How we said goodbye to oak: Gel Stain Tutorial

As I promised when we completed the update of our guest bathroom, today I've finally put together a tutorial for using the gel stain. 

Materials Needed:

1. General Finishes Java Gel Stain (you can buy on Amazon, or find a store near you, here).

 

2. General Finishes Polyacrylic in Satin finish (you can buy on Amazon or find a store near you, here).

 

(3) Painter’s tape

(4) Painter's Pyramids (props your drawers and doors up off of the floor during painting).


(5) Men’s white socks

(6) 100 grit sanding block

(7) Nitrile gloves

(8) Klean Strip LiquidDeglosser

(9) Clean Microfiber Cloths

Tutorial:   Before you begin, tape off your work area with the painters tape, as the gel stain won’t be easily removed if it drips. Then remove all hardware and doors/drawers from the vanity. The prep work is probably the most important step when you use gel stain. You cannot skimp on the prep or you will not get the results that you’re wanting from the finished product.
Step 1: When refurbishing furniture, vanities or other woodwork in your home, using liquid sandpaper/deglosser or sandpaper helps dull any old paint, gloss or varnish, preps the area for a new coat of paint or varnish and helps bond the new finish to prevent it from chipping off easily. I used a clean microfiber cloth to wipe down the vanity base, drawers and doors with the liquid deglosser. I followed this up with a light sanding using the sanding block, and then again cleaned the dust with a clean, damp cloth.

Step 2: Put on a pair of Nitrile gloves to protect your hands from the stain and then put a men’s sock on your dominant (painting hand). The sock is much easier and faster than using a brush. Apply a light coat of stain. The gel stain has a consistency similar to pudding. For the grooves and crevices I used a small foam brush. The key to gel stain is to apply very light coats. If you glob on a thick coat you will regret it. Wipe the stain on with the grain. Do not wipe it off. Allow the first coat to dry- depending on the humidity where you live the drying process can take anywhere from 1-3 days. You must wait for them to be completely dry before starting the second coat, otherwise you will just wipe the first coat right off and have to start over. Note: Do not panic after the first coat, when you see how streaky and ugly the stain looks. I promise it will turn out beautifully after a few more coats. Be patient!

Step 3: Repeat the same process for the second and third coat. The instructions suggest that you sand between coats, but when I did this (even with 220 grit and very light pressure) the stain came right off. I suggest that you try to make your coats of stain as clean and smudge-free as possible so that they don’t require any extra sanding between coats.
Step 4: Allow the stain to dry for 24-48 hours. Next, I used General Finishes satin poly/acrylic top coat for the finish. You can apply it with a clean white sock, or with a foam brush as I did.  Make sure that the coats go on nice and thin, with no white bubbles. Any bubbles that are left will not dry clear and you will spend time sanding these away once everything is dry. The final product was even better than I was expecting.     I think it provided a nice update (and affordable too). After my luck in the bathroom, I used the same procedure for the stairwell banister. 

The result was definitely worth the work.