Thanks for the additional input, sombreuil_mongrel and projectsneverend! More good information. UPDATE: I called General Finishes today to discuss the problems I was having with their gel top coat. He informed me that even though I sanded my cabinets, due to the fact that they had previously been finished, there would still have been some wood sealant on the surface of the cabinets, which would hinder absorption and drying. He said I should have waited 4 to 5 days before applying the top coat, but then at another time in our conversation he said that since I was working inside my home (dining room, northern climate w/low humidity, furnace running nearly non stop) that it should have been dry when I applied the top coat. I told him I was too afraid to try the top coat in a few days as it had ruined my stain job before, and I just didn't trust it anymore. I asked why their instructions didn't address this type of situation, and he said their instructions are for raw wood only. Ultimately, I have to give a lot of credit to General Finishes, because they stepped up and offered to send me another top coat recommended for my situation: High Performance Polyurethane Water Based Top Coat along with a "kit" to get the job done (which I believe includes a foam brush and I don't know what all.) He recommended 3-4 coats, and with drying time being just a few hours, I can do 2 coats a day. KUDOS TO GENERAL FINISHES. THEY CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS. Here's a before & after pic (minus the top coat)

Thanks for all your replies! (If you are interested in how I stained it, you can skip to the ***** marks) I decided to change the cabinets after looking more carefully. The drawers are 10mm particle boards put together by staples. They have central under-mount slide and do not slide smoothly at all. They are not as good as what I had in my rental condo (original cabinets from 85), and inside some drawers the particle boards are peeling. To be green and eco-friendly, I'll paint them white and let the workers install them in the garage, makes a perfect workshop or organizer. The island may need to go, though. My contractor told me if the cabinets are attached to the walls by screws (vs. nails), it will be salvageable, very luckily, they are. :) Thank you for all your advice. ******************************** Okay. So here's how I stained it. Basically I just followed Celticmoon's post and procedures. (Thank you Celticmoon and everyone sharing your experience). They are in the following links: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg011124147771.html http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0609355831889.html http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0619093520899.html What I might did different is that I spent a bit more time sanding the shining coat off, about 2 min per door with fine sand block. Initially I used cheese cloth to put on the gel, then wipe off with old socks. But that created some problem: if your door has a deep, think groove like mine, with cheese cloth there will be too much gel trapped in it, makes it hard to wipe off. And I was wiping too late, and too hard in the first coats, as well. After three coats it still looks nowhere near dark brown. Not mention for the second coat I only waited 20 min after the first one, it was not dry yet. I used a foam brush for the fourth coat and didn't apply to the groove at all (it is dark enough), wiped off immediately before the paint dissolves previous coats. This time it gets pretty dark. Hope these helps!

I had a horrible experience with a General Finish paint several years ago. Their customer service was rude, told me their product was wonderful, and it was my own fault. And then took the product off the market within a year. Stuff I've used of theirs that wasn't utter garbage wasn't fantastic. So, I'm skeptical when anyone raves about their gel stain. The Rustoleum includes all the products you need for every technique, even if you don't need them for the look you're going for. That makes them really expensive if you don't need all the products. I have used BM Advance paint on cabinets and furniture (and doors and trim) and been very happy at a fraction of what the Rustoleum stuff costs. The caveat though is that it takes a LONG time for the paint to cure fully. Like, several weeks. It'll be dry to the touch in a few hours, but it can scratch off if you bump it before it's fully cured.

I had a bad experience with GF gel stain on an oak desk. The first coat went on great, but it needed one more. I let the first coat dry for 24 hours before the second. When I applied the second coat, it randomly lifted off areas of the first coat. It was just awful looking. I thought it might have been due to my not letting the first coat dry longer, but you had similar problems after 4 days. In my opinion, there was no salvaging it. I stripped everything off (including original stain on desk) and started over. But not with gel stain. I had a wonderful chat with someone in customer support at General Finishes. He told me he preferred their conventional stains. I used their oil-based stain and then finished with their water-based top coat. The desk turned out great and I use it every day. No more gel stains for me.