STAIN

General Finishes gel stain in Brown Mahogany (oil based). I wanted to see the grain and ended up with three thin coats, front and backs, with a foam brush. Not all foam brushes are created equal. The only ones I liked and could use were from my local hardware store. I even told the owner,”these are the best brushes in all the land.” I did 24 doors, 10 drawers, 8 ends, cabinet… shell/boxes (?), crown, and a 6’x3’ island. I used a quart and a little out of a new one.

Stir often. I dumped some in a (small deli) plastic container and kept the quart closed. You can REUSE YOUR FOAM BRUSHES a few times if you put them in a plastic Ziplock bag. I would work on this when I could; sometimes multiple times a day. I was going through brushes like crazy at first. I could get sometimes three days or so out of a brush when storing in a bag.

Very easy to work with, but I completely underestimated the time involved with this project. I had planned to work on it in the evenings and quickly saw that wasn’t going to work if I was ever going to finish. The backs of the doors, for one coat, took three hours. First coat on island took three hours (love you beadboard). I spent many, many hours working on this. Don’t underestimate how long it takes. I have no idea how people were pumping kitchen projects out in a week or two. I also can’t imagine not taking the doors off without having an uneven mess around the hinges.

I believe I would have had to apply 5 or 6 thin coats to go totally opaque. I posted here after two coats and people seemed to like it, but DH and I just were not happy with the look until I hit three. I was afraid I’d lose seeing any grain if I added another coat, but that wasn’t the case. I felt it looked like DIY job with less than 3, but I’m also pretty particular and critical of my own work.

TOP COAT

General Finishes High Performance (HP) (water based). You need to wait at least 3 days before you can apply the water based over oil. I did 4 coats on everything - two in Satin and two in Flat. There are three different top coats from GF you could choose from for over the gel stain. I noticed lots of people commented the Gel Top Coat in Satin was very shiny. After talking with GF, they said the HP in Satin had the least sheen. I ordered the Satin and was floored at how shiny it was so I ordered the Flat. After testing two coats each on the back of doors the Flat looked Satin to me. (Test TWO coats - they look almost the same with only one.) I didn’t feel like sending back and knew whatever the last top coat you use will be what your final sheen is. I doubled checked with GF to see if I could layer them and got an ok. I also didn’t want to take the chance of cloudiness with the flat (since there was a good bit of sheen I don’t know that it would have been an issue here). You can put the doors back up after a week of the last coat and in two weeks they should be cured.

This is also really easy to work with. Leveled out beautiful and took way less time than the stain. You don’t want globs, but you don’t have to overwork. For time comparison the backs of the doors took a little over an hour. I used about 2/3 out of each quart.

You can reuse your foam brushes here by washing them since it’s water based. I used a medium size plastic deli container and kept the lid on between reloading the brush. Stir often.

SANDING between top coats

BE CAREFUL! After proper dry conditions/time I tested with 400 grit (one of the recommended grits) and went partially through the stain while barley applying pressure. Thankfully t his was the back of a door.

I asked GF if I could wait to sand until after two coats - they said yes and to use a ‘soft back sanding sponge’. I still am not 100% sure what that is and didn’t ask. I know what a foam sanding block is, but pictured disaster while trying to sand the details of the raised panels. I had ‘Ace (fine) Sanding Pads’ from another project years back. They’re thinner, more flexible, and I would consider them a sponge. I couldn’t find them locally though. They weren’t new and I only used one. You’re just lightly scuffing here. I still had to be extremely careful when sanding after the second coat. If you have any raised areas the sand paper will take it off down to the original wood. I had a few spots where this happened. Maybe it was lint of something. I tried to touch the spots with gel stain, but it wouldn’t cover or stick because there was already two layers of top coat. I left it alone so I didn’t create a huge mess. I have yet to contact GF to ask about touch ups. Edges are another place you need to really watch.

I appears to dry very hard as stated. The doors have been on for a few weeks now and I managed to drop/throw/accident! a glass container from the freezer and hit a lower cabinet door quite hard. There’s a tiny scuff, but didn’t remove any stain and I had to search to see anything.

It’s supposed to have UV protectors in the top coat so I’m curious to see how it holds up. The sun did a number in some areas on the original finish.

I'll report an update if something crazy happens with them.

Thank you so much for these instructions. I am thinking I have to do something with these cabinets.
I am having a hard time comprehending a stain that will work over something other than bare wood.

You said you added wood panels to the sides. What kind did you use. I think the sides of my cabinets aren't even wood - some kind of flakeboard with a wood-look over it.

These cabinets were sold to me as very, very durable. All around the knobs the finish is off. There are many areas where the stain seems to be worn off. I really think I got ripped off! But it is certainly too late to do anything other than deal with it.

Thanks again for your help!

Oh darn, I knew I was missing something when I was going over the directions in my Word file.

The wood end panels I bought from Lowes in their stock cabinet section. They're already cut and I believe are standard sizes. My ends were the flakeboard type stuff. I saw many people were able to stain their fake ends, but I didn't want mine that opaque that it looked like paint.

"I am having a hard time comprehending a stain that will work over something other than bare wood."

It's not like a normal stain. The consistency is more like a thick pudding. Really you're just kind of....this sounds horrible...painting over the existing finish, but it LOOKS like stain. When it's prepped and lightly scuffed/sanded it grips and stays on top. Don't sand between the coats of stain though - I read some people doing this and even saw a video, but the directions don't say to do this and I would think that would be a mess. The first coat isn't pretty and looks streaky. The second ones was still streaky, IMO.

It's really easy to use. I'd do it all over it again!

Thanks a lot.

How long did this whole process take??

My husband is going to strangle me when I suggest this - but I hate these cabinets. My ends are awful. I think they are some kind of flakeboard - and it looks like there is paper over it. In a few spots where they put they corners, it is even off and looks a little like a wrinkle.

Your kitchen is absolutely beautiful. My cabinets are almost the exact same color yours were. I imagine it is a load of work, but certainly cheaper than putting in all new cabinets.

My mother's house has the original cabinets. They are 50+years old, solid birch. Her shelves look better than my cabinets!! They are solid as a rock. Some of the finish has worn out around the handles, but they are in great shape. Unless we spend a huge, huge amount of money, what is being sold now is junk. I am so disappointed in how mine have not lasted.

Your stain almost sounds like that combination paint/stain that Minwax sells, but sounds much more durable. Thanks again.

Now to get used to this new format. So far, I can't say that I like it!!

How long? Well.......... I started the cabinets back in October I think. I took a few week break around Christmas. I wanted to get each section done in one shot/setting (all backs of doors, all fronts of doors, all base cabinets & island) and I had to break it up into more manageable sections - aka whenever I had time to work on it. Are your doors raised panels or recessed? Recessed would go a little faster. It took me less time to stain the backs of the doors.

My husband took some convincing. I think it took a few years here before he was ok with me touching them (I originally was trying to convince him with paint). Oh, definitely way cheaper than installing new. Thanks for the compliment! It was totally worth it. It may not be my dream kitchen, but I like dark cabinets, and very much enjoy being in the space now. It never really felt like 'me' before.

Oh this stuff is WAY better than Minwax. Not even in the same category. Check out the reviews especially for the High Performance top coat.

Again, it wasn't hard and there were times I enjoyed working on it. (I like having some alone time, with good music, while fiddling with projects.)

When it was all done I showed DH photos of the before and after side by side and he was really happy we made the change.

Go for it! So excited for you!

Thank you. Mine are raised panel - which would be harder than just a flat door. This is not on the front burner at the moment - but now that I have all of the information it will be easier to do I am sure. Thank you for taking the time to help me.

You're welcome. I hope it goes well for you if it's something you do in the future!