You can't because factory stained cabinets have a catalyzed conversion finish on them that help them to last longer.

Yes, I realize that there is no way we can accomplish exact factory finish. I just hope to find the info on how we can get close. I am even considering making large side panels of the cabinets decorative. Need ideas on that too. i need to get creative about this! Thanks!

Samples, samples & more samples. Make sure you keep good notes on what you did with each sample also. Have you been without cabinets for a year?? Did you get insurance money?

Forget matching. Even a pro finds that difficult. Deliberately mismatch as a design statement. Pick a contrasting finish and do that.

Completely agree with live_wire_oak. Wood changes colour as it ages. Matching stain now to something that was made a few years ago will likely end in a completely different colour/shade than wanted.

Yes, it has been 1.5 years. No, there is no insurance money. :( I was considering a contrasting color, but I feel that having all bottom one color and top different color may look too obvious LOL . The whole subdivision was flooded. So, everybody is aware LOL. I just need to get the wood between the doors matched (the doors and drawers were saved). Well, of course side panels present a problem as well, because they are large.

WE think we found a close color match, but need to figure out how to make finish look smooth close to factory finish. My dad is doing all the cabinets, but he is a terrible painter LOL.

You are setting yourself up for a complete disaster to be using someone who whose skills are already questionable. Look on here at all of the kitchens doing the the two colors. Pick an inspiration and follow that lead.

You don't "prime" wood for staining - only for painting. Although you may or may not need a sanding sealer, depending on the species of wood. So, to be clear, are you painting or staining?

You can't possibly match the smoothness of a factory finish. What you can do, is visit a good local paint/finish store (NOT Home Depot) and inquire. You'll need a stain to achieve the right color, a good, hard, self-leveling top coat, and all the equipment and advice to do the job as right as you can, under the circumstance.

Then, get a small container of their recommended products, and come home and test. Read, read, read about wood finishing. Sometimes you will need to waterpop the grain to get a finish at all like the original. Or use an aniline dye, rather than a traditional stain.

THEN make sample boards. Try different stains and then put multiple coats of your chosen topcoat over it and see how it looks. Not right? Try again.

If you're painting, alkyd paints have come along way. C2 Trim and Cabinet is a good one.

If you're staining, be aware that an oil-based top coat will usually impart a yellow tint when applied. If that is a problem for your color, go with water based.

Holly has some good suggestions. I'll add that the yellow tint of many oil-based topcoats can also help, depending on how aged your other cabinets are. As I've replaced trim and built-in storage in my house, I have taken advantage of yellow tints - or even orange ones (amber shellac) - to match the original aged wood.

It's possible to accomplish what you're trying for - but keep in mind that it is very difficult and requires a huge dose of humility during the learning process. The Dunning-Kruger effect definitely applies.

We need to stain. No paint. Anybody has suggestions for the top coat? I found a can of General Finishes Arm-R- Seal Oil and Urethane finish. It has to be a pretty strong finish I believe.

Olga D .....I mean this with all due respect, Please...seek advice from a finish supplier when it comes to stain & top coat. If you choose a finish with a different sheen than what you already have, it will change the look of it as well. Finishing is so much more than applying any type of finish. It can go wrong so quickly.

I love Arm-R-Seal, and it's easy to apply with a rag. I usually use 3-5 coats, and would lean toward 5 for a kitchen. (That said, I'm putting pre-catalyzed lacquer on my own cabinets - but I'm borrowing a spray room because I don't have my own.)

Design Loft is right - spend some quality time at your local paint/stain shop (again, NOT a big box store). If you ask someone to help you match a finish, and they balk, it's not the right person (or store) - unless of course they say that it's a complicated job when they balk.

I would use a lacquer or Minwax poly. If you are trying to match the finish, then spraying would be the way to go. Spraying the doors off might be doable for a DIY'er because you can lay them all flat on sawhorses so that you will reduce the change of getting runs. To match the color, bring a door into the paint store and some samples of the wood that you will be using for the lower cabinets and see what they can do. You want a penetrating stain, which you will apply with a stain pad and then wipe the excess stain away. Do not ball up rags that you used for wiping off stain and leave them as they can start a fire through spontaneous combustion. After the stain is dry, you will apply the poly, then let that dry and sand it and apply poly again. You will likely need to do 3 coats for it to look good.

The best woodworking store that carries a variety of stains and topcoats is either Rockler or Woodcraft. They usually have staff that is passionate about building, staining and refinishing wood. They both carry General Finishes. I second that Arm-a-Seal will give you a great finish. I used it on a work table that sees a lot of action and it is holding up great. But I caution, as a newbie, you need to practice, practice, and practice some more on scrap pieces or old doors you can pick from Habitat for Humanity. Another suggestion is do as much as you can horizontally. That is, all doors laying down. The new cabinet carcasses laying down if possible too.

I realize that taking off the finish on the uppers might be a pain, but it would be one way for the finishes to "match". I did that in an old kitchen once and with patience it worked out pretty darn good and I used Minwax then. I would only use the GF products now.

I’ve done a lot of finishing and refinishing. I would never attempt to match an existing factory stain on something really prominent like cabinets. There are too many steps, and what looks good under shop lights, looks completely different in sunlight.

I had issues with a damaged leg on a table, and it had to be replaced. It was easier to remove the rest of the finish on the other table legs, and start over. It almost matches the top, but not quite. And that was with sprayed toners helping to mask a bit. It would have been better to have dyed them darker and just not tried matching. Live and learn. But that was a $30 garage sale table.

There is no substitute for experience doing this. I’d suggest creating lots and lots of samples. And look at them in all kinds of light. Do that before you build the cabinets. There’s no point in wasting funds on stain grade wood if you can’t match it, and end up painting them navy blue. That’s actually the first thing I would suggest. Paint the lowers a nice accent color. It is a SO much easier route!

What wood are your cabinets?

Here is a pic of the cabinets. I don't know the wood it mimics, definitely not oak.

Primer before wood stains?!

No primer for stains. Primer is for prepping & making wood not absorb paint. Hides grains. Stain is the opposite. Shows grains & gets absorbed into wood.

Stain is like watercolor application.

Staining is not easy or forgiving. Stain is soaked into the wood then a topcoat to protect. If the wood is not prepped right or has areas which soak up more stain than others or wipe applications are not even,the color will be uneven. Matching another stain, good luck, even Pros find that a challenge.

The pictures posted of wall cabinets shows a high sheen coat which is not suggested for cabinets due to reflection of light. Even worse if it's really reflective which shows a reflection of surroundings & people.

Now, since the current cabinets are already shiny it would not be too hard to match the high gloss. The challenge is smooth even color. Take door off go to Professional paint store & get samples. Get some boards & practice before attempting. Once you have the process figured out on your sample board. Then do them all at same time with same stain so they come out similar. Let dry.Dry stain changes color when wet to dry, too. Do not seal until the stain us to your liking.

I have had several clients attempt this & failed miserably & asked me to fix it. Usually the only way to fix a bad stain job is to sand it all down & hope the stain did not get absorbed too deep into wood & start over.

Go ahead & try, but be prepared for failure. It's seriously not easy to do & get them all perfect & matching. I can't stress that enough.

Do not seal until you got ALL stained correctly. That way if unable to get all doors matching, then you can paint them without having to strip the topcoat off. Stripping top coat shellac is possible, but a real mess.

That’s birch. It’s very blotchy in the wrong hands. Your hands would be the wrong hands. Your posts show that you just don’t have the knowledge to take this on.

You'd be far better off to ditch all of those old partial overlay cabinets and put in a new IKEA kitchen.

Yes, I just need to stain boxes. Drawers and doors have been saved. I would love to just replace the cabinets, but they have to be custom cabinets because we saved the granite top and the cabinets are NON standard size. I am not ready to buy new granite. Sigh.

Bummer about flood!:(

Have you checked for mold?

What type of flooring is it?

Concrete slab or subfloor?

There is no mold. The whole first floor was gutted during 4 days after the flood. It is super dry and clean! A lot of dehumidifiers were used for weeks. We did it the right way. Used Kilz on all the inside studs. Can't say the same thing about the neighbors. I have seen them replacing the floors again, because the did not let the house dry up properly. We have put tile throughout the first floor. It is all done except the kitchen cabinets and shower door. Here are the bathroom cabinets we picked. Really love them.

In my opinion you will save time, money, and heartbreak by refinishing all the cabinets and doors rather than trying to match.

That's good news about the preparations after flood. Just checking ;)

Good job on vanity.

In the photo with French doors, the door trim is original, the crown is new and the doors are refinished. I did the finish on the crown and my painter did the doors. Second photo is the trim against the wall matched to the cabinets which turned out to be super easy with ordinary amber shellac and a water base topcoat.

Other photo is a painted door we found in the attic and refinished. This photo shows that even if the match is not perfect, a beautiful finish will catch the eye and help hide the different tones. By the time we decided to put up a door to the upstairs, I was so sick of the project that I didn't really want to even be involved. I just told my painter to "make it happen" and he stripped and redid this door which was probably the original basement door. We were really hoping it was the right door but it wasn't. The hinges were the right height but the wrong swing and the door strike did not line up.

There's hardly ANY stores that bother with matching stains!! It takes forever, & nobody wants to pay much!! For a Retailer, it's a lose-lose endeavor.

Sorry to be so blunt, but it's just the cold, hard truth. Good luck!

Faron