How to Finish Unfinished Oak Cabinets
Finishing a new, unfinished oak cabinet is your chance to give it whatever kind of look you want. The classic approach with a fine wood like oak is to use a light-colored stain (so it highlights the natural grain of the wood without obscuring it), then seal it all in with some form of gloss (polyurethane is the best choice today) to protect the wood from moisture and wear. Pre-sanding the wood is an important part of the process, because it opens the pores in the wood and assists in the penetration by the stain. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 150-grit sandpaper
- Screwdriver
- Newspapers
- Masking tape
- Rubber gloves
- Wood stain
- Brush
- Cotton rags
- Polyurethane gloss
- 250-grit sandpaper
Instructions
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1
Sand the entire cabinet by hand, using 150-grit sandpaper. Fold the paper and rub the oak surface in quick, light strokes, to take off just the surface layer and open up the wood pores. Brush away the dust.
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2
Remove all knobs, hinges and other hardware, using your screwdriver. Remove all doors and other parts that come off and set them aside on spread-out newspapers. Hang more newspapers on the walls around any mounted parts of the cabinet, securing the newspapers with masking tape.
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3
Put on your gloves. Working on one surface of the cabinet at a time, brush wood stain on thickly, let it sit for a minute, then wipe away the excess stain using cotton cloths. Stain the whole cabinet, including the doors and other pieces you took off. Let it dry for 24 hours.
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4
Apply a very thin layer of polyurethane over the whole cabinet with a brush, starting at the highest points on each part and working your way down. Don't let any drips form in the finish. Let it dry overnight.
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5
Lightly hand-buff the dried gloss surface with 250-grit sandpaper to dull the shine (this allows the next coat of gloss to stick). Brush away the dust. Apply a second coat of gloss. Let it dry.
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Buff the second coat of gloss with 250-grit sandpaper. Brush off the dust. Apply a third and final coat of gloss. Let it dry for 24 hours. Put the cabinet back together.
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Tips & Warnings
Ventilate the room when applying your stain and gloss.
