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If your dark, dated old oak cabinets are getting you down, you can always freshen them up with a coat of paint. Then again, painted cabinets don’t have that natural wood charm. You can too Lighten them without stripping and sanding Using a pickle stain, but even that looks a little artificial on the existing finish. Now, if you want your cabinets to look like new, not just lighter, there’s only one way to do it: follow the lead of a TikTok user. Homestrip7 And strip the cabinets down to bare wood.
The results HomeStrip7 achieves are stunning, but this is far from an easy kitchen makeover, and it’s not a project for the faint of heart. You will be dealing with messy chemical strippers, and if you Remove the cabinet doors And drawers and take them out, which you should, you can fill your kitchen with wood dust by sanding the cabinet frames. For the creative soul with the time to dedicate to the project, however, these are only challenges rather than obstacles and can be worth it.
Once you get the cabinets down to bare wood, you have options you didn’t have before, and this is where the real creativity comes in. You can do like Homestrip 7 and use a whitewash to bring out the natural light color of the oak, lighten the wood, or maybe even make things really dramatic.
How to strip oak cabinets to bare wood
You will have to make your kitchen off-limits for at least part of this project because you will be take away the wood Cabinet frames build up indoors and create a lot of sand dust. Before that happens, remove the doors and drawers, remove the hardware, and move them to a well-ventilated area or outdoors.
Your best bet for a striper is an eco-safe citrus- or soy-based product, such as Citristrip Stripping Gel Or Greeneyes Stripping Kit. These don’t work as fast as traditional strippers containing methylene chloride, but they’re not nearly as harmful (you still need a respirator and gloves), and they’re biodegradable. With your stripper handy, spread it liberally with a brush or roller, wait the recommended dwell time, then scrape the finish with a paint scraper and wipe off any excess with a rag. Be sure to collect scrapings for safe disposal.
@homestrip7 @ty_paent21 My Biggest Challenge Ever ✅ I was asked to go back to this oak farmhouse kitchen on outdoor wood, and I’ll be honest-I got a little overwhelmed halfway through. At one point I swore I would never cut or sand anything again 😆😂. But now that it’s done, I love the result! This has to be one of my favorite projects of all time and I’m really proud. Despite a few bumps along the way, I still can’t believe this is actually my job now 🥰 @homestrip Paint and Varnish Stripper #Kitchen #paintersprep #oakkitchen #homestrip #upcycling
Sanding wood requires patience. You will need an orbital sander and sandpaper in a range of grits. Start with 100-grit (80-grit if the wood is in bad shape) and then finish with a final hand sanding using 150-grit. This sounds simple enough, and it is, but it is time consuming. Be prepared to spend two or three days on this part of the project. When you’re done sanding, wipe away the dust and have it ready to apply your finish of choice. Don’t wait! The longer the wood is exposed to the atmosphere, the darker it can become.
