Easy Rub on Polish to Make Oak Cabinets Look Darker

My father in law is going to give me the HARDEST time for this post. He LOVES oak. He loves it so much. He should marry it. I have had at least 25 conversations with him about the "precious" oak in his home. Listen, it's not my house, so whether or not they change it is their choice, not mine. But, my MIL {who I introduced you to HERE} keeps asking my opinion about how to update their home. I tell her what I would do and it always begins with, "I would change the oak." My FIL just rolls his eyes because he loves it. I usually tell them that I would paint it all white actually {like I did to my cousin's cabinets}, but today I'm going to teach you how to STAIN oak. It is super easy and with the right products, you can have a beautiful dark stained oak in no time.

I'm going to be completely blunt and brutally honest here….If you have any oak in your home this color, you need to change it. I'm not trying to be mean, but it definitely dates your home, and believe it or not, it isn't hard to change.

Outdated-Kitchen

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I don't have anything against oak {the wood}. In fact, I think it is quite pretty with the amazing wood grains and such. It's just the honey oak color that screams 1975 that isn't my favorite. Side note, I actually CHOSE oak for my wall-bed project, so maybe that proves it to you that I actually don't have a personal vendetta against it.

This specific clock was a project for a friend, so feel free to think about the old oak items you've seen at the thrift store, or heaven forbid the honey oak cabinets that you might have in your bathroom or kitchen…

how-to-stain-oak-darker-easily

For those of you who would like a quick overview of the process, I made this fast and furious video.

For the rest of you who need detailed instructions, have no fear, I am here:

Items needed for this project:

General Finishes Java Gel Stain {yes the brand does matter}

General Finishes Top Coat {satin sheen} {yes the brand does matter}

2 old socks {one for the stain, one for the top coat}

Citri-strip {if your oak is really glossy I recommend stripping off the top coat, but if I was doing a bathroom or kitchen project, I would NOT spend the time to do this. I'm just being completely honest. I would only do this if it was going to take 15 minutes vs 15 hours.}

220 grit sand paper

Vinyl Gloves to put on under the sock so your hands don't look like you have leprosy after you get done. {Or if you are like me, you look like you've been painting or staining something 90% of your life, so what's the point.}

Turn on some rockin' 90's music and let's get started…shall we!?!

Check out the beauty of this bad boy. My friend Heather's husband was obsessed with keeping this thing. Why? I'm not really sure. Maybe he loves oak like my Father in Law.

oak

Step 1: Strip off the shiny top coat. Listen up though, if I would have had a big project to do, I would have skipped this step. I only did it because it was fast and it took me less than 20 minutes to quickly strip off the top coat. Follow the instructions on the bottle. After you get done stripping off the top coat, you need to thoroughly clean off the excess product before moving onto step 2.

Step 2: Lightly Sand with 220 grit sand paper. If you know me, you know I love 220 grit sand paper. Maybe I should marry IT?!@? I talk about it a lot in my spray painting tutorial posts, and my painting furniture 101 post. Again when I say LIGHTLY sand, that means take only a minute or two to rough up the surface of your project. 220-grit-sandpaper

Step 3: Put on your gloves and old sock and start rubbing on your gel stain. I do not recommend using any other brands of stain. I love this brand THAT much. I was unable to find the product locally, so I bought mine on Amazon. java gel stain