Going from dark wood to a lighter color can be laborious, but darkening light wood cabinets is usually a simpler process.
Before staining your cabinets a darker color, it is important to know the construction of the cabinets and if the cabinet finish is sealed.
Can I Restain my kitchen cabinets?
Start by sanding and conditioning the wood, then stain. Before you stain the cabinets, it’s important to remove all the doors and drawers to make sanding and applying the stain easier. Use 120 grit sandpaper to lightly sand the cabinets. Always sand in the direction of the wood grain.
How do you Restain kitchen cabinets with stains?
Sand your cabinets with 200-grit fine sandpaper to remove any peeling varnish and to roughen up the stained surfaces. This provides a better bonding surface for the new stain or paint to adhere to. Wipe off the sanding dust with a clean cloth. Apply a paint primer to the cabinets if you’re going to paint them.
Can you put a dark stain over a light stain?
Most stains are made to allow the natural grain of the wood to show through. Because of this, you can’t get a lighter color by applying a light stain over a dark stain. You can remove the original stain with a chemical stripper or by sanding it away.
