Gel stain cabinets and trim?

12 years ago

I have oak cabinets from the 90's and would like to stain them darker. The java gel stain is a little too dark from what I have seen online. I'm torn on whether to paint them white and risk them turning out streaky or to stain them with gel stain? If we stain we don't want them to look painted but want them to look nice, professional and not streaky. The problem is we don't know what color from general finishes would look well and our floors trim and doors are all oak too. Should we stain doors and trim as well? Or find a little lighter color stain that will mesh well with csbinet color we choose? Or paint oak trim and doors white? If paint what did you use? How did you do it? And what color? we plan on changing our countertops to granite or quartz when we have more money, adding a backsplash and stainless steel appliances. Just thought we would start here.

Featured Answer

nosoccermom

12 years ago

What about this:
{{!gwi}}

With respect to ease, I found using General Finishes gel stain a lot easier to achieve professionally looking results.

Here's what one and two coats of Antique Walnut looks like:

[link: http://www.millermusingsblog.com/2013/03/main-bathroom-remodel-phase-2-paint.html]

Come to think of it: I really like the cobalt blue paint -- -kind of like your mug]

Others on GW have used Old Master (?) gel stain with good results

Here is a link that might be useful: Young House Love kitchen

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Comments (6)

olympia776
12 years ago
I used gel stain on my bedroom furniture in the java. It's very dark. I thought it was really easy to work with and I enjoyed doing it. The results are really great.

I recently painted my kitchen cabinets - they are maple though so much less grain than oak which could be an issue to think about. Painting was much, much harder than using the gel stain. I worked as hard as I could to have a good finish on them. There are visible brush marks though. If one were to compare I think the gel stain looks more "professional" in that it's very even there aren't any brush marks, etc.

If I were you I'd paint the cabinets but I really like white cabinets. The grain could bother you so you'd have to consider using a filler if that'd be the case. Another option would be to stain the cabinets and paint the trim white.

Let us know what you decide! Good luck!
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lam702
12 years ago
If you prefer dark cabinets, I would go with the gelstain. I think it has to be easier than painting. I absolutely love nosoccermom's photo with the dark island and white upper cabinets. To me that is the best of both worlds. A good choice for the oak which it seems we all had. Oak has a very noticeable grain, if that doesn't bother you, the staining is a good option. If you don't want grain, you have to use brushing putty (never used it myself but this is what I hear, as I am getting ready to paint my oak bath cabinets) and of course then you have to paint. Personally, I love the white, its so clean and bright. Yes, a lot of work in painting, but worth it if you have the time and energy.
gracefullyp
9 years ago
To help get practically zero brush strokes, use Floetrol (they make it for latex and another for oil paint). It thins the paint a little, & makes it more self-leveling. It's great!
lam702
9 years ago
Using a foam roller when applying the paint for cabinets will eliminate brush marks. I've found a quality Purdy brush keeps brush marks at a minimum too. From what I've seen, when using Gelstain, the java stain does a nice job, but its very dark. The lighter stains appear harder to get a an even finish. Maybe test it out on the back of a cabinet door first.
millworkman
9 years ago
Why are we digging up a 4 year old post?