You are tired of your kitchen\u2019s look. You love your cabinets and countertop, but you want something different. If you have a wood-grain kitchen, instead of, for example, a white shaker or a solid color, then you are in luck. If not, don\u2019t fret, because at RTA Cabinet Store, you can still get that new kitchen with a minimal outlay of cash. Check out some of our other blog posts to find out some of our tips and tricks to get that new looking kitchen on the cheap! If you do have the wood based kitchen though, get ready to spend elbow grease, not a lot of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You are going to have to go for a darker kitchen. It doesn\u2019t have to be crazy dark, but darker than your current wood grain is the only way you can go, as there is no bleaching process to make your cabinets lighter. You could paint them, but that\u2019s another article! Here, we are talking about staining them and keeping that lovely natural wood grain visible. You need to remove all the cabinet doors and drawers. Then lightly sand all of your cabinet faces with 120 grit sandpaper. Remember to always sand in the direction of the wood grain so you don\u2019t add unsightly cross lines to your cabinets! At this point you can also sand the doors and drawers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After cleaning everything thoroughly, sand again. This time use 220 grit sandpaper. After that, it\u2019s time to apply a wood conditioner. This will help seal the wood well and bring out that natural shine just waiting to zing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you have the wood conditioned and let it sit until dry (follow the directions on the conditioner you purchase) you are ready to stain. Be slow and methodical, and when you have all the big sections done, use a rag to work stain down into some of those hard to reach places. Don\u2019t slop a lot of stain on, as the more you put on, the more the wood will absorb and you will get unevenly colored places. By the way, using an oil based stain is a much better choice for kitchen cabinets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, you will want to put on not one, but two coats of polyurethane. This will lock the stain in and protect your cabinets from all but the most forceful of dings and scratches. Once everything dries, go ahead and put the doors and drawers back on, and you have a brand-new looking kitchen for a small fraction of the cost of a new one, RTA kitchen cabinets or otherwise!<\/p>\n\n\n\n