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?? about general finishes gel stain

gracie01 zone5 SW of Chicago

11 years ago

I'm thinking of staining my kitchen cabinets. I want to get rid of some handles and add knobs, which means filling holes. Will gel stain completely cover wood filler? TIA

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Comments (9)

MiMi
11 years ago
I am not sure.. I have never used gel stain but looked at it and was curious... I think your best bet would be to look at Min Wax web site, they have quite a bit of information there that might help you... let us know what you find out..
Debbie
lazy_gardens
11 years ago
Yes and no ... it covers it, but the filler will have a different texture and will be visible from some angles.

ADDING: It has to be a "stainable" filler.

This post was edited by lazygardens on Thu, Dec 13, 12 at 7:53
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I just called General Finishes. They are EXTREMELY HELPFUL ! I had already purchased the Polyacrylic Water Based top coat and he told me that was incorrect. He said their are so many people posting on Pinterest/internet ect about this top coat so everyone keeps using it but they never meant for the gel stain to be used with the Polyacrylic top coat. He said it will work out fine but it is not the best top coat for gel stain on KITCHEN CABINETS. He explained that the 3 choices were the Endurovar, High Performance Clear and Arm R Seal. He explained the difference in such great detail that honestly I was still a bit confused. I then just asked which one he would use and he said if you have the patience to WAIT A LONG TIME for the top coats to dry then he would choose/likes the Arm R Seal the best. He stressed over and over again the importance of DRY TIME. He discussed how everyone is using the Java Gel Stain like PAINT applying very thick coats and said that if you don't wait approximately 48 hours between EVERY SINGLE COAT of the stain itself and then ONE FULL WEEK before applying the top coat you will not get the best results. He said not waiting says between coats may seem okay when using the gel stain but when you apply the top coats you may get a cloudy film. ( also said all woods are different and people prepare the wood in so many different ways that it is possible for some to report good results WITHOUT waiting the proper dry time but that wont happen for everyone so it is just best to be patient and wait out the dry times ESPECIALLY if you are essentially PAINTING on the gel stain. ) Also mentioned NO sanding in between gel stain coats but YES sanding lightly with 400 grit between top coats ( and of course no sanding the final top coat. I just bought the Arm R Seal as he recommended and we will see how it goes. Guess its a good thing it will take a week to get shipped here so I am FORCED to wait out the appropriate dry time before starting :) still would like to know what everyone has been using as their top coat on kitchen cabinets to reinforce my choice to use Arm-R-Seal.... still so worried about picking the wrong one.
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General makes a poly gel varnish that would do what is suggested above. It would not necessarily make it easier to apply, though, since the viscosity will remain the same; it would just weaken the color; become more transparent. That gel stain sets very rapidly is a known issue. On doors, you want to begin with the panels, finish them to your satisfaction, then wipe down any overage onto the stiles and rails before staining them, and then keep any excess stain off the previously-done panels, because fresh stain will re-dissolve the bits you did earlier, and it is very hard to blend it back in. Casey
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beekeeperswife
11 years ago
I would not use the minwax gel stain (sorry dbfirewife) to do this job. The General Finish brand works wonderfully. Have you seen Celticmoon's detailed instructions? You can find them over on Kitchen forum under Sticky or under New to Kitchens thread.

I have also found that the Old Masters brand works great too.

Not exactly sure what would happen with the filler, but will you be putting in new hardware? Would the old hole be covered by the new hardware (ie, a handle that spans across the place where the hole for the old knob was?) If so, I'm sure it will do a very good job so you don't even notice the old hole.

My biggest piece of advice is--you must let it dry completely between coats. Absolutely no "almost dry" . And depending on the look you are going for, you can just use the gel stain as a paint, and you don't have to wipe it off, just let it dry. The first coat or two will not be what you are looking for, don't despair, keep going.
gmp3
11 years ago
I second Bee about the General Finishes. Minwax will not take multiple coats, the second coat dissolves the first coat. I have used it to antique furniture and touch up wood trim but it won't work well on cabinets.

As for the wood filler, I'd pick up an old cabinet from a Habitat or another second hand store or CL and test it out first. You may want to design around that issue and use handles instead.
gracie01 zone5 SW of Chicago
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks all; I'm hoping celticmoon will see this. No way would I use Minwax stain.
MiMi
11 years ago
Hey.. no need to apologize... don't know a thing about it...I'm glad to hear other opinions about it, good to know. I think everyone comes here for honest opinions...
milele
11 years ago
I love GF products. I have tried both water based than Gel for our wood doors project. Either way is ok. With Gell you have a little more time to wipe it off. GF has a wonderful Customer Service. You call them and you can ask tons of questions. I would not use Minwax ever again.
kcenq
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
i added some unfinished cabinets to my existing vanity. i used General Finishes gel stain and you cannot tell the difference between the old vanity and new cabinets. Perfect. You MUST let it dry between coats as other posters have said. I've used it on a few projects. It is the best for restaining builder grade cabinets as you can use it on the real wood part as well as all of the cheap junk they use when building them.
powermuffin
8 years ago
I've use GF too and really liked it, but I don't think it will cover a patch quite like it covers the real wood. I have had this as a problem and after everything was dry, I used a liner brush and the GF and "painted" the patch to match the rest. You can still tell if you know where the patch is, but it worked well.

Diane

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