Step 5 work in the direction of the grain and aim not only for complete coverage but for a light even coating.
How to sand kitchen cabinets before staining.
However i would still sand the edge off of the cabinets with a sanding sponge before applying.
How to sand your kitchen cabinets.
Always sand in the direction of the wood grain.
Minwax has a 2 in 1 product that is a penetrating stain and it seals all at the same time.
Start with a heavier grit about 100 or 120 grit sandpaper for the first pass and sand with the grain.
You can lighten things.
I would use that.
Before you stain the cabinets it s important to remove all the doors and drawers to make sanding and applying the stain easier.
Sanding the kitchen cabinet doors and frames is hard work but pretty straightforward.
Wipe clean and apply a wood conditioner with a clean rag.
As you go along you may notice one or another section looking darker than the rest.
Sand the finish from the cabinets trim and drawers with 120 grit sandpaper.
After sanding apply a wood conditioner.
If the cabinets are stained or coated with a single layer of clear finish you may not need to use paint stripper.
To do that you need to sand the kitchen cabinets either by hand or with an electric powered hand sander.
The key here is to sand some of the existing finish off and roughen up the surface so the primer sticks but you don t need to get the whole finish off unless you re staining your cabinets.
Once you ve coated every cabinet surface wait for the stain.
Use 120 grit sandpaper to lightly sand the cabinets.
In this home below the island was a dark stain and kitchen cabinets were painted a cream color.