How to Antique or Glaze Kitchen Cabinets

Whether you want to add depth and character to painted cabinets, or darken up stained wood cabinets, giving them an antique look with some colorant and glaze is a surprisingly easy project.
Generally you don't even have to remove the doors and hinges. This depends on whether you mind a light patina of color over your hinges. Sometimes that looks better and matches the antiqued look. If you think your hinges will look better if they remain shiny and new looking, then remove all the doors and hinges too. Either way you definitely will want to take off the cabinet knobs or pulls. This project can easily be done in a day or over a weekend. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Oil or water based glaze
• Several brushes
• Plenty of lint-free rags
• Stain, paint or colorant
• Paint thinner

1. If you have light colored wood stained cabinets and you want to darken them up, you will want to use oil-based glaze. Glaze is a clear medium to which you add color. It allows for a translucent look and stays wet long enough for you to work it in until you get the desired effect.

2. Add some oil stain in your desired color to the glaze. You definitely want to experiment with different mixes and practice on the insides of cabinet doors, or scrap wood, to figure out how to get the look you want and get used to working with the glaze. Practice with applying and wiping along the natural grain of the wood.

3. Remove all the cabinet pulls or knobs. Take the drawers out, they are easier to work on either stood on end or lined up along your countertops. Clean your cabinets with mild degreasing cleaner or denatured alcohol.

4. Apply your glaze liberally with a natural bristle brush, working it well into the grain and corners. Then wipe it off with clean, lint free rags until you get the effect you want. Be sure complete one section at a time and stand back periodically to make sure your work is fairly consistent and you are not getting some sections overall too dark. If you mess up a section, just wipe it off with paint thinner before it dries and start over.

5. The method for glazing painted cabinets is similar except you will want to use acrylic water based glaze instead of oil, and either paint or straight colorant in the mix. Generally you will want to choose a color several shades darker than your cabinets. Again, experiment and practice first.

6. Unlike oil based glaze, acrylic glaze goes on milky and dries clear. It also will darken a bit as it dries. Keep this in mind when you are working with it, and also remember it will dry much faster. If you mess up a section and want to redo it, a rag and hot water will remove the fresh glaze so you can start over.

7. When you wipe off the excess, the remainder will settle in corners and edges, and give an overall hand-rubbed look. You're not aiming for perfect uniformity, but for a more charming, naturally aged appearance.

Tips & Warnings

• Using paint for color can give a somewhat "muddy" look which may or may not be what you want. Pure colorants available at paint or art supply stores will give a much more translucent look.

• Your new antiqued look might not match contemporary hardware. Now might be the time to replace old cabinet hardware with a more retro or vintage look.

• Good quality glaze will hold up to normal cleaning. If you want extra hard durability, you can varnish over the entire job but it is usually not necessary.

• Mix plenty of glaze all at once for the whole job. If you run out half way through it can be really difficult to match your original mix, plus you want to keep some on hand for later touch ups.

• It's very important to use lint free rags; otherwise you'll end up with little fibers in the finished job.