Always sand in the direction of the wood grain.
Staining wood cabinets lighter. For the second sanding use 220 grit sandpaper. If your stained project has a top coat such as lacquer varnish or polyurethane it must be completely. How to restain kitchen cabinets from a dark stain to a lighter color step 1. It s seldom possible to get an exact match but you can reduce the contrast significantly.
Use 120 grit sandpaper to lightly sand the cabinets. 5 leave the original stain in place if you want to stain the piece a darker color. I just built a new home that has oak cabinets through out. Brush a wet coat of chemical stripper on the doors and the.
Apply more stain to the lighter boards either directly on the wood or by adding some of the stain color to the finish and shading them darker. I decided i do not like them and want to remove this light oak gel stain from the oak wood and re stain all of them to a lighter color or perhaps to use a pickel finish. If your stain isn t taking its probably because your sealer coat was too heavy and the wood is completely sealed. Turn on the exhaust fan or open the windows and apply the stain stripper.
How to lighten the color stain on oak cabinets 1. Before you stain the cabinets it s important to remove all the doors and drawers to make sanding and applying the stain easier. Use a screwdriver to remove the hinges. You can remove the original stain with a chemical stripper or by sanding it away.
How to lighten a dark wood stain exceptions to lightening. In addition to creating a lighter finish you will need to strip the wood first if your piece has a lacquered topcoat. Remove the doors and drawers from the cabinets. Put on gloves eye protection and a breathing apparatus.
Remove all the hardware on the kitchen cabinets and set aside all pieces in a safe place so they don t get lost. And yes a light coat of shellac with still allow a water based stain to penetrate and stain the wood although the color will be lighter than it would be on raw wood.