Can I Stain Laminate Kitchen Cabinets

Painting fake wood cabinets or staining them is on trend at this point in the décor industry.

Can i stain laminate kitchen cabinets.

Wood veneer is actually made from very thin layers. Here s what i used. Laminates are made from plastic. Yes you can stain cabinets that currently have paint on them.

Stain and varnish are different products though there are combination products like minwax s polyshades. Kitchen cabinets are known for becoming layered with grease grime and food splatters but fortunately laminate cabinets are easy to clean. Denatured alcohol mixed with water 50 50 mix on a fine grit sanding sponge will remove all oils grime and take the edge off the old finish to help you prepare the cabinets. To preserve the look of the wood grain on laminated furniture try using a tinted polyurethane stain.

Gel stain is different from regular stain because it sits on the surface of the furniture instead on absorbing into the wood. If you have laminated cabinets or furniture that simply don t work with the space or are showing their age you can stain or paint them easily to completely change or update the look of a room. Is stain and finish varnish the same thing. The polyurethane combined with the stain makes for a thicker solution and must be applied with a steady hand.

You will need to clean off and remove years worth of residue oils and grime in order to fully prepare the cabinet surface for stain. Since laminate isn t real wood and won t absorb anything it s just what you need. Open up the laminate stain cans and check for instructions on how to stain the cabinets on the sides of the cans. Lay out the cabinets over a set of newspapers or scrap paper and prepare to stain them.

150 sand grit paper. You can sand and stain wood veneer cabinets a darker color. Gel stains occasionally work on laminate as this type of stain doesn t need to penetrate the material as deeply as traditional stain but gel stain manufacturers typically advise against it. It is a lot of work to strip and sand the surface but it will be worth it if you want a natural wood look.

If laminate is cracked warped or peeling that damage can interfere with the bonding of paint to the cabinet. In most cases you ll simply need to coat a paintbrush in laminate stain and apply the stain coating evenly to the surface of the cabinet itself. By performing some general cleaning removing grease and grime and scrubbing stubborn stains you can keep your laminate cabinets looking great.