Has anyone ever stripped and restained cabinets?

Heffalump

I'm toying with the idea of doing this.  It seems doable, if I take my time, get the right stuff, and follow directions.  Is this a ridiculous idea?

Our cabinets are fine, but they're all that kind of honey oak color that was popular in the mid-nineties and looks dated now. We were planning to put the house on the market next year so we can get settled before the Wooz starts kindergarten, and I feel like it will show a lot better with updated cabinets.  But I hate to replace them all for a purely cosmetic issues.

WDWWT?

Wzz

i have stripped wood furniture, and it isn't all that complicated, but you have to save your energy for the last few bits of work.

here's a blog for some inspiration if you need it:

www.ifitsnotbaroquedesignblog.blogspot.com

she has some good kitchen ideas. YWIA.

AuntFlo

DED @ Wz's adviSe.

Heffalump

Zilla, I snorted when I saw your link.  I do need advice on how to chevron everything in sight, so it's timely advice.

jojobrn

Heffa, we painted our old cabinets and it wasn't horrible, but took a lot of time. A year later Rustoleum came out with a product to paint/stain that looks way easier and is well reviewed, I would check it out. Had we had the option at the time, we'd have gone with this instead of painting them the way we did.

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGBrand.asp?bid=37 <not a vendor

Wzz

that's what i also wanted to say, but was doing a handful of stuff before. sorry.

it does take time because you need to be patient to do it right. i tend to rush at the end of a project to get it done, and i don't do a lot of crafts because of this. the results suffer.

i used a spray on stripper that worked really well, and i did this outside obviously because of the fumes and mess. the wood i worked with was old and had been pained once before, so i had to do it this way to get down to the actual wood. these were solid wood cabinets.

then i sanded the cabinets. i coated them with a polyurethane stain instead of stain and then a poly coat. it took 3 coats, and then i had to sand between each coat once it dried. the results were very good, but it was time consuming and i was lucky to have outdoor space to do the work and store the cabinets while they dried.

i would recommend doing the cabinets this way IF you have time and energy, but i know there are faster ways that also work.

DG1

Wow. I wouldn't do it, unless you have some kind of freakishly tiny kitchen with only a few cabinets. Either just sand & paint or go to Lowes/Home Depot and ask what are the best selling cabinets right now. As long as you're not putting french country cabinets in some kind of south beach condo, you're probably safe to just get those. 

We had an unfinished wood cabinet in the laundry room. It was a short upper cabinet (32"?) with 3 doors. My dad finally took it down, painted it, and added hardware. Even that took him a day and a half, and he was focused on it - not having to deal with kids or cook dinner in the meantime, you know?  And that's about the easiest that project can get (unfinished wood, and painting, not staining).

Are you at all concerned about inhaling all of those chemicals while PG? I mean, for cabinets, it won't just be a little bit for a little while - it'll be all fumes, all the time, for at least a week.