"Lightening up" wood kitchen cabinets?
Pat Barber
is another way to paint....
Igor5417 wrote:
>
> We have oak kitchen cabinets that were stained to a brownish color and
> then varnished or somehow otherwise finished. Wife wants a lighter color,
> up to the point of wanting to replace a kitchen, which is going to be
> expensive if we want something that is not laminated crap.
>
> I was hoping that there is some way of lightening up stained wood, perhaps
> by applying a semitransparent light paint, or by perhaps sanding the wood
> down a little and refinishing. (it is routered however).
>
>
chatty
I'm going to take. I agree that refinishing is the way to go unless you're
prepared to spend a lot on high end cabinets. I've seen enough cheap Home
Depot type cabinets that look trashed after about a year. I just got the
insides of my cabinets re-built, keeping the original oak face frames and
cabinet doors. I plan to re-finish them. I know it's a little backwards.
Most people re-face the fronts keeping the existing boxes. But in my case,
my doors were in good shape, but the insides were disgusting. Anyhow, I
can't comment on the results since I'm not yet finished.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
"Igor5417" <ignora...@NOSPAM.5417.invalid> wrote in message
news:slrnalnr45.ecj...@nospam.invalid...
> We have oak kitchen cabinets that were stained to a brownish color and
> then varnished or somehow otherwise finished. Wife wants a lighter color,
> up to the point of wanting to replace a kitchen, which is going to be
> expensive if we want something that is not laminated crap.
>
> I was hoping that there is some way of lightening up stained wood, perhaps
> by applying a semitransparent light paint, or by perhaps sanding the wood
> down a little and refinishing. (it is routered however).
>
> Any idea how I can accomplish this?
>
> Thanks
>
> igor
>
> P.S. Thank you all for your advice on finishing wood panels for the family
> room. It is turning out to be rather beautiful so far, the panels are
> rich in pattern but with deep and light color (bedford oak village).
Vox Humana
"Igor5417" <ignora...@NOSPAM.5417.invalid> wrote in message
news:slrnalnr45.ecj...@nospam.invalid...
> We have oak kitchen cabinets that were stained to a brownish color and
> then varnished or somehow otherwise finished. Wife wants a lighter color,
> up to the point of wanting to replace a kitchen, which is going to be
> expensive if we want something that is not laminated crap.
>
> I was hoping that there is some way of lightening up stained wood, perhaps
> by applying a semitransparent light paint, or by perhaps sanding the wood
> down a little and refinishing. (it is routered however).
>
> Any idea how I can accomplish this?
>
> Thanks
>
> igor
>
> P.S. Thank you all for your advice on finishing wood panels for the family
> room. It is turning out to be rather beautiful so far, the panels are
> rich in pattern but with deep and light color (bedford oak village).
I had honey oak cabinets that someone painted (very badly). I used chemical
stripper on them and washed with mineral spirits as someone suggested. I
then used Minwax pickled oak finish stain followed by polyurethane. It
lighted them right up.
Baby Strange
ignora...@NOSPAM.5417.invalid (Igor5417) screamed the following
heavenward at a remote and unjust God:
>We have oak kitchen cabinets that were stained to a brownish color and
>then varnished or somehow otherwise finished. Wife wants a lighter color,
>up to the point of wanting to replace a kitchen, which is going to be
>expensive if we want something that is not laminated crap.
Your best bet would be to strip the cabinet doors and face framing
down to bare wood and start over. If you like the style of the
cabinet doors and really want to keep them, it might be worth it to
send the doors out to be stripped by a professional, as it's an
unpeasant and time-consuming job.
>I was hoping that there is some way of lightening up stained wood, perhaps
>by applying a semitransparent light paint, or by perhaps sanding the wood
>down a little and refinishing. (it is routered however).
One of the "pickled" finishes, in white or a pastel color, is what
you're looking for, in that case. They might work over the existing
dark brown finish, or it might look like pure crap--I've no way of
knowing, from here. Otherwise there is no way to lighten stained wood
without stripping it out and starting over. If you think you might
redo the kitchen in a few years, painting the cabinets a light color
for now would be a relatively fast and cheap way of dealing with the
problem for now.
You might want to see what it would cost to have just the cabinet
doors replaced new ones in a lighter-colored wood. You don't need to
tear everything out and remodel the entire kitchen to do it. The
cabinet bases can be stripped down and refinished to match, or even
painted.
Vox Humana
"Baby Strange" <babys...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:eogpluctm11tc4nqc...@4ax.com...
> In a moment of deep existential despair,
> ignora...@NOSPAM.5417.invalid (Igor5417) screamed the following
> heavenward at a remote and unjust God:
>
> >We have oak kitchen cabinets that were stained to a brownish color and
> >then varnished or somehow otherwise finished. Wife wants a lighter color,
> >up to the point of wanting to replace a kitchen, which is going to be
> >expensive if we want something that is not laminated crap.
>
> Your best bet would be to strip the cabinet doors and face framing
> down to bare wood and start over. If you like the style of the
> cabinet doors and really want to keep them, it might be worth it to
> send the doors out to be stripped by a professional, as it's an
> unpeasant and time-consuming job.
>
I would definitely second that. I took the cabinets down and stripped the
face frames. The doors and drawer fronts were a bitch to strip. Having
them professionally stripped would be the best way to go and probably result
in a better job than doing it yourself.
Baby Strange
ignora...@NOSPAM.5417.invalid (Igor5417) screamed the following
heavenward at a remote and unjust God:
>* I would definitely second that. I took the cabinets down and stripped the
>* face frames. The doors and drawer fronts were a bitch to strip. Having
>* them professionally stripped would be the best way to go and probably result
>* in a better job than doing it yourself.
>
>where would I find such a professional?
Look in the yellow pages under "Furniture Repair and Refinishing," or
maybe "Furniture Stripping." I don't know what they will charge you,
but no matter how much it is, it's *still* a better deal than doing it
yourself.
CADDude
I know I could.
Vox Humana
"Igor5417" <ignora...@NOSPAM.5417.invalid> wrote in message
> * news:eogpluctm11tc4nqc...@4ax.com...
> * > In a moment of deep existential despair,
> * > ignora...@NOSPAM.5417.invalid (Igor5417) screamed the following
> * > heavenward at a remote and unjust God:
> * >
> * > >We have oak kitchen cabinets that were stained to a brownish color
and
> * > >then varnished or somehow otherwise finished. Wife wants a lighter
color,
> * > >up to the point of wanting to replace a kitchen, which is going to be
> * > >expensive if we want something that is not laminated crap.
> * >
> * > Your best bet would be to strip the cabinet doors and face framing
> * > down to bare wood and start over. If you like the style of the
> * > cabinet doors and really want to keep them, it might be worth it to
> * > send the doors out to be stripped by a professional, as it's an
> * > unpeasant and time-consuming job.
> * >
> *
> * I would definitely second that. I took the cabinets down and stripped
the
> * face frames. The doors and drawer fronts were a bitch to strip. Having
> * them professionally stripped would be the best way to go and probably
result
> * in a better job than doing it yourself.
> *
> *
>
> where would I find such a professional?
>
should be a subcategory for repair and/or refinishing. Most larger cities
have dip and strip services. I called several recently and they were going
to charge between 12 and 20 per door, depending on the size. Some charged
for pick-up, other didn't. Some seemed like home businesses and other were
large operations.
RamblinOn
Vox Humana wrote:
What I've seen of professional stripping (dip tank), I wouldn't wish on an
outhouse. It ruins the patina and raises the grain; would end up spending equal
effort on sanding. I've stripped kitchen cabinets and it's a big messy job.
Must take down doors, remove hardware, etc. More difficult, but do-able, if
complicated moldings, etc. consider the hazard of stripping in place re: floor
coverings, wall surfaces, etc. I stripped dark spanish oak cabinets for a
friend just after she had white tile/white grout installed. My first brush with
a nervous breakdown came when I discovered the end panels were printed grain on
particle board. O/w solid oak. Oak doesn't turn out "light" with any clear
finish - it is a medium color wood. To make it light you'd need a pickled
finish or glaze. Brushing on and wiping off light color paint works, too.
Takes a little practice and might cut down on yellowing tendency. I did some
oak railings and "pickled" with same paint we used on doors and baseboards; o/w
would have been "golden oak". Kitchen cabinets aren't too bad, with the doors
and drawers taken outside or to garage. With just a stain/varnish finish, much
easier to strip than if they had been painted. Two apps, probably, of stripper
(semi-paste, non-water wash), scrape, scrub with fine-med steel wool on second
app, scrape, scrub with mineral spirits, wipe with paper towel. Corners,
carving, moldings take any tool that fits - orange stick, toothpick, toothbrush,
to get the "goop" out. I rarely sand after stripping. Steel wool helps get
little fuzzies off.
RamblinOn
Igor1302 wrote:
> People, I am sorry, but what exactly is pickled finish. I did some google
> search and have some idea, but it is fuzzy. It _sounds_ pretty close to
> what I would like, but I want to know a little more.
A transparent stain that adds some color (light or white) and concentrates in the wood
grain.
>
>
> igor
>
> RamblinOn <ramb...@mindspring.com> wrote:
> *
> *
> * Vox Humana wrote:
> *
> * > "Baby Strange" <babys...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> * > news:eogpluctm11tc4nqc...@4ax.com...
> * > > In a moment of deep existential despair,
> * > > ignora...@NOSPAM.5417.invalid (Igor5417) screamed the following
> * > > heavenward at a remote and unjust God:
> * > >
> * > > >We have oak kitchen cabinets that were stained to a brownish color and
> * > > >then varnished or somehow otherwise finished. Wife wants a lighter color,
> * > > >up to the point of wanting to replace a kitchen, which is going to be
> * > > >expensive if we want something that is not laminated crap.
> * > >
> * > > Your best bet would be to strip the cabinet doors and face framing
> * > > down to bare wood and start over. If you like the style of the
> * > > cabinet doors and really want to keep them, it might be worth it to
> * > > send the doors out to be stripped by a professional, as it's an
> * > > unpeasant and time-consuming job.
> * > >
> * >
> * > I would definitely second that. I took the cabinets down and stripped the
> * > face frames. The doors and drawer fronts were a bitch to strip. Having
> * > them professionally stripped would be the best way to go and probably result
> * > in a better job than doing it yourself.
> *
> * What I've seen of professional stripping (dip tank), I wouldn't wish on an
> * outhouse. It ruins the patina and raises the grain; would end up spending equal
> * effort on sanding. I've stripped kitchen cabinets and it's a big messy job.
> * Must take down doors, remove hardware, etc. More difficult, but do-able, if
> * complicated moldings, etc. consider the hazard of stripping in place re: floor
> * coverings, wall surfaces, etc. I stripped dark spanish oak cabinets for a
> * friend just after she had white tile/white grout installed. My first brush with
> * a nervous breakdown came when I discovered the end panels were printed grain on
> * particle board. O/w solid oak. Oak doesn't turn out "light" with any clear
> * finish - it is a medium color wood. To make it light you'd need a pickled
> * finish or glaze. Brushing on and wiping off light color paint works, too.
> * Takes a little practice and might cut down on yellowing tendency. I did some
> * oak railings and "pickled" with same paint we used on doors and baseboards; o/w
> * would have been "golden oak". Kitchen cabinets aren't too bad, with the doors
> * and drawers taken outside or to garage. With just a stain/varnish finish, much
> * easier to strip than if they had been painted. Two apps, probably, of stripper
> * (semi-paste, non-water wash), scrape, scrub with fine-med steel wool on second
> * app, scrape, scrub with mineral spirits, wipe with paper towel. Corners,
> * carving, moldings take any tool that fits - orange stick, toothpick, toothbrush,
> * to get the "goop" out. I rarely sand after stripping. Steel wool helps get
> * little fuzzies off.
> *
RamblinOn
Igor1302 wrote:
> Do I need to wear a gas mask to strip wood? I have an Israeli civilian gas mask.
It's nasty stuff. At least ventilate well. I use non-flammable, but it is
carcinogenic.
CADDude
spirits for a pickle stain. Most paint stores now sell white stain, but this is
the formula we used in the old days.
Nightstar
"RamblinOn" <ramb...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:3D5CF3D8...@mindspring.com...
RamblinOn
Nightstar wrote:
> Just wondering how you dealt with the particle board end panel?
Painted a faux finish on them. Mixed up my own background color to match
background of oak, painted in the mid-tones of oak grain, put on a couple of
thin, streaky coats of the stain I used on the oak, then painted in the large,
darkest grain pattern. Used thinned artist oils, a flat artist paint brush,
jiggling it back and forth to get the "grain" streaks. Not half bad; not
noticeable unless you really look for it.
Just helped keep a neighbor out of trouble with our condo board - they stained
furniture outside on concrete and got dark brown splotches all over. Two colors
of my acrylic craft paint fixed that. One warm gray dabbed on with a stenciling
brush (not to cover, so's it doesn't look "painted") and then lighter daubing
with a lighter gray to give it concrete texture. I debated about painting in a
big roach, but decided to save that for another project. :o) Necessity is the
mother of invention :o)
Vox Humana
"Nightstar" <night...@hotmail.comedy> wrote in message
news:TzO79.1366$%v3.41...@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...
> Just wondering how you dealt with the particle board end panel?
>
I got some veneer plywood and put that on the ends and finished that the
same as the rest of the cabinets.