I have some 1990 wooden kitchen cupboards that look tired. One of the cupboards has suffered from the steam from an electric kettle and has slightly dried out the wood. I was thinking about applying some sort of varnish containing a stain that would lighten the wood as I want a lighter finish. Has anyone done this to kitchen cupboards and is there any product that someone reading this can recommend.
Many Thanks
Varnish won't lighten the colour. You'd need to apply an opaque finish. Oil based white gloss rubbed on with a cloth might give you a washed look, but I wouldn't bank on it. If the doors are real wood, or even real wood veneer, you could try a 2 part wood bleach
I read that as "vanishing kitchen cupboards"
Must contact my optician ...
Mary
Only 15 minutes and a reply, such is the power of the internet! Anyway I can remember sometime ago seeing in B& Q some sort of stain and varnish combined product, it was this product that I had in mind.
I think you're rather out of luck, there - these things are sprayed after being mase up, and it's hard to reproduce the effect on already-done doors.You might vaguely think about a water-based "stain" (diluted) sprayed or rollered over with clear water-based "varnish", but I would not hold up any real hope of success. Could you swap the door with another less noticeable one, or colour several doors in one area to make the one door show up less?
So did I. Then I read he has 1990 of them and thought "How does he know some have vanished?"
Hmmmm.......
There is no stain or stain and varnish treatment that would make them lighter. What I'd do is give them a good scrub with soapy water and then quickly rinse and dry them, then a rub over with fine wire wool, followed by a wax and polish. The trouble with a lot of furniture these days is that it's in the skip before it has time to develop any character.
I didn't notice how many I had. Must be a big kitchen.
Mary
I'm sure I've seen lime (like a thin whitewash) used to lighten the colour of timber - all the old finish would have to be cleaned off though
Wouldn't bleach work?
yep :.(
I'm sure there are a number of opaque to semi opaque treatments for wood surfaces. I was taking "stain" to mean the range of highly transparent colouring agents, usually spirit based.
Bleach would work but sometimes with unexpected results. For instance, I bleached some dark stains on softwood flooring yesterday and they turned distinctly blue. For a uniform bleached effect the old finish would have to be cleaned off completely, which can be a chore, especially with frame and panel construction.
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