I Want To Refinish Oak Cabinets, To A Lighter Shade, Without Painting Them, But The Home Builder, "Says No"?

Question

I just built a new home that has Oak Cabinets through-out. 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.

My Dilemma: The Builder Said, "It Is To Late", that once Oak is stained with anything, the only thing I can do is to paint over them.

If at-all-possible, I do not want to paint my Cabinets, they are just to pretty. If you have a proven technology, please send it on to me.

Thank You,

Answer 1

A stain job is not like paint - the stain is just that, a lot like clothes. It penetrates the wood very deeply, such that even sanding the wood down does not help. It is possible to bleach a light stain, but the results of restaining after doing that are not very satisfactory. And the work involved is quite a pain in the butt, and also other places. It is not worth the effort for results that could be disasterous. My advice is to focus on the beauty of the stained wood as it is now.

Answer 2

I wouldn't say that you CAN'T do it, just if you do do it will look like crap. Because oak is an open-grained wood, it takes stain much more deeply than other woods so your cabinets would have to be sanded down so much that you would wear them out!

If you were going to a darker stain it might not be such an issue but since you are going to a lighter color it will look really horrible. Your best bet might actually be to "pickle" it-that way it will camouflage all the imperfections caused by the sanding.

You say the "homebuilder" said no? Are you purchasing a new home under construction? I work in the industry and I will tell you that if you have signed and paid for those cabinets, and they are installed, they will not be changed by the builder (read your contract and all options addenda). You would have to change them yourself after you close escrow and in all likelihood this will also void the builder's as well as the manufacturer's warranties on the cabinets.

Answer 3

Refinish Oak Cabinets

Answer 4

Yes, you can lighten the cabinets and remove MOST of the stain by using some Kutzit on them. Use some cheap paper towels to rub the cabinets down with and discard them when they become ineffective. It will make a mess so have plenty of dropcloths to protect surrounding areas. You can remove the stain down to whatever degree of lightness you desire and then move on to the next area... blend them together to match.

Answer 5

Strip the wood yourself with commonly available wood stripper at the 'get lost forever in the warehouse' hardware stores.

Re-stain the wood any shade you choose and then seal with commonly available sealer.

Answer 6

It is possible to treat them with lye to get the current stuff off,and redo them, but that is quite a hassle, and should only be done by specialized companies. Check out places that offer to strip antique furniture, they can tell you what is possible in your case.

Answer 7

Call me 714-293-4886 Its too long to give u advice on this.I have my own painting company and I also do staining so I need little more info before giving u ideas.