Should I Paint or Stain my Kitchen Cabinets?

by | Sep 15, 2019 | Interior Painting

Should I Paint or Stain my Kitchen Cabinets?

Suppose you just installed new kitchen cabinets in your Amador County, California home. In that case, you might wonder whether you should stain or paint them. Even if they’re not new, you might contemplate switching from one finish to another. So, which one is the best option, painting or staining?

Well, painting and staining are viable options to add extra beauty and protection to your wooden cabinets. However, the two have minor differences that might mean a lot to different homeowners and situations. Today’s article looks at kitchen cabinet painting vs. staining and why you might need to choose one over the other.

Kitchen Cabinet Painting 

Paint adds powerful protection to any surface against moisture damage and light surface damage. It creates a barrier that prevents water from seeping into the wood and causing all manner of problems like water stains, wood rot, discoloration, and even organic growth.

Paint typically forms a solid layer on top of the painted wooden surface, covering the wood’s natural beauty and any surface imperfections. Also, paint comes in virtually unlimited color options that you can use to enhance the interior décor of your kitchen.

During the cabinet repainting process, the painter first cleans the cabinets to remove any surface dirt, grease, and stains. For convenient painting, remove the hardware, remove the cabinet doors and drawers, and paint and sand all the surfaces. Typically, you apply two coats of paint and only use a second coat after drying the first one completely.

Cabinet painting is a viable option with almost any type of wooden cabinet, whether previously stained or painted. Paint offers superior surface protection, but you have to contend with covering up the natural beauty of the wood. This could be your best option if you want to cover up some surface imperfections on older kitchen cabinets.

Kitchen Cabinet Staining 

Wood stains enhance, rather than cover, the natural beauty of the wood. They usually let the grains and knots in the wood show through, and if you think of that as beautiful, then this could be your best option. Classifying stains into three types based on the level of opacity: Solid, Semi-transparent, and Transparent stains 

 • Solid stain –when applied to cabinets, it forms a solid coat on the surface that covers up nearly all the natural beauty of the wood. It doesn’t get absorbed into the wood. However, it offers higher surface protection than both Semi-transparent and Transparent stains.

• Semi-transparent stain –it partially alters the color of the wood when applied but allows nearly all the wood grains and knots to show through. The stain offers slightly less protection than solid stains but is superior to transparent stains. It’s a perfect compromise between function and aesthetics.

• Transparent stain –this stain gets absorbed into the wood, doesn’t alter the color, and allows the grains and knots to show through. However, you get the lowest level of surface protection compared to the previous two.

Since they generally allow the wood characteristics to show through, stains are suitable for relatively new kitchen cabinets with fewer surface imperfections. Also, previously painting and staining your cabinets might require a lot of paint stripping and sanding to remove all the old paint.

The Bottom Line 

If you’re looking for a wide range of color options or want to cover surface imperfections, you should paint your cabinets. Consider staining kitchen cabinets if you wish to showcase the natural beauty of the wood on newer kitchen cabinets.

Need professional help with staining or painting your kitchen cabinets in Amador County, California? Hines Painting Company can assist. Call us at 209-256-4587 to book a FREE estimate, and we will take over everything from there.

And if you live at Galt, CA. Then contact us at Galt House Painter, we still provide high-quality painting with the best finish for everyone!