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How to Gel Stain Cabinets

July 10, 2017 by emily 47 Comments

How to Stain Cabinets

I’ve been stewing about my oak cabinets in two of my bathrooms for a few years. We built our home in 1987 and oak was all the rage. Not so much anymore! Oak was so much in vogue that in our guest bath, I replaced the standard towel bar, toilet paper holder and even the toilet seat with oak! So 80’s-90’s, but way, way out of style now. Follow along to learn how to stain cabinets for a new look on a small budget.

How to Stain Cabinets

I really didn’t want to spend the money on redoing my cabinets (still trying to decide what to do in my kitchen). The oak was high quality, and in pretty good shape, other than dried out, and needing a facelift ( kinda like me).

I’d seen several posts about General Finishes Gel Stain. It seemed too good to be true – no stripping off old varnish, stain or finish. I wasn’t too worried, since most of my top coating was gone. I figured what did I have to lose. I’m so very pleased with the end result. I’m not afraid to tackle a big project, but this turned out to be easier than I thought, and just required several days of drying time between coats.

How to Stain Cabinets

I used General Finishes Java Gel Stain. Everyone says to NOT substitute! I couldn’t find anyone in my town who carried it, so I ordered it on Amazon. 1 quart did two large bathrooms – with just a bit left over for minor touch-ups later, if needed.

To get started, Assemble all your supplies (I will link to where you can purchase them too):

  • General Finishes Java Gel Stain
  • Disposable gloves. They’re cheap and worth it to have a good supply you can just toss between coats.
  • Several men’s white Tube Socks. That’s right – they truly work the best, as I tried using some staining rags and the socks worked better. A few 1 1/2″ foam brushes for corners and crevices.
  • Blue Painters tape for protecting walls, floors and inside cabinet shelves.
  • A quart (you’ll have lots left over) of Minwax Polycrylic water based Protective Finish for your final top-coat finish.  I used clear satin. You can probably using any type of clear poly top-coat for your finish.

Click for the Next Steps

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Filed Under: DIY

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Comments

  1. jbella says

    December 15, 2015 at 1:37 am

    I am going to try this it looks great !

    Reply
  2. Yvette Alcantara says

    January 4, 2016 at 1:10 am

    What gel stain color did you buy? I see a lot of varieties on Amazon?

    Reply
    • emily says

      January 5, 2016 at 8:01 pm

      This is Java, Yvette.

      Reply
  3. dawn says

    January 13, 2016 at 6:59 pm

    The grain will still show thru correct? I see that Java is pretty dark and in the close-up photo I can see grain. It looks absolutely beautiful!

    Reply
    • emily says

      January 14, 2016 at 2:35 am

      You can’t see a lot, but you can still see some grain, Dawn. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  4. Toshy Marie says

    February 6, 2016 at 6:39 am

    Everything turned out so beautifully! I’ve been searching for an easy fix for one of my bathroom vanities, where I wouldn’t have to sand or even prime if I was going to paint. I love how you can still see some of the grain as well. Great tutorial, Thank you. May I ask how has it been holding up? When applying the stain does it give off or even linger a harsh odor?

    Reply
    • emily says

      February 21, 2016 at 9:42 pm

      Hi Toshy, it has been holding up great! No complaints or issues to report! There definitely is an odor when applying, so we did the doors and drawers outside, and opened windows when doing the bases.

      Reply
  5. Jonathan says

    February 16, 2016 at 5:07 pm

    Do you need to sand the cabibets first. I did not see that step

    Thank You

    Reply
    • emily says

      February 21, 2016 at 9:41 pm

      Hi Jonathan,

      No sanding first on this one. Shocking, right?

      Reply
  6. Sallie says

    April 2, 2016 at 3:54 pm

    Wow, this is exactly what I need. You did a beautiful job. Thanks for the inspiration to do it myself.

    Reply
    • emily says

      April 4, 2016 at 4:28 pm

      I’m so glad I could help Sallie! Good luck!

      Reply
  7. Yel says

    April 13, 2016 at 2:12 am

    Looks great! I’m attempting this project this weekend. Do have any more tips you can share? K

    Reply
    • emily says

      August 3, 2016 at 5:10 am

      Hi Yel, I’d love to hear how your project turned out!!!

      Reply
  8. Jacque says

    April 30, 2016 at 1:51 am

    Mu bathroom cabinets appear to be composite, the doors are wood however, all are painted. Do you think this product will work? Your cabinets are beautiful!

    Reply
    • emily says

      August 3, 2016 at 5:09 am

      Jacque, I don’t think stain will go over paint the same as plain wood. The composite may do better with paint.

      Reply
  9. Becki says

    May 26, 2016 at 6:26 am

    My cabinet doors are wood but i think the sides and baseboards are pressed wood. Would it still work?

    Reply
    • emily says

      August 3, 2016 at 5:09 am

      Hi Becki, this will definitely work for the doors and drawers. For the baseboards and sides, I don’t think the stain will take to them the same as wood. You could always test a small area first to see how it looks.

      Reply
  10. Janice says

    July 8, 2016 at 2:09 am

    I love them. Will this work for painted cabinets?

    Reply
    • emily says

      August 3, 2016 at 5:08 am

      Stain won’t go over painted cabinets the same as regular wood, Janice.

      Reply
  11. Diana says

    August 1, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    I am curious, I feel like our cabinets are the exact same as yours in the before photo, but I think that mine are more of an MDF-not real wood. You mentioned your’s were truly oak.

    Do you think this will make a difference if I go ahead and try the stain?

    I LOVE the look!

    Reply
    • emily says

      August 3, 2016 at 5:07 am

      Hi Diana! So glad you love the look! If your cabinets are not real wood, I don’t believe the stain will turn out the same. I would do some searching online first to see if you can stain MDF cabinets. I wish I had better news for you!

      Reply
  12. Morgan says

    August 28, 2016 at 1:27 pm

    Could you use this stain and technique on a dining table?

    Reply
    • emily says

      August 29, 2016 at 5:24 am

      Hi Morgan, You absolutely could use this technique and stain on a dining table! Just make sure the table is wood and you’re good to go! I’d love to see the finished product!

      Reply
  13. Deb Gale says

    January 8, 2017 at 3:25 am

    My kitchen is 40 years old. The cabinets have some dings and cuts where my son took a knife to sawing on the edge. Any suggestions for preparing the dings and cuts.

    Reply
    • emily says

      January 12, 2017 at 8:42 pm

      Hi Deb! First try sanding. If they’re really deep you can try a wood putty.

      Reply
  14. Jolene Vincent says

    March 19, 2017 at 3:29 pm

    Can you go lighter with the stain? I have the oak cupboards and really just want to mellow out the oranginess as my kitchen is dark and I just want to lighten it a bit.

    Reply
    • emily says

      July 12, 2017 at 6:43 pm

      For sure, Jolene. Try any color stain you’d like – but if you’re going lighter than the original cabinet, it may take a couple of coats and look slightly different.

      Reply
  15. Debbie says

    April 10, 2017 at 10:05 pm

    Has anyone tried it on the MDF yet?

    Reply
    • emily says

      July 12, 2017 at 6:42 pm

      I haven’t heard yet if anyone has. It will definitely take differently though, Debbie.

      Reply
  16. Ashley says

    May 25, 2017 at 3:11 am

    First timer here. Do you to coat the insides of the cabinet does too, or just the outside?

    Reply
    • emily says

      July 12, 2017 at 6:41 pm

      Just the areas you want to have the look. It’s all personal preference, but the inside of the box isn’t necessary.

      Reply
  17. Francas Hester says

    July 14, 2017 at 10:17 am

    Looks great. I am in the process of updating my bathroom. I want to do this to my vanity . Where did you find the java gel stain at? I have not been able to find it.

    Reply
    • emily says

      September 14, 2017 at 10:33 pm

      HI Francas, I have a link to it in the blog post, to purchase on Amazon. 😉 Best of luck!

      Reply
  18. loli says

    January 29, 2018 at 9:20 pm

    Is the Java stain black or just really really dark?

    Reply
    • emily says

      February 26, 2018 at 9:45 pm

      It’s not black, but a really dark brown.

      Reply
  19. Angie says

    February 18, 2018 at 5:09 am

    Is the finish still holding up?

    Reply
    • emily says

      February 26, 2018 at 9:45 pm

      Yep, the finish is looking great still, Angie!

      Reply
  20. Kristy says

    March 13, 2018 at 12:12 pm

    I have bathroom vanity I want to put the java stain on. It’s light oak with poly finish on it . Do I need to sand it first is strip the finish off?

    Reply
    • emily says

      June 14, 2018 at 7:54 pm

      You don’t have to sand off the finish, Kristy! Best of luck!

      Reply
  21. Jana Duresky says

    April 28, 2018 at 3:51 pm

    I am redoing our pine bathroom vanity with this brand of gel stain and I got worried that I had put too much on the first 2 coats because is was streaky so I wiped it off – which I know you shouldn’t do- and on I am on coat 4 and not sure if I should keep going because I am nervous that I won’t like it if it gets too dark because I know I can’t go back! Also not sure why but the side od the vanity is a different shade than the rest of it so not sure what to do about that!

    Reply
    • emily says

      June 14, 2018 at 7:55 pm

      How did it end up turning out, Jana? The side of the vanity could be a different shade because it is lightly made of different material. Some cabinets don’t have solid wood on the sides and back, to save money.

      Reply
  22. Kim H says

    May 22, 2018 at 8:50 pm

    I just used general finishes on a couple night stands. I love the look. I went to apply minwax polycrylic and it said to sand first. The sanding seemed to remove some of the stain. Is it crucial to sand before putting on first top coat? Could I just sand in between poly coats?

    Reply
    • emily says

      June 19, 2018 at 9:36 pm

      Hi Kim,

      In my instructions, I never mention sanding. You should’t have to sand in this process.

      Reply
  23. Elaine Middlebrooks says

    June 19, 2018 at 1:40 am

    Did you use the top coat after the staining?

    Reply
    • emily says

      June 19, 2018 at 9:40 pm

      Hi Elaine,

      Yes there are two top coats after staining. Best of luck!

      Reply
  24. Heidi says

    July 4, 2018 at 7:23 am

    No joke, this stuff is soooo easy to do. No skill required. First timer DIY friendly. There are many colors to choose from too if you don’t like the dark colors.

    Reply
  25. Autumn says

    September 9, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    I would really like to see what your first coat looked like. I tried this on another table using minwax product and it was a disaster. Yours seemed to have been easy. Did you wipe any stain off after putting it on?

    Reply

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