Why the Stain Won't Take When You Are Restaining Cabinet Doors

Why Stains Don’t Work

• Stains don’t penetrate through chemical strippers, mineral spirits, wood conditioners, dirty wood or glazed wood. Some woods, such as maple, are hard to stain and require specific techniques to get the wood to take the stain. Dirt, grime and certain chemicals help to seal up the wood’s grain, making it resist staining. In order for the wood to take a stain, it must be clean and have nothing on it.

Chemicals

• Chemical strippers, even after wiping, change the face of the wood and often make it impenetrable to stains. Some people think they can avoid sanding wood and just use a chemical stripper to remove the old stains and varnish. Chemical strippers work to varying degrees, but they also change the surface of the wood, often making the wood incapable of taking a stain. Apply denatured alcohol to a cloth and wipe cabinet doors down to help remove the chemicals left from stripping.

Sanding

• Don’t skip the sanding process when you’re refinishing kitchen cabinets. Sanding the wood takes off the surface layer and removes any leftover old stain and varnish finishes. The sanding process removes a layer of wood, exposing new wood for staining. This process helps to make the wood porous and accept stain.

The Wrong Stain

• Verify that the stain you’ve chosen is right for the wood. Oil-based stains often penetrate better than acrylic-based stains on some woods. Another option is using a gel stain that sits on the wood. Use gel stains for hardwoods or woods with dense, tightly packed grains. Review the label and make sure that the stain is just stain and doesn't contain sealers or a one-step approach to refinishing cabinet doors.