How to prepare and re-stain kitchen cupboard doors?

ChristinaMc

I would like to clean and re-stain these old kitchen cupboard doors.

Can anyone tell me what material they are made of? The house was built around 1995, if that helps at all.

What products/materials will I need to buy to clean, prepare and re-stain (not paint) the doors and how would I go about doing this?

The door handles look like someone has used silver spray paint on them and they look like they were originally brass coloured handles. Is there a way I can remove the spray paint and get the handles back to their original brass.

I've never done anything like this before, I am a complete novice and would appreciate any advice at all, thanks.

EricL

Hello @ChristinaMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about re-staining your kitchen cupboard doors.

You can re-stain your timber doors by sanding them down and removing the old stain and sealer that was placed on top of it. Looking at the grain of the timber it appears to be standard pine timber. To reduce your sanding time, I suggest using a detail sander such as the Ozito 200W Detail Sander or similar. My best advice in regard to the tool is to make sure that the sanding pad is lined up and firmly attached. I also suggest using a Rocket Sanding Sponge Kit - 10 Pack for those irregular shapes and corners which are difficult to reach.

In regard to the stain colour, I suggest visiting your local store and having a look at the stain and varnish sample board in the paint department. This will give you a better idea what the stains will look like when applied to timber surfaces. As for the handles, it appears that a very thick coating was applied to its surface and not just ordinary paint. I'm not sure if a chemical paint stripper will work on it but you could give it a try. The only other method I can suggest is to sand the colour off. But please be warned that this will end up scratching the brass surface of the handle.

Should you decide to use a chemical stripper, please remember to wear personal protection such as gloves, goggles and a mask and to work in a well-ventilated area.

Here are some handy step-by-step guides:

• How To Restore Furniture
• How To Restore A Timber Coffee Table

These guides will give you a general idea of how to sand your doors back to timber and how to apply the stain and varnish onto the timber surface. I also suggest looking at this discussion - Coffee table facelift by @Wing. It's a good example of how to sand down timber and re-staining it.

Let me call on our experienced members @diycollection, @toughgamer, @Wing and @BradN for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric