About 20 years ago we sanded and put a clear coat or two of poly on our kitchen cabinets. I'd like to stain them dark. Can I expect good results after removing the poly with a chemical stripper? I plan to use a conditioner and then stain. I'm not looking for perfection -- these cabinets are nearly 60 years old and quite well used -- just something reasonably passable to tide me over for a few more years until a full kitchen reno.
~Jacy
I don't know what you mean by "conditioner", but yes......just be sure to follow instructions for the stripper. Methylene semi-paste stripper has wax in it for body and if not completely cleaned off, the wax can interfere with staining and finishing. Steel wool (fine) and mineral spirits are what I use for final clean up ... wipe that off with paper towel. Light use of a scraper takes off chem. stripper, then steel wool for the rest, and then ms. Old wood is generally nicer to finish, as it usually has patina.
I just did this to a pine front door last week. The bottom half was badly oxidized and dark brown. The top half was much lighter.
The finish was crumbly, so I sanded all the flat spots down to bare wood, spot sanded the trim, and used a mahogany stain to get the now-bare areas to (mostly) match the remaining darkened finish on the molding. The client didn't want to pay me to spend two days sanding the molding bare, and I don't blame him. They could have bought most of a new door for the labor costs. I'm currently putting on coats of clear polyurethane, one every few days. What I did is a good compromise.
Go ahead and strip your cabinets. You'll need to do something chemical with kitchen woodwork anyway. Nothing much sticks to cabinets coated with cooking fumes. Pick a hidden area to work first, and experiment. The end of a cabinet is good. You can always cover your tests with veneer.
Your other options are: * Paint * Refacing * Replacement
Making wood darker is easy, lighter is often not, what type of wood is it.
Reface or replace are out of the question on my budget. I did consider paint, however I'd prefer to keep what little grain I do have although I can't figure out what the veneer is -- maple, maybe, or birch? Not much grain at all on the outside; inside must be whatever hardwood was in vogue in the early 1950s midwest. (A carpenter, I'm not.)
The other challenge is the interior. Way back when we first sanded and poly-coated these, we painted the cabinet frame interiors with white alkyd gloss. It badly needs a fresh coat.
Any comments on those dip-n-strip places? There are 13 doors and 2 drawers and if I could get those stripped reasonably I think I might be able to get the frames done before 2010. It's just me now, with precious little spare time and as with most things, 80% of it is labor. Googling chemical stripping services gets me a whole lot of you-know-what and activates the parent filter. ;)
Thanks, ~jacy
On Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:56:44 +0000 (UTC), "SteveBell" wrote: [...]
Be careful if you don't know what the "wood" is - I have had cabinets with wood doors, natural wood on inside and some kind of paper/printed grain on outside.
We refaced, got new doors and drawers on old plywood, built-in-place cabinets. Painted all interiors with two coats alkyd semi. Just like new :o)
They are expensive and very tough on wood - raise the grain a great deal. I stripped the cabinets for a friend once.......out of work, needed money.........nasty job but great results. Took off old, dark "Spanish Oak" stain. Got beautiful brown oak without any further stain. Discovered after sloshing paint remover onto the end of the cabinet that it wasn't wood, but printed grain on particle board. Ohmygosh! I was already on verge of nervous breakdown, but was able to muster all my art talent and paint on oak grain.
If the doors are flat and not carved, it would take much less time, but have to take them out, remove hardware, etc. Big job.
Yeah, I remember all to well how long it took to do it the first time around, which is probably why I was thinking dip-n-strip. Fortunately, I know it's 100% wood (you artistically painted a grain design? wow!) and the design is completely flat so that helps. I wouldn't mind raising the grain with a dip-n-strip but the expense is probably not doable.
On the other hand, I just grounded my 17-year-old son for a month and his help will come in handy, especially given all the school days not in session in November. He's more than capable of removing doors and hardware and sanding the alkyd interiors, maybe even strip the interiors of the doors while I work on the frames. While I'd rather he not have engaged in the behavior which led to the grounding, I'll take the gift of his time!
~Jacy
As one who would do almost anything to avoid sanding, I wouldn't recommend.........flat surface is MUCH easier with paint remover than moldings and carvings. On a clear, factory finish one application (properly done) would probably do the job.
Wow! That's a serious sentence where I come from......imposed it once, with NO COMPLAINTS from the guilty party. Perfect timing......be sure to remind your son if he dislikes the work you are going to teach him to do :o) Got a garage to work in? Be sure to supervise if he does stripping, wear goggles, dispose of rags in fire safe place. Sandwich bags were my substitute for gloves using stripper and wash with mineral spirits.....I've used special gloves for the purpose but they didn't last long.
Sand interiors? Only if they are glossy.........be sure to let paint CURE before filling cupboards. Cupboards will be full of stuff, so paint just has to stick, right?
Kids take many years to become "useful" :o)
Ditto. I think he actually was relieved it was ONLY a month -- which gave me pause -- but Mother Nature's punishment (a nasty hangover) was infinitely worse at that moment. Can't tell you how much i wanted to make him drink a beer for breakfast.
I did use high gloss first time around. Going to dial that down a notch this time. Maybe that liquid sanding stuff will impart just enough tackiiess to do the trick. There's contact paper on the bottom and shelves so I can restock fairly quickly. I abhor sanding, too.
~jacy
Ohhhhhh........scariest issue for me as a parent (and a nurse). I told my kids repeatedly (every week? :o) that I would go anywhere, at any time, no matter what, to keep them from having to ride home with someone under the influence (especially a drunk teen). Keep talking, and expect him to want to drink a little, esp. if headed to college. Local PD probably has lots of photos to show if DUI's are in the picture.
Liquid sander I have tried is very potent, flammable fumes. A quick pass with a small electric sander should do the trick, as long as paint isn't chipping or peeling. How pretty do you want the inside of the cabinets? :o)
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