Skip Paint And Stain: A More Creative Way To Refresh Dated Oak Cabinets
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If your dark, dated old oak cabinets have got you down, you could always refresh them with a coat of paint. Then again, painted cabinets just don't have that natural wood charm. You could also lighten them without stripping and sanding by using a pickling stain, but even that looks a little artificial on an existing finish. Now, if you want to make your cabinets look not only lighter but like new, there's only one way to do it: Follow the lead of TikTok user homestrip7 and strip the cabinets down to the bare wood.
The results homestrip7 achieved are stunning, but this is a far cry from an easy kitchen makeover, and it isn't a project for the faint of heart. You'll be dealing with messy chemical strippers, and even if you remove the cabinet doors and drawers and take them outside, which you should, you'll fill your kitchen with wood dust from sanding the cabinet frame. For the creative soul with time to devote to the project, however, these are mere challenges rather than obstacles and can be well worth it.
Once you've got the cabinets down to the bare wood, you've got options you didn't have before, and this is where the real creativity comes in. You can do as homestrip7 did and simply apply a coat of polyurethane to bring out oak's natural light coloration, stain the wood a light color, or maybe even use a whitewash to make things really dramatic.
How to strip oak cabinets back to bare wood
You may have to make your kitchen off-limits for at least part of this project because you'll be stripping the wood cabinet frames indoors and creating a lot of sanding dust. Before that happens, take off the doors and drawers, remove the hardware, and take them to a well-ventilated area or outside for stripping.
Your best bet for a stripper is an eco-safe citrus- or soy-based product, such as the Citristrip Stripping Gel or GreenEz Stripping Kit. These don't work as fast as traditional strippers containing methylene chloride, but they aren't nearly as noxious (you still need a respirator and gloves), and they're biodegradable. With your stripper in hand, spread it generously with a brush or roller, wait for the recommended dwell time, then scrape off the finish with a paint scraper and wipe off any excess with a rag. Be sure to collect the scrapings for safe disposal.
@homestrip7 @ty_paent21 My biggest challenge yet ✅ I was asked to strip this oak farmhouse kitchen back to bare wood, and I'll be honest—halfway through I felt slightly overwhelmed. At one point I swore I'd never strip or sand anything ever again 😆😂. But now that it's done I absolutely love the result! This has to be one of my all-time favourite projects and a transformation I'm really proud of. Even with a few wobbles along the way, I still can't believe this is actually my job now 🥰 @homestrip Paint & Varnish Stripper #kitchen #paintersprep #oakkitchen #homestrip #upcycling
Sanding the wood takes patience. You'll need an orbital sander and sandpaper in a range of grits. Start with 100-grit (80-grit if the wood is in poor shape) and then "go through the grits," ending with a final hand sanding using 150-grit. This sounds easy enough, and it is, but it's time-consuming. Be prepared to spend two or three days on this part of the project. When you're done sanding, wipe off the dust and have your finish of choice ready to apply. Don't wait! The longer the wood is exposed to the atmosphere, the darker it can become.