the better.
It can be applied over only lightly sanded pieces.
I also had old oak cabinets with a veneer side.
Instead of paying thousands of.
For example it s difficult to get out once it s on and the gel color may look lighter than you intended.
How to stain cabinets that have been painted.
Sanding down to raw wood would be the very best practice but the following is the most common prep it only takes a few minutes first.
I painted the uppers sw pure white and the lower cabinets i gel stained fairly dark to better relate to our new ginger coloured wood flooring.
A gel stain is a great way to bring outdated or worn cabinets up to date.
It s primarily used on wood although it can be used on other surfaces including fiberglass and metal.
Gel stain is also used for faux finishing and glazing.
With the oak cabinets the grain was very evident post staining.
You can apply gel stain to mdf stained surfaces and most painted surfaces including milk paint chalk paint and latex paint.
While gel stain does go on thick and sit on the surface of the wood i found that you can still see and feel the natural wood grain beneath unlike paint.
There are some drawbacks though.
Gel stain is formulated more like paint than traditional stain.