Expert: Eileen Cronk - 9/4/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello Eileen,  I am a Canadian too!  My oak kitchen cabinets are 25 years old and have turned a yellow/orange colour.  I would like to refinish them to a nice light to medium oak stain.  Also the veneer ends at the bottom by the floor have turned a whitish colour.  Can I fix this?  If you could please give me simple instructions and what products and where to buy,that would be great! Thanks Holly

ANSWER: Hi Holly
So nice to hear from a fellow Canadian.
You can refinish your 25 year oak cabinets to the medium oak color you desire.
I hate that yellow / orange color too.
Here is the complete instructions.
They apply to your cabinets in every way.
I don't have to tell you this is time consuming but I know you can do this.
Just take your time. Set a pace. Maybe say "I'll strip 4 doors a day" then "I'll strip 4 drawers a day".
You will not be overwhelmed this way.
And lets face it, we still have to use our kitchens while this is going on and we don't want to make ourselves crazy LOL.
Even consider doing the top section to completion first then the lowers.
And don't worry about the white at the bottom.
It will strip off and stain fine.


INSTRUCTIONS FOR STRIPPING HOLLY'S KITCHEN CABINETS
The first thing you must do is assemble the material to do the job.
The stripper is the most important item.  
I am hoping you can get "CIRCA 1850" brand paint and varnish remover in your area. Most Home Hardware stores carry it.
Here is a link, its American but I want you to see what the can looks like.
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1694&familyN

MATERIAL LIST For the stripping stage.
1 gallon stripper (you may need more depending on how many cabinets but start with the gallon)
3 boxes of Bull Dog steel wool in medium grade.
One 3 inch oil based paint brush.
Rubber gloves (like you do dishes with), and a pair of cotton work gloves inside the rubber ones.
People react differently to stripper. A lot of people feel heat through the rubber gloves, but I feel cold. Have no idea why.
An empty large coffee can. (for the stripper)
A couple of old tooth brushes.
Lots of old rags (I like t-shirts or cotton but for this first stage whatever you have)
Lots of newspaper to protect the garage floor where the door/ drawer stripping must take place
LOTS OF VENTILATION..A MUST
That's all you need to get started.
HERES WHAT YOU DO...
Work in stages as suggested above.
Brush on the stripper with the brush. Stripper will quit working if it dries, so keep it wet till the finish softens.
Then take a rag and wipe this mess off.
Then another coat of stripper, rag off again, then while the wood is still wet, take the steel wool and rub with the grain till the wood is nice and clean.
Use the toothbrush in crevices.
In some cases a third coat of stripper may be needed but you will soon know when you start.
Thats all there is to it ...move to another section and continue.
No other prep is necessary...and DO NOT SAND
When the stripping is complete, stain with Minwax stain applied with a rag and excess wiped back.
In this case you want a medium oak color so you will need to experiment a bit on the back of a door or drawer.
Get a can of Minwax golden oak color and a can of Minwax Special walnut color. Start by mixing half and half (just a TBLS.of each) then test..too dark add a TBLS of oak, too light add a TBLS of walnut.etc..I think you get the idea. Once you get the color you like mix a large batch. But write down the formula LOL...so you don't forget.
Now for some suggestions and comments.
If you read these forums you often see where folks cannot get the color they desire when they stain their oak cabinets.
Its just the way oak is at times.
It is my experience that old and antique oak will take a stain very well indeed. I have never had it do otherwise.
I have thought about the reason for this many times and think it must have something to do with the age of the tree when its cut.
If you can imagine back 100 years ago, huge old oak trees were cut for furniture some as old as 100 years.. Today oak never matures that long before its cut.
If your oak was cut today, I can pretty much guarentee it would not stain well.
Your cabinets are 25 years old. I hope they will.
But its a good idea to strip a small area on a door back to test your color.
Having said that you can still get a lovely golden and get rid of the orange.
Use Minwax water based poly in a satin sheen as the top coat (2 or 3 coats, no more).
The water based does not turn orange over time.
Please let me know if anything is not 100% clear.
Good Luck
Regards
Eileen



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: It's the Canadian again,

First how come you say don't sand? Everybody telling me I am going to need to sand.  I would rather not if I could but I thought I would need to sand to take off the remaining stain to stain the cabinets a lighter colour and to make sure the stain goes on even. Also when I am stripping some of the varnish it's tough to come off in spots, what is the best way to tackle those spots? (Does dipping the steel wool in stripper and rubbing thes spot the way to go?) Also how do I strip the cabinets and not touch the inside of the cabinets (the insides are in really good shape). I also worry about damaging the walls or the tile floor with the stripper when I do the cabinets.

Answer
Hi Again Canadian
Holly you are going to have to trust me on this.
There is no way on this earth that you (or anyone) could ever attempt to sand the remaining color out of your oak cabinets in your lifetime LOL.
What a horendous job.
When we strip wood that has been previously stained, there is always color left.
Some of this color is the stain, and a lot of it is the natural darkening that wood does over the years.
It is in fact very desirable to leave the wood this way. Most especially oak.
Freshly sanded and finished oak in my opinion always has what I call a "raw" look to it that is undesirable.
Your 25 year old oak cabinets were sanded to perfection when they were made and do not require it now.
We only resort to sanding in the case of wood damage.
Thats my two cents worth on sanding your cabinets.
Next..dipping the steel wool in the stripper and rubbing will do nothing.
Holly you MUST let the stripper do its job.
Are you following my directions? Are you keeping it wet while it works? Remember the stripper will quit working if it dries.
And most importantly are you using the stripper I told you to.
This stripper is the only one for this job.
You keep the stripper away from the drywall and interior of the cabinets by taping these areas off with masking tape. Use the green wide masking tape.
And of course work carefully around these areas.
Keep me posted.
Eileen