Can I Gel Stain Laminate Cabinets

You re going to be amazed at the difference a little java gel stain can accomplish.

Can i gel stain laminate cabinets.

Don t apply too thickly. This is a more detailed video than my last one on how to gel stain your kitchen cabinets. But if you have any doubts about your stripping and staining skills it s definitely worth hiring a pro. A laminate stain can be a gel or tinted polyurethane.

Gel stains as all wood stains were formulated to go over raw wood which has an open surface and can absorb some of the stain. You could choose to use minwax. Your basic stock laminate cabinets with an orangish color to them. You can buy unfinished cabinets and stain them yourself or strip and refinish existing wood cabinetry.

They weren t awful i did live with them for many years like this and was content until the idea of mixing it up came to the forefront. Customers have reported the successful use of gel products over laminate surfaces. Laminate is very smooth and shiny so you must sand or the paint and the gel stain won t stick. Apply gel stain i decided to stain the drawers and paint the body to match the.

Beginning with the backside of the cabinet coat each cabinet lightly with the gel stain using an old cloth or foam brush. Fortunately for those with laminate cabinets gel stain works well on a variety of surfaces other than real wood allowing you to stain your cabinets without leaving them a streaky splotchy mess. It will appear streaky. With gel stain you don t have this problem because the wood doesn t absorb the stain.

Do not remove the stain treat it like a paint. The gel will cover up the wood grain that is in the plastic while the tinted polyurethane will allow the faux grain look to show through. When using gel stain even though no uneven spots. Otherwise the laminate will just sit in a sticky layer on top of the laminate and be tacky each time you go to open the cabinet.

Sorry that it s so long but i wanted to make sure i covered as mu. Because it sits on top it masks the grain of the wood especially if you pick a dark color. Open up the laminate stain cans and check for instructions on how to stain the cabinets on the sides of the cans.