*This post contains some affiliate links. Please see my full Disclosure Statement.
First of all, we were blessed with these cabinets for free! (Thank you, Butch & Kim!) We're going to use them in our garage.
We weren't a fan of the orange oak, we thought a nice dark coffee stain. A dark color would hide a lot of imperfections and all the abuse these cabinets were going to get in the garage. Plus these cabinets were mismatched, so by staining them all the same color, they would look more the same.
Have you ever heard of General Finishes Gel Stain? We purchased the color Java.
This gel stain is awesome! It's pretty easy too.
First, I lightly sanded the cabinet doors. You don't have to go crazy sanding, you aren't sanding off the entire finish. It only took me a minute to sand.
There are basically 2 techniques to applying the stain. I definitely preferred one over the other.
The first, was the sock method. I put on some gloves and then a sock and just wiped the stain on. I did that for the first coat, and I wasn't too impressed. It didn't seem like it did much.
Let's move on to the next technique. This is the one that I liked a lot more! I went out and bought a bag of cheap foam paint brushes. It came in a bag of 12 for $1.50. They seemed easier, less messy and better coverage. Check it out here in this picture. Can you see the 2 cabinet doors that I used the foam brush on?
One thing to note is that it takes longer to dry than paint. It was also hot and humid, so that extends the dry time.
It sets pretty quick, but when they are dry, there is no tackiness.
Here is the 2nd coat.
I feel it needs one more coat.
And now the 3rd coat. So much better! I love how it almost looks like you can see wood grain.
It also helps to paint it on going with the grain. It has held up exceptionally!
Don't these cabinets look so much better?! I can't believe they are the same cabinets!
Let's remember the before...
Wow! What a difference!
Blessings,
Lori