While gel stain does go on thick and sit on the surface of the wood i found that you can still see and feel the natural wood grain beneath unlike paint.
Gel stain cabinets review.
A gel stain can update the look of your old furniture cabinets doors and other fixtures.
How to apply general finishes gel stain.
They are thicker and can be messy to apply.
I used this method on our bookcase and ikea chair.
Gel stain will not require you to sand the product to a raw wood finish.
It provides a lot of benefits over the traditional paint stain and doesn t alter the color of the wood grain unlike a paint stain.
I would use it again on vanities like this to spruce them up.
It was worth the investment.
You can thin or clean them using mineral spirits.
Pre installed cabinets will suffer fewer drips drops and messes when you re working with the peanut buttery consistency of gel stain as opposed to the thin liquid you d be dealing with.
With kitchen renovations costing thousands of dollars this gel stain is about 30 for a quart a quart goes a long way.
It also covers porous and nonporous surfaces equally making it easier for novices to apply.
All you need is a can of gel stain i would up using 1 and 1 2 cans a brush i wrapped it in cling wrap and then aluminum foil between applications wound up using 2 brushes total a 3m scuff pad used 4 total 2 coarse and 2 finish tack cloth 3 total and a surface on which to work i used two saw horses with 2x4 s with heavy ply.
The gel stain is thick like pudding not a liquid.
There are a few different ways to gel staining cabinets or any wood piece.
The thickness means the stain doesn t splatter or run which keeps your work area cleaner.
Despite that thickness gel stains dry quickly which keeps your project moving.
With the oak cabinets the grain was very evident post staining.
However there is no way i would attempt using gel stain on my kitchen cabinets as others have.
Most of these stains take about 15.
Gel stain is usually oil based with a thick consistency and high viscosity.
You can treat it like a normal stain and brush some on and then wipe off the excess.
So here s my honest review of gel stain.
They dry very fast and are a product of fast drying binders and solvents.
I might even use it on furniture that i want to make a java color.
Easy to use general finishes gel stain is undoubtedly the best gel stain brand as it involves little prep and produces high quality results.
Or you can use java gel stain like paint and just paint it on.
These stains are best if you are looking to solve the blotching problem on pine.