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98JeepTJ · Jan 6, 2009, 03:40 PM

Hello everyone,

I'm contemplating stipping off the clear varnish from my kitchen cabinets and using a darker stain. I've taked off the small piece below my sink and tested with some paste type stripper and in 15 minutes, it was off, then used an orbital sander to make nice and smooth and hand sanded the edges. I applied some minwax but foolishly left it on there and didn't wipe it off. Needless to say, I had to go back and apply stipper and sand a lot more to remove the stain. We like the color and I believe if I had wiped it off and let it dry we would have been more satisfied. Round 2 this weekend on my test piece.

My question is this: Are my cabinets oak? I have someone coming out to look at doing the job for me and they asked what type of wood they are made of. I'm assuming oak due to the grain but want to be sure. Thanks in advance.

PS - reason I'm thinking about having someone else do it because it's my kitchen and I want it to look professional the first time. As the saying goes, time is money.

Thanks again,
JP

weboyer · Jan 6, 2009, 04:52 PM

No. The grain looks like walnut, but color is misleading?

Clough · Jan 7, 2009, 06:07 AM

Hi, 98JeepTJ!

I agree that they don't look like oak, that would be my first impression because there is such a variety to the grain patterns, but the grains that are there are similar to oak. The color would be correct for oak.

It could be a cut, or variety of cuts of oak that's not commonly made. Oak is a very unstable would that can have a number of different grain patterns depending on how it's cut.

Because oak is so readily available in many areas, my professional guess would be that it's oak, but cut in a number of different ways.

If you've been using an orbital sander, please consider using a palm sander since using an orbital one can leave circular imprints in the grain that might be likely to show up when applying a finish.

Thanks!

98JeepTJ · Jan 7, 2009, 08:25 AM

Thanks for the replys. I'll sand one this weekend (by hand) and take a picture of the wood with no finish. That might help, stay tuned.

Clough · Jan 7, 2009, 03:57 PM

Thanks, 98JeepTJ!

Being able to see the bare wood should help.