Will Gel Stain Work On Laminate Furniture

If it looks like a gloopy mess that.

Will gel stain work on laminate furniture.

To test apply gel stain let dry for 48 hours and then try to scratch it off. Gel stains occasionally work on laminate as this type of stain doesn t need to penetrate the material as deeply as traditional stain but gel stain manufacturers typically advise against it. You could choose to use minwax polyshades to stain laminate or a similar brand. Sanding down to raw wood would be the very best practice but the following is the most common prep it only takes a few minutes first.

Clean your project with a scotch brite pad and a 50 50 mix of denatured alcohol and water. Don t get overzealous and start soaking your laminate with the stain. The gel stain is thick like pudding not a liquid. If you are wanting to apply gel stain over a painted furniture piece you will use the same process as below for applying gel stain over stain.

To preserve the look of the wood grain on laminated furniture try using a tinted polyurethane stain. Prep work before using gel stain on furniture stop. If you need some ideas on what shade of stain click here. You want your cloth rag to be damp with stain but not wet.

I love two tone mcm furniture. Yes it was perfect for a 12 year old girl s bedroom. General finishes gel stain on knotty pine. Though how to paint and stain laminate was not one i considered.

Many ask if the gels can be used on laminate or plastic non wood surfaces. Yes i said bedroom suite. While gel stain does go on thick and sit on the surface of the wood i found that you can still see and feel the natural wood grain beneath unlike paint. Apply first coat of stain to laminate furniture.

Before you do anything take a before pic. Lightly sand the laminate with 150 grit sandpaper. It does stick to some and not to others. See below forgive the oil stained garage.

I decided to stain the drawers and paint the body to match the dresser in my room. To fix sand the table lightly with 120 grit sandpaper and restain the table. Open your can of gel stain. Apply as many coats of the mix as needed to obtain the desired color allowing 24 hour dry time between coats.

With the oak cabinets the grain was very evident post staining. Simply dip the rag lightly into the stain mixture and then squeeze out any excess drips. It was the furniture kept in my childhood bedroom since i was 12. If it comes off easily then it s not sticking so don t use it.

This is where you want to proceed with caution. It matches the general finishes java gel stain and will cover in two coats. Laminate is very smooth and shiny so you must sand or the paint and the gel stain won t stick. My bedroom suite was currently white and wood laminate.

Gel stain will not require you to sand the product to a raw wood finish.