Advice on Kitchen cabinets

[dteckie]

I have solid oak Kitchen cabinets original when house built 18 yrs ago. They have a light cherry stain and are in great shape. SMBO and myself cleaned them twice a year with murphy's oil. The problem is the wife wants to redo the cabinets in the light pickled look. The cabinet doors and front frames look easy enough to stip the polyeurathane and sand them. I'm concerned about the sides which are oak faced plywood. Sanding the sides may be out of the question. Looking for suggestions other than replacing all the sides and pickle them.

[Orvile]

Replace swmbo......

[Trent©]

I'm redoing mine right now...using a product called Ready Strip. Bought it on QVC...but they have a web site, I think, where you can order it.

Great product...no odor...no gloves necessary and no ventilation necessary (for most people)...semi-paste...hardly runs...turns white when its ready to come off...comes off as a dry product, not a gooey mess...clean up with vacuum cleaner.

I stripped the doors with my RotoZip...'cause I could take them off and outside...and did the frame with the rs.

Good luck.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity!

[George M. Kazaka]

Make end panel that match the doors and secure from inside the cabinet. this will also give you will have a richer look than flat panels

[Bob S.]

I read the comments posted so far and no one has questioned exactly what you plan to use for the finish coat - stain, oil or water based or oil or water based paint? You can purchase or make your own for this finishing method and that's what pickling is - a method not a finish.

If you're using either oil or a water based paint, I question the need to strip the cabinets at all. A light sanding to provide some "tooth" in the existing finish (after a thorough cleaning to remove the wax) is all that should be necessary. Using a penetrating stain, would require getting down to bare wood and since these have a finish on them already, you would never get it out of the pores anyway even with a stripper and I don't see what you would gain using that. A gel stain would be like using paint.

Check out the product instructions and see what they advise but I think you're putting more effort into this than what is required to achieve the same end result.

Bob S.

[dteckie]

Bob Thanks for you're response. You raise very good points. I was planning to use Minwax stains which they have some pickled look stain products. I did not check to see if they were oil based. I assumed they were, don't want to use water based or gel stain. I 'm aware that not all the stain will be removed from pores but was thinking that the darker garin features of the cherry stain that's presently on now will give the pickling more character or grainy look. I think she just wants cabinets a lighter color. If I understood you corectly you are saying only a light sanding to remove the wax and I believe there's a coat or two of polyeurothane on the cabinets. If that is all that is required than it's an easier job than I preveously thought. Also after pickling do I need a protective coat such as poyeurothane on the cabinets to protct the finish?

[Bob S.]

Use mineral spirits (as one example) to remove the wax and then follow that with a good wipe down then a light sanding to scratch (150 grit) the previous finish to give the next coat something to grip.

I'm not familiar with a lot of finishing products out there but as I recall, the Minwax pickling product is a gel stain. You apply it to raw wood or stained wood and rub it into the grain and then wipe off the excess to get the look you want. You already have a dark color and it has a finish coat so your options are a bit limited. I would take a door off and go to a local shop that specializes in paints/finishes (like a Sherman Williams) and ask them what product they would recommend.

Bob S.

[Slowhand]

I have a wife with similiar ambitions for me! My plan is to reface the cabinets with a pva backed veneer. She has her heart set on hickory. For the doors, I plan on making new ones out of solid hickory. I'm going to finish them with watco wipe on poly. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it. ;-) Good luck and happy cabineting. SH