Mr. House Doctor

What kind of finish is already on this cabinet? Can you do this to existing maple cabinets that are already finished?

They have a lacquer finish.

Can this be done on unfinished cabinets or do I need to apply a lacquer first?

You Can do it on unfinished cabinets but generally u would do it it just under your final lacquer coat

Can you do this to buidler grade oak cabinets? I love the technique and would like to make my boring cabinets “pop”!

You can do this on any type of cabinets. Do you know if the center panel of you cabinets is flat or is it raised?

I have Hickory Cabinets – shaker style door. I want to darken the Honey Finish with a glaze (so it just darkens a little, is subtle and makes it look more aged) They have a lacquered finish so they are not raw. Do I need to sand them or just clean them? What should I clean them with. I figure I will need to layer the glaze to get the right shade. I would love to see a demo for darkening your current cabinets with glaze or gel stain. Can you do a demo for darkening with glaze or gel stain? thx

Either. You can finish the cabinets or you can glaze it before you put on the lacquer finish. It is up to you.

So then to take the lacquer finish off the edges will fine sanding work?

You can sand the edged if you want. This will allow the glaze to penetrate the wood. It will give you a different look than what I have shown in the video but you could definitely do that. Just be sure to re-lacquer when you are done.

I love your video its very helpful
what kind of brown glaze did you use and where I can buy the glaze and the wood laqer ( I live in Canada )
and my second question is do you think it will be posible to a person than never did this kind of work be seccessful glazing his own caninets ? Thank you very much

It looks like the glaze is applied to an already finished cabinet – is that true and then you apply a final coat of lacquer after?

Yes. The cabinet show is already finished. Then we apply a final coat of lacquer. The top coat of lacquer is just to protect the glaze.

I know that Lowes is a valspar dealer but I don’t know where in Canada you can get the glaze. Let me know if you can’t find any I could probably ship some up to you.

As to your second question, I think if you try it you will do great. Just give it a shot. You can always wipe it off if you don’t like it.

If glazing over a cabinet with an unknown finish (standard builder oak cabs) should we use an oil or water based glaze?

We use a water based glaze. It is easier to clean up and easy to wipe off if you mess up.

Someone asked where to buy the glaze but for some reason the comment removed. You can try home depot or lowes. I know some people have had a hard time finding the glaze. If you can’t find it let me know and I can send you some.

Any reason to choose laquer over polyeurothane? Just curious… Thanks for the video.

@lbethers

One other question… My oak cabinets have some pronounced grain in some spots. Should I be concerned with the glaze bleeding into the grain which then might be impossible to wipe out even with a water based glaze?

Can you give a step by step list of brands, finishes and colors used in your demonstration? Also, someone asked and I didn’t see the answer. Does it matter if the cabinets already have a finish or what type of finish is used? You made this look very simple. One other question…Do you thin your glaze…and if so what do you thin it with? Thank you, Thank you

if you are worried I suggest doing it on the back of the door where you don’t see it very often if it doesn’t look good. I don’t think you will have a problem though.

I don’t thin the glaze. I am using a Valspar Brand Glaze that is Vandyke Brown. I am note sure of the lacquer. You can get it at any paint store. I would try to find a local paint store and not go to Home Depot or Lowes. It seems like others have had a hard time finding it their. See if their is a Columbia Paint or Sherwinn Williams in your area.

This works! I did have to get Sherwin Williams to tint with their glazing with their Van Dyke color. It is very close to a cocca color I was trying to achiever. Very close to this color in the video. Works great on out dated blonde maple cabinets. Brought out the brown highlights in my cabinets and darkened them without having to sand the whole cabinets. No sanding at all! Got rid of the yellowing 12 year old blonde maple cabinets. They are so updated now!