Restaining and refinishing wood cabinets in Naperville

• Overview
• Options
• Cost
• How it runs
• FAQ

What refinishing can and cannot change

Stain works by soaking into bare wood, so it can deepen or even out a color but never lighten it. Going from dark cherry to pale maple means stripping, a much bigger job.

What refinishing does well is erase wear: grease build-up, scratches, worn edges by the sink and a sticky, tired topcoat. A fresh clear coat brings back the depth.

What cabinet staining & refinishing costs in Naperville

Use these as published planning ranges for refinishing, not our quote, since the door count and the sanding a color change needs decide yours.

What moves the price

• Same color, darker color or clear coat only
• Number of doors, drawers and end panels
• Sanding needed to reach bare wood
• Blotch control on maple or birch
• Grease and polish build-up to remove

Restain, go darker, recoat or paint

The right choice depends on how far the color has to move.

Restaining the same color

If you like the color and the cabinets just look tired, restaining the same shade is the gentlest option. Doors come off, then every surface is degreased with a cleaner that cuts cooking residue and furniture polish. Worn edges around the sink, dishwasher and trash pull-out are sanded and blended with matched stain, tested first on the back of a door. A new clear coat then goes over the whole cabinet so the sheen is even. Most of the original finish stays, which keeps the color consistent.

Going darker

Moving from honey oak or natural maple to espresso, walnut or a deeper cherry works because darker stain covers lighter wood. Each door and box is sanded to bare wood or close to it, since stain cannot soak through an intact clear coat. Some woods blotch when stained dark, maple and birch especially, so we use a pre-stain conditioner or a toned clear coat to even them out. You approve the color on a sample door before the rest of the kitchen is touched.

New clear topcoat

Sometimes the stain is fine and only the clear finish has failed: it feels sticky, looks cloudy or has worn through at the edges. Then we skip the stain. The cabinets are cleaned, sanded dull and given one or two new clear coats. A hidden spot is tested first, since some old finishes reject a waterborne topcoat. This is the quickest refinishing job, and it keeps the original color exactly. For a full color change, cabinet painting may be the better fit.

What a refinishing job includes

Unless we agree otherwise, a cabinet refinish covers:

• Doors and drawers labeled and removed
• Thorough degreasing of every surface
• Stain tested on a door back first
• Sanding matched to the color change
• Two coats of clear topcoat
• Hardware reinstalled and hinges adjusted

1980s and 1990s cabinets in Brook Crossing

How a cabinet refinish runs

1. Sample. A stain or clear coat sample approved on a door back.
2. Remove and clean. Doors labeled and removed, every surface degreased with care.
3. Sand. A light scuff for a recoat, down to bare wood for darker.
4. Stain. Color wiped on evenly, with conditioner first on blotch-prone woods.
5. Topcoat. Two clear coats, sanded lightly between, then the doors rehung.

Jobs that often go with this one