Expert: Eileen Cronk - 10/3/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

My wife and I have recently purchased a house, however, it seems that the previous owner stained then painted then stained the cabinets.  They are the standard typical wood cabinets that are sold in almost any hardware stores.  Is there anything we can do to remove this gunk and get the cabinets to it's original color?

Thank you in advance.

ANSWER: Hi Henry
Nice to hear from you.
There sure is something you can do. You can strip the cabinets down to bare wood and apply new finish to them.
Its a big job but if you have the patience and time you can do it.
Its recommended that you do one cabinet door through the stripping, staining and finish process.
That way you will know exactly what the result will be.
And if it does not suit you can repaint the cabinets.
If you need stripping instructions or any help along the way, just ask.
Kind Regards
Eileen

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

QUESTION: Thank you so much Eileen.  Please give me instructions on how to strip the cabinets.  Thank you in advance.

Answer
Hi again Henry
As I said this is a big job but if you have the time its very much worth the effort.
Its not hugely expensive either.
I am in canada and if I had to purchase the things I need to strip a set of kitchen cabinets it will run about $100.00 which is a heck of a long way off of getting new cabinets.
But please do the test door as recommended. You must know what the final job will look like or you could be in for a nasty surprise if the wood is not as hoped for.
I will suggest to you that these cabinets are likely maple.
Maple strips well but in most cases does not take a dark stain. The wood is just too hard to absorb a lot of color so keep that in mind.
If I'm wrong about the wood..Lord knows I rarely am LOL..OK..just kidding, you may find after your test the wood is just not suitable to leave natural.
Most of these cabinets are finished with colored lacquers. This makes any wood uniform in appearance but we cannot duplicate this in the home.
So here are the stripping instructions

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STRIPPING HENRYS 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.
Here is a link
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1694&familyN
Henry this is called an mc stripper and is the strongest available which is what you need for this job.
It works very fast but follow all safety info on can.

MATERIAL LIST For the stripping stage.
1 gallon stripper to start but you will need two in total.
3 boxes of Bull Dog steel wool in medium grade to start but more needed likely.
One 3 inch oil based paint brush.
Rubber gloves (like you do dishes with), and a pair of cotton 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
LOTS OF VENTILATION..A MUST
That's all you need to get started.
HERES WHAT YOU DO...
Work in sections. One door at a time.
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 or scraper and get 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.
Depending on the material you are removing, another coat of stripper is often needed but you will know this as you progress into the job.
Use the toothbrush in crevices.
Thats all there is to it ...move to another section and continue.
No other prep is necessary...and DO NOT SAND
Henry the only time we need to sand is if there is wood damage. I don't care what anyone tells you, sanding is not only not necessary (the folks who built the cabinets sanded them to perfection), it removes any natural aging color the wood has aquired over the years and also causes tiny scratches that only become noticable when the stain is applied. NO SANDING!!!
When the stripping is complete, stain with Minwax stain applied with a rag, then 2 coats of Minwax fast drying oil based poly in satin sheen. Do not use high gloss poly on your cabinets or you will regret it. High gloss shows every finger mark.
Please let me know if anything is not 100% clear.
And get back to me if needed.
Good Luck
Eileen