How To Sand Kitchen Cabinets Before Staining

If the cabinets are stained or coated with a single layer of clear finish you may not need to use paint stripper.

How to sand kitchen cabinets before staining.

Sanding the kitchen cabinet doors and frames is hard work but pretty straightforward. Use 120 grit sandpaper to lightly sand the cabinets. For the second sanding use 220 grit sandpaper. You can lighten things.

Wipe clean and apply a wood conditioner with a clean rag. Sand the finish from the cabinets trim and drawers with 120 grit sandpaper. I used my ryobi orbital sander on all the flat surfaces basically anything it could reach and used the sanding blocks for the smaller harder to reach moldings and corners. Always sand in the direction of the wood grain.

Step 5 work in the direction of the grain and aim not only for complete coverage but for a light even coating. Start with a heavier grit about 100 or 120 grit sandpaper for the first pass and sand with the grain. To do that you need to sand the kitchen cabinets either by hand or with an electric powered hand sander. The key here is to sand some of the existing finish off and roughen up the surface so the primer sticks but you don t need to get the whole finish off unless you re staining your cabinets.

Minwax has a 2 in 1 product that is a penetrating stain and it seals all at the same time. Before you stain the cabinets it s important to remove all the doors and drawers to make sanding and applying the stain easier. I would use that. After sanding apply a wood conditioner.

How to sand your kitchen cabinets. In this home below the island was a dark stain and kitchen cabinets were painted a cream color. Wipe clean then sand with a finer grit such as 180 or 220.