Hello Lovelies!

 

As detailed in the Should you Paint or Stain your kitchen
cabinets?
 article, I decided to gel stain rather than paint the chalet’s kitchen cabinets, mainly because of its consistency and finish. Now that I decided on that, the question is: how am I supposed to do it?!

HOW TO STAIN YOUR KITCHEN CABINETS LIKE A PRO?

Though it seems like a lot of work, the result is absolutely worth all the hard work! When you see the finished product and the difference it makes in your living space is the greatest reward. You will be so proud of what you have accomplished and of course, you will be bragging to everyone that you’ve done it yourself, without the help of a professional!

It is important to set a realistic timeframe, if you are like me and are only able to work on it on weekends, make sure you set 2/3 weekends to complete the process. However, if you can work on it more frequently, and based on the drying time mentioned on the stain can instructions, you should be able to get it done within a couple of days.

One important thing, don’t see this as a chore, look at it more as a fun new project. You MUST have fun with it! Blast some music, listen to a podcast, put a tv show as background noise, or gather a few people to help and share a good time with. Lastly, take a break when you need it!

STEP 1: GATHER THE NECESSARY MATERIALS

  • plastic sheets
  • Minwax Gel Stain (black)
  • Circa 1850 Furniture Stripper
  • Minwax® Water-Based Oil-Modified Polyurethane (Clear Gloss)
  • Small painting roll 
  • Painting Brush (grease remover and one for painting)
  • Small foam brush (detail)
  • CIRCA 1850 Medium Latex-Rubber Paint Stripping Gloves
  • Bristle brush
  • Bristle brush (exclusively for the furniture stripper)

STEP 2: PREPARE YOUR WORKING SPACE

Not being a professional, I was being extra cautious with the covering and preparing of the space. I cannot stress this enough: Prepare, prepare and prepare your space!

Though, I found that the Minwax Gel Stain was very easy to clean off the walls, floors, and tiles. Nothing a little water and light scrubbing couldn’t remove. The toughest stain I had was on a portion of a wall that had a rocky texture, with a lot of crevasses and hard-to-reach parts. For that one, I put water on a magic eraser and scrubbed with a little bit more strength and it was completely gone. This being said, it is easier to prepare than to waste time and energy cleaning, which is why I recommend that you make sure to cover all the places you don’t wish to stain. Don’t forget the floors, a brush can easily be dropped (if you are as clumsy as I am).

I bought plastic sheets from the dollar store and put them on the floor and tape them down using masking tape (call me overly cautious, but those sheets can be slippery!).

I chose a side of the living room as a designated drying area, I put plastic sheets over the floor to prevent staining the floor, seeing as I left the doors drying there for days at a time, without supervision.

For the walls, I used large masking tape to cover the edges of the walls to avoid accidentally staining the wall too.

TIP: make sure you tape and cover the wall plinths because if you apply a furniture stripper on the frame and it drips on the plinths, it will remove the paint off of the plinths.

Once I was done with protecting my belongings, I started preparing my working area. I decided to use the kitchen island as my workbench because it is higher and I would be able to work standing rather than uncomfortably sitting on the floor. However, this is really up to the person doing the work, if you are more comfortable doing it on a table or the floor, you should definitely do what makes you feel better. And so, as you may have guessed, I covered the island with a plastic sheet as well! I decided to also put two paint cans of the same height that I had around the chalet (it could be any can or other items you can put instead to take the doors off of the island). Wait, don’t judge me just yet, there is a genius in my madness, trust me! the goal here was to have a low-budget support system so that I could stain the sides of the cabinets doors without too much bending and twisting. Depending on the size of the door I moved the cans apart or closer to keep the balance and avoid getting a door to the face! Then, I elevated the door by putting it on top of the cans to be stained.

STEP 3: REMOVE THE CABINET DOORS AND ANY HARDWARE

Using a drill (you can use a screw if you prefer it), I removed the doors by unscrewing the screws of the hinges from the doors (note: make sure you hold the door while removing them so that it doesn’t fall and risk injuries). I strongly suggest you remove all hardware (doorknobs, pulls, screws, etc.) from the cabinet doors and drawer fronts, otherwise, you might accidentally stain them as well.

GREAT TIP: number the doors and where they belong in the frame of the cabinets. I learned the tip the hard way… I wasted a lot of time playing Tetris and trying to find the right door for the right spot. When I was dissembling them, I thought, this is simple enough, there are 3 sizes and I could easily recognize which one goes where. NOPE! It wasn’t about the size, but more about where the holes for the hinges were made, some were slightly higher, lower, or to the side. This was especially hard when I had two doors that close in the middle, you could see that they were not meant to be together. In other words, it was an absolute nightmare!  

I also found it very helpful to separate the hardware into two categories: cabinet door and drawer fronts, then, put knobs and their screws in a zip bag, hinges and their screws in a separate bag as well, etc. This was helpful because not all screws were the same height and width. Once everything is in its bag and labeled, I put them in a box and put it in a designated place not to lose it.  

STEP 4: TAPE THE CABINET TO GEL STAIN THE FRAMES

The aesthetic I was going for was to have the entire cabinets stained black, except for the interior walls and shelves of the cabinets. As mentioned earlier, I am NOT a professional and therefore, everything had to be taped to avoid slip-ups. I used masking tape (48mm) to tape the inside edges of the cabinets and the shelves. Don’t forget the side of appliances that may be in the way of the brush!

GREAT TIP: make sure you tape and cover the wall plinths because if you apply a furniture stripper on the frame and it drips on the plinths, it will remove the paint off of the plinths.


STEP 5: STRIP AND SAND THE CABINET DOORS (INSIDE AND OUT)

I had read on the internet (on multiple occasions) that it was not necessary to strip the wood before applying the stain. However, when I took a sample of the wood to the hardware store, they said that it was quite shiny and that I would have a much better finish after I strip it. To do so, I had to buy a furniture stripper (Circa 1850 Furniture Stripper) instead of wasting time and energy sanding the shine away. The stripper makes the glossy layer detach from the wood and all I had to do is scrap it away, without much strength. For the scrapping, I had purchased a flexible 3 inches metal scrapper, in addition to the flexible 8 inches metal scrapper I had purchased previously. I ended up only using the 3 inches one because it was much easier to use than the bigger one. I must admit that it was so satisfying to scrape! Loved it.

IMPORTANT: the furniture stripper is a strong chemically charged liquid that should not come in direct contact with skin. I can attest to that, I accidentally touched the brush which had the stripper on it, and it actually hurts! My skin became red and had a burning sensation. I ran to the sink and put it under cold water and it stopped after a while. No scars! However, I strongly recommend reading the instructions on the box about what to do in case of accidentally coming in contact with the liquid.

You should not use regular cleaning gloves as the stripper may dissolve them as well. I was instructed to use stripping gloves, which are resistant to the chemicals in the furniture stripper, I used CIRCA 1850 Latex-Rubber Paint Stripping Gloves.

Application: 

  1. To avoid carrying the can of stripper around, I had poured a little bit of the liquid in a mason jar (one with a lid, for storage, in case you need to do this over a couple of days).
  2. Using a brush, I applied the stripper to the wood. 
    1. The hardware store employee had suggested applying it and then wait 10-15mins before starting to scrape. 
    2. The box said to wait 4-5 mins before stripping

I tried both ways, the first one was really hard to remove, the second option a little easier. Instead, I applied it to a small area and then scrapped it right away and it worked Amazingly! It was so much easier to remove no effort was needed.  

I applied this process to the doors, drawer frames, sideboards, and cabinet frames to remove the shine.

STEP 6: STAIN THE CABINET DOORS AND FRAMES

Note: clean as you go, if you stain something by accident, get it cleaned right away.

Outside of cabinets doors/drawer fronts: 

  • First layer : 

To gel stain the kitchen cabinets, I was told I could use a brush, roll, or simply just a rag to apply the gel. Seeing as it was not a liquid, I didn’t opt for the rag, I used a mix of brush and roll.

I stained one cabinet door or drawer front at a time using a regular brush for the first layer. I did not have to use a lot of gel at a time, in fact, a small quantity of gel stain went a long way. However, for the crevasses and spots that are harder to reach, I used a small foam brush to push the gel in and also to get it out of corners. I decided to stain the front of the cabinets first, once stained, I would take them and put them on the plastic sheets in the designated area.

  • Second layer: 

After 3-4 days, I went back to the chalet and I was so glad about the outcome with only one layer. It was a great coverage! For the second layer, I decided to go with the roller as it was much faster. I was able to stain the cabinets in half the time it took with the brush but, that is because I had reached all the small areas in the first layer. Once completed, I put them back in the drying area.

Inside of cabinets doors/drawer fronts:

  • First layer : 

For the inside of the doors, I decided to use the roll to stain them. Once I finished with the first layer, I put them back in the drying area.

  • Second layer: 

I chose not to do the second layer until the doors were installed because the finish was actually satisfying. I just made a couple of touchups after I installed the doors and fronts back on the frames.

Cabinet frames: 

I chose to paint the full cabinets, including the sideboards and frames of doors and counter edges. For this part, I used the regular brush to paint the frame and the roll to gel stain the sideboards.

I stained this part twice and in parallel to the cabinet doors and drawers not to waste time. However, after using the sink and the counters a couple of times and having water drop on the staining started to rub-off. I did some research and decided that the best way is to put a finishing layer on the staining to avoid redoing the staining often.


STEP 7: APPLY FINISHING LAYERS 

To prevent the staining from deteriorating, I decided to apply Minwax® Water-Based Oil-Modified Polyurethane for a clear gloss finish (you may use any of the 3 types of finishes). The instructions on the can were pretty simple and clear.  

Roughly 24hrs after I applied the last layer of gel stain on the cabinets (the product instructions say that it can be done 8hrs after staining), I started by cleaning the areas to remove any residue or dust that might be on the surface. Then, using a regular brush, I put the first layer of the finishing liquid. It was very easy to apply and dries pretty quickly. 2 hours later, I applied the second layer. Then another 2 hours, to apply the third layer. After the last layer, I did not use the kitchen for about 4-5 days (the instructions say not to use it within 24 hours). When I came back to the chalet, everything looked great, glossy, and ready to be used.

STEP 8: RE-INSTALL THE HARDWARE AND DOORS BACK ON THE FRAME

Remember those bags containing the cabinet hardware we put aside in step 3, well it is time to go get them and reassemble the hardware to the doors and then the doors to the frame.

I decided to change the knobs to more modern-looking pull handles, so I had to drill new holes 3 inches apart just as instructed in the box of new handles.

STEP 9: TOUCH UPS

I had to touch up the inside of some of the doors because they got scratched when I installed them back on the frame. Due to the thicker consistency of the gel, It was very easy and mess-free to stain the scratches without drips or vertical lines.

Other than those scratches, I had nothing to touch up, I was very happy with the result!


Alright my lovelies, now you know how I gel stained the kitchen cabinets in my parent’s chalet. Try this DIY project to update your kitchen and let me know how it went!

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16 Comments

  1. avatar

    Great post. Very detailed but would have loved to have seen some photos of the finished cabinets. I enjoy a good before and after pic.

    1. avatar

      Thank you for your Feedback Rachel! I will definitely add some pictures to show the process and the results <3

  2. avatar

    I love the detail in this post. Gel stain is so nice to use and its easier than getting a smooth look painting in my experience. Thanks for sharing, I cant wait to see the final result!

    1. avatar

      Thank you for your feedback Katie!

  3. avatar

    I have had the same question! But unlike you, I haven’t gotten up the courage. Last winter I decided I wanted to paint our kitchen and breakfast room. I’ve never painted before. I’ve done some peep but never painted a room. Since I conquered that, I planned on working on the cabinets. It’s winter now so I guess it’s time 😊. Saving this! Thanks!

    1. avatar

      I’m so happy you’ve found it helpful! I completely understand the pain! it seems like such a big task, but if broken down into steps, it will be much easier and faster. Plus, the outcome is totally worth it, it changes the whole room!

  4. avatar

    I learned so much by reading this post! Thanks for sharing!

    1. avatar

      Thank you for the feedback! I’m happy you enjoyed it! 🙂

      1. avatar

        Absolutely beautiful end result. This would be a great way to update my kitch for the new year.

        1. avatar

          Thank you, I’m happy you like it! 🙂 Yes, try it and let me know how it works out!

  5. avatar

    Some “simple” changes expecially in the kitchen can make such a hige difference!!! It looks amazing!

    1. avatar

      Thank you! Yes, especially if you have an open concept living space, it’s crazy how it affects the whole room!

  6. avatar
    Tina says:

    Beautiful results! We are planning to build soon and I have considered staining a few pieces of furniture before we move. Thanks for sharing!

    1. avatar

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, you should give it a try, it’s super easy and the result is worth it!

  7. avatar

    I love any DIY makeover ideas and this one is ace. What a difference you can make without spending a fortune.

    1. avatar

      Thank you Rachel, I’m glad you liked it! I’m all for DIY and it makes every project a conversation piece!

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I'm Nelly, writer, artist, designer, property manager, and interior design and lifestyle blogger. I currently have a full-time job and I am a part-time University student for Masters Degree, but as if that doesn't keep me busy enough, I still make time to start design projects, write, paint and blog. I've always been the creative type and I cannot sit still to save my life! Fortunately, my creative projects actually relax me, which helps balance my overwhelming academic and professional life.

I am a DIY kind of person, if I can do it, why spend on labor? besides, most of the time, I actually enjoy being a handywoman! So, "why blogging?" you asked? Well, when my parents bought a cottage, I offered my services to renovate and redecorate it to represent them and to make sure they feel at home while sticking to the agreed-upon budget.

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