Will a gel stain work over a laminate top?

Question

I have a table that I want to stain to be darker, but the top is laminate. I know a liquid stain won't penetrate the laminate, but will a gel stain work since it's non-penetrating?

Answer 1

you can color laminate with any poly urethane based glaze. you can make your own color by mixing clear poly with any oil based stain. sand the surface before applying product.

Answer 2

Gel Stain On Laminate

Answer 3

No stain will penetrate laminate so you will have to do a faux finish and then seal it. There are great books out there showing how to do a faux finish and when I need one I check it out from the library. That way you can browse and find the finish you really like. That's hard to do ordering a book from Amazon. The techniques are not difficult and actually a lot of fun. If you find you like doing it, there is a real business opportunity there. Good Luck and God Bless

Answer 4

No. Laminate is plastic. If you want to change the color, you can prime it with a special primer and paint it. Staining it won't work.

ETA: Have you considered relaminating it the shade you want?

Answer 5

MJ, any stain placed over a clear or laminated surface that has a varnish type finish does not allow the gel or liquid to penetrate the surface.
if you want to stain, you must first score the surface to allow penetration, such as sanding down thru the surface cover/lacquer, urethane etc.
don't go below the grain of the wood below as sometimes its fake and you'll loose the wood look.
look underneath the article your working on and see if its particle board or something other than hardwood. particle board has no grain, just chips of wood glued together

Answer 6

No wont work.

Get a good primer paint it on and paint it a dark color if you want it dark.

Answer 7

try hair dye