How to Stain Aged Cabinets

Give life to even the oldest cabinets with a fresh stain.

Cabinets take up so much surface area in a kitchen that old cabinets can make the entire kitchen look dated. Aged cabinets, while sometimes rustic and charming, can also give the kitchen a worn, tired appearance. An easy way to freshen them is to give them a new coat of stain. It's necessary remove the old stain or color from the cabinets first in a gentle manner that treats the older cabinets carefully.

Things You'll Need

• Stain
• Screwdriver
• Paint stripper
• Rag or cloth
• Coarse sandpaper
• Feather duster
• Paint pan
• Lint-free cloth

Instructions

1. Remove the doors of your cabinets by unscrewing the hinges with a screwdriver. Scrub the old stain off the cabinet frames by pouring paint stripper into an old rag or cloth and scrubbing the surface of the frames. Once you've removed the old paint or stain from the aged cabinet frames, you can scrub the paint or stain from the cabinet doors.

2. Sand the surface of the cabinet doors, using coarse sandpaper. This is necessary to remove any dark spots, imperfections and uneven areas so that the cabinet doors are more easily able to accept the new stains. Be gentle with older cabinets when you do this. Dust the cabinets off with a feather duster.

3. Pour some of your stain into a paint pan. Dip a lint-free cloth into the stain and rub it, making even strokes or rows, across one of the cabinets. Continue in this manner until all cabinets have a coat of stain. Wait for the cabinets to dry and cover them again with another coat of stain.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose a stain color for your cabinets that's appropriate for your lifestyle. For example, if you're not a clean freak, a darker stain might be more appropriate as it shows spots less easily, even though a darker stain can make a room seem smaller and more dramatic. A lighter stain, on the other hand, will show grease spot more easily, but keep the room bright.

• Consider adding a coat of varnish once the second coat has dried as it will give your cabinets a glossy finish.

• Stain the cabinets in a well-ventilated area.

References

• OnlineTips.org: How to Stain Kitchen Cabinets