DIY Gel Stain Cabinets (No heavy sanding or stripping!)

Breathe new life into tired, outdated cabinets with this step-by-step, affordable tutorial for updating cabinets with gel stain. Keep the wood-grain look of stained cabinetry without the work of heavy sanding or stripping!

Gel Stained Bathroom Ideas- Maison de Pax

Y’all. I’m SO excited today to introduce one of my oldest friends. Vanessa and I met on the first day of college when we were both just 17. Like me, she has three beautiful children (all incredibly close in age to mine!), and she has been one of my greatest companions through this blog. She has encouraged me, supported me, and talked “design” with me for hours and hours… When I saw how she transformed the look of her bathroom recently, I asked if she would be so kind as to share the project with you.

And she said yes!

So without further ado…

____________________

Hello! Thanks so much for the introduction, Rachel! Our family leads a busy and rich life, and, like most of you, time and finances are tight. My goal is to take on small projects on a tight budget with a big impact! My home was built in the 60s—a good era for hardy construction, but also dingy, orange palettes.

I don’t have a lot of before pictures of my bathroom—but imagine orangey oak, yellow-orange speckled countertops, yellow tile, and dated bathroom lighting. This bathroom is attached to our guest room and embarrassed me as I tried to ‘hide’ its jaundiced glow with pretty flowers and soaps. 😉

Slowly, over a six-month period and during many nap and after-bed times, I updated the bathroom with wall paint, a new marble backsplash, mirror framing and new lighting. Later, I added a new sink, faucet, and painted the countertops. See my source-list at the end of the post for ‘where to shop.’

Marble Backsplash- Maison de Pax
Marble tile backsplash- Maison de Pax
Carrara Marble Backsplash | Chrome Faucet

The last piece to this thrifty update was the cabinets. The orange oak had to go.

Before and After gel stained cabinets- Maison de Pax

I considered painting my cabinets like my kitchen and upper bath, but stained cabinets bring warmth and rich design to a room. I also believe that staining surfaces is more durable than paint, but the prep and cleanup can be messy. Most stains require removing the original finish and a lot of sanding/dust.

Gel stain provides the durability ֹof stain, but the application of paint.

Staining cabinets isn’t difficult, but I did choose to wait until I could safely use oil products after the pregnancy of my last baby. You want to be cautious—use eyewear, wear a respirator mask, use gloves and open the windows for ventilation. The result, though, is totally worth it.

Gel stained cabinets- Maison de Pax

I decided to use General Finishes Java Gel stain for this project. I used this product on my dining table and three years later, with heavy use, it has held up almost perfectly. The can of stain is still easily one-thirds full after 2 projects, so it is an economical option for multiple projects (#budget!). It also meant I didn’t have to strip the original finish off my cabinets. If you take the appropriate steps to prep your cabinets, you will have a durable, beautiful finish.

Update an old oak bathroom- Maison de Pax

How to Use Gel Stain to Update Bathroom Cabinets:

MATERIALS NEEDED:

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HOW TO:

Preparation:

  1. Remove cabinets and hinges with screwdriver and clean hinges with dish soap diluted in water. Set hinges aside.
  2. Scrub/clean all cabinet surfaces and allow to dry. Be sure to remove all residue (old toothpaste is persistent). I noticed a few spots where the stain didn’t adhere and had to re-clean and stain again.
  3. Sand all surfaces with the sanding block. Use the beveled edge to get inside cabinet lips and facets. Your goal is to lightly scuff the surface, NOT remove the finish.
  4. Wipe dust away with a damp cloth.
  5. Wipe cabinets with deglosser.
  6. Allow cabinets to dry in dust-free environment.
  7. Using painter’s tape (I prefer Frogtape), tape off wall and floor surfaces where you do not want stain. Drape drop cloths to prevent drips from staining your floors.

Note: This is the same process for prepping cabinets to paint. You would then follow with 2 coats of primer prior to paint.

Staining:

  1. Wearing the gloves, gently stir the gel stain.
  2. Beginning with the backside of the cabinet, coat each cabinet lightly with the gel stain using an old cloth or foam brush. It will appear streaky; that’s ok. Don’t apply too thickly. Do not remove the stain (treat it like a paint).
  3. Repeat with cabinet frame.
  4. Wait 24 hours to recoat (tip: store your cloth or brush in a storage bag so you can use it again).
  5. After 24 hours, gently flip the cabinets over to the front side.
  6. After 24 hours, repeat with second coat on the front of cabinets (note: you might want to apply three, but two was perfect for me). Allow to dry.
  7. Wait 48 hours to apply the top coat. Gently stir the top coat and be careful not to introduce bubbles to the solution. Using a clean cloth, wipe light coats in quick strokes on the cabinets, waiting eight hours in between coats. Two coats should be sufficient.
  8. After 24 hours, check to make sure the topcoat is dry. If it is still tacky, wait another day.
  9. Reassemble the cabinets when thoroughly dry (tip: If you have a lot of cabinets and drawers, it doesn’t hurt to label which ones go where with some masking tape or a light pencil mark).
  10. Step back and enjoy the results!
Gel Stained Cabinet- Maison de Pax

With this tutorial, I believe you can achieve a great finish and breathe new life into old cabinets. With patience and planning, you can take small steps towards transforming your space with a modest budget.

Source List:

Update a bathroom with gel stained cabinets- Maison de Pax

 

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72 Comments

  1. Many times in bathroom cabinets the side by the toilet isn’t real wood. It’s more of a veneer. Did you run into that with your project? Can the gel stain be applied to that as well?

    1. YES! It is veneer on the side of the cabinet and the base. I treated it exactly the same (obviously it doesn’t sand like the wood doors) and took the stain beautifully.

  2. What type of primer did you use before painting? You said to apply 2coats of primer before painting.

    Thank you! Can’t wait to do this!

    1. Hi! I mentioned primer if you were planning on using latex paint, but for the gel stain, you don’t need primer. You just need to make sure you clean, sand, and degloss! Hope that is helpful!

      1. I’m going to try this! Can’t find the stain in any store so I will be ordering from Amazon. Just wondering what you used to degloss…

    2. How much did you buy? Gallons or quarts of the stain and topcoat?

      Can you tell I am getting ready to purchase? So excited!

      Thank you!!!!

      1. I just bought the small quarts for both the stain and topcoat. A little goes a long way! I used it on another big project and still have some leftover. Good luck!

  3. I love your transformation! I, too, have an older home and would love to so know the color of the paint you chose to paint your walls! It’s so serene!
    Would you consider emailing me!?! Thank you so much!
    Jo

    1. Hi Jo! The color is Breath of Fresh Air by Benjamin Moore. It’s a bit cool, so watch out for warm spaces. 🙂

    1. The gel technique probably wouldn’t be the best choice for floors since they get so much traffic. It is much more like a surface paint than penetrating the wood! Hope that helps.

  4. Wow it looks amazing. I will be using your tips this week as I tackle my kitchen cabinets.

    Did you paint your countertop? Do you have a tutorial for that? I hate our countertops but this isn’t our forever home so we don’t want to invest too much. Quick and budget friendly fixes for this newlywed 😉

    1. I did paint the countertop! There isn’t a tutorial, but basically here is what I did. I cleaned it really well, and then sanded with hand sander. Clean, clean, clean. And then I primed with three coats of Bullseye 123, allowing it to dry in between. I then used Behr Satin paint in the standard white- probably two coats. Later I applied multiple coats of polyacrylic (oil base can yellow) in satin to get a hard finish. I then let it cure while we were on vacation to get a hard finish. It is holding up really well! A great multiple year solution for what was an ugly yellow finish.

      Vanessa

  5. This is amazing! I’m about to do something similar with our guest bathroom, and your instructions are so nice and clear that I think it will be a fairly easy project!

    I have a question about the countertop. Did you actually just use paint on the countertop? I didn’t actually know you could do that. Thanks!

    1. She did! It’s a similar idea- clean, prep by sanding, even using the same deglosser. Use several layers of primer, paint, followed by acrylic clear poly. I checked with her-it has held up well 2 years later even with the abuse of her kids. 😉

  6. How do you think the Java gel stain would do on plain white cabinets? Do you think it would need more coats? Also on the Carrera border- does it come as a border and you just have to put it up or what? How easy/hard is that? Thanks.

    1. I have seen tutorials using it on white, but you’ll definitely need more coats. The marble tile comes like that- just adhere to the wall.

  7. Hello, I wanna apply this tutorial to staining my son’s crib.is that possible? The sub heading for this article says “no sanding”, yet you mention needing a sanding sponge and sanding. Why is that? The whole reason I wanted to use this gel stain is so I wouldn’t have to stain. I just need a few tips. Thanks to any help you can provide.

    Your bathroom looks more modern and fresh. I love it!

    1. Hi Sherese! I’m not sure I would use this on a crib because it is oil based and maybe not the safest choice for a crib. But, the sanding reference just means a light scruff of the wood material. Traditional stain requires a lot of sanding, requiring you to move the previous stained wood.

        1. There are lots of options- but I don’t know how well they perform, because I haven’t ever used them! Sorry I can’t help more.

  8. Hello, lovely job, you should feel so good about your accomplishment….you go girl!!!!!!!! I didn’t see the gel in any other color than Java, do you know if it comes in other colors I.e. grey(s)

      1. Thank you for the gel stain ideas. I live in an older house and like the older look and wood trim but the color of my wood work needs to be changed, I have asked several people how to change it without sanding and varnish and got nothing doable. I will start working on it today. I also have a dated bathroom, but refuse to tear out beautiful tile which is a great color of blue not the modern blah browns and creams, thanks for the tip of trimming the mirror and the new light

  9. I did my bathroom cabinets in black! But I found a few areas were the stain didn’t take! How do I clean that area without ruining the rest of the. Area? It’s been 24 hrs. And it’s still tacky ! Once its dried can I soft sand it?

    1. I would gently wipe it up, sand and prep that area to make sure that there is no residue preventing it from adhering. I’d be tempted to though to wait for the other parts to dry so that you don’t change the finish on the other parts. Sometimes you need to wait longer to dry too.

  10. Hi! Do you know how many coats of the stain you used? You mention it will look streaky during the first coat. Does that even out during the drying process, or did it take more coats? Thanks!

    1. I believe she did 3. If you have darker cabinets, then it will take less. If it looks streaky, it will require more coats– like paint! Hope that helps.

  11. I love the hammered look of the knobs in the gray bathroom. Where did you purchase them? Thanks for the great tips.

    1. Hi Karen! Sorry for the delay in my response! As this is my friend’s bathroom, I had to check with her. Do you mean the doorknobs? She said those came with her 1960s home! Vintage! 😉

  12. We did our first coat of gel stain on Saturday. We followed the instructions to a T and used the same brand stain. All of it is dry except for a few spots here and there on the top lip of the drawer. So I’m assuming by now it should have dried like everything else did. Do you have thoughts or suggestions on what we should do with this? I’m wondering if it didn’t adhere in those few spots? Because everything else dried correctly.

    1. I checked with Vanessa who wrote with the original post. She also mentioned a few sticky spots, but unless it is really humid, I would have expected them to be dry. You could try wiping off the excess from those spots, and sanding them a bit and wiping down dust, and then going with the next coat. You might have to come back to those spots for another coat, since this is technically their first coat. Bathroom cabinets can have a lot of residue from personal styling products. Steel wool might be the trick you need to creating some grip for the stain. 🙂

  13. Hi. I noticed in the “after” picture of the bathroom vanity that it looks like the gel stain didn’t completely cover the wood underneath. It looks streaked and the light wood color is apparent. Is that how the entire finished project looks?

    1. Hi! I contacted my friend! She preferred the wood grain to show slightly through, otherwise she would have used a solid paint for a solid look. She doesn’t believe it looks streaky at all, but if you prefer even less natural wood showing through, then you could apply another coat! Some of that warmer color in the picture is due to light reflecting off that area too.

  14. Hi, I know this has been a while back since you posted. I am wondering about the smell afterwards. Is it extreme? Does it go away soon? Also, my cabinets are basically the “oak” builders grade from Lowe’s and are probably not real solid wood. Were these cabinets real wood? Can this be used on the particle/wood cabinet?
    Thanks,

    1. Hi Lisa!

      I checked in with my friend- though it’s oil based, she didn’t detect any odor issues afterwards (or anything extreme during application). She’s sensitive to odors and would typically buy zero VOC paint.

      The fronts of the cabinet were real wood, but the sides were particle boards. She also used it on a solid maple dining room table and it is holding up really well to daily use!

  15. I have a wood table that has water mark damage I place a hot pan on it without prtectint it. Would your recommend sanding the entire table then using the stain?

    1. I don’t see why that wouldn’t work! This gel stain acts a bit more like a paint (though is a stained finish).

  16. Plz help, I have oak cabinets. I want a change but on really tight budget. If I use the gel stain, do I have to sand it. I just need an answer I can’t read thru all emails. I’m getting new stainless steel stove my dishwasher and fridge is also stainless. What stain would you recommend? I’m think gray family

  17. I have a gel stain from Minwax that I used on my kitchen table. I love be final look. Can I use that same gel with this method (lightly sanding)? Or does it have to be the brand you mentioned? I’m so excited by the idea of not sanding completely down!

    1. You can try other brands, for sure! They all operate similarly— more like a paint than a true stain.

      1. Ok, I just added my second coat of gel stain to my bathroom cabinets 24 hours after my first application. But 😬, the stain wasn’t dry and was still tacky when I re-painted them. Have I messed up my cabinets? I sanded and used the deglosser first.

  18. Ok, I just added my second coat of gel stain to my bathroom cabinets 24 hours after my first application. But 😬, the stain wasn’t dry and was still tacky when I re-painted them. Have I messed up my cabinets? I sanded and used the deglosser first.

    1. You should be ok! Did it pull up the first finish when you did the second? Sometimes humidity can play a roll. Give another day in between coats to make sure the first two are dry.

  19. I just redid our bathroom vanity and cupboards with the Java gel stain. They turned out Great! Thank You for the instructions on how to do it!

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