Has anyone ever re-stained kitchen cabinets? Is it hard to do? I am thinking about doing this myself.

 

What is the current finish?
What type of wood?
Are you going to a lighter color or darker color?
Keep in mind the color in the can will probably not be the end color on the cabinet
Dark to light is extremely difficult as it's nearly impossible to remove a stain from a porous wood
Are they sealed with some type of sealer (poly, varnish, lacquer)?
You'll need to strip the sealant off of the stain won't bond
Have you considered painting them?

If it were me, I would go out and buy another cabinet door with the same finish and experiment.

 

I am going from light to dark. Not sure what type of wood it is.

Good idea about experimenting thanks.

 

Not quite as involved, but I am in the process of repainting cabinets. Still have to go through some of the same processes - i.e. stripping/sanding - but I know what color the paint will come out . Just be prepared for quite a bit of time and effort.

 

I have thought about painting just not sure on a color to use.

 

If you plan to paint them, put on a few good coats of Kilz or Zinnser to seal them. Best way is to have someone spray them. No brush marks.

 

I've been using Killz and might switch to something different. I'mnot getting the best adhesion to Killz and will start doing a light scuff sand before applying paint to it.

As for brush marks, I'm using a foam "door and cabinet" roller and it's working pretty well. Going from light to dark on the bathroom cabinets, so it's taking a couple of coats. But spraying would be faster and probably a little smoother.

 

I am planning on sanding the cabinets first and then using kilz or something. If you would use a different one then Kilz what would you use. I have only really used Kilz.

 

That's all I have used, as well. It's been pretty good for stain blocking, but new paint over the primer will sometimes scratch off or pull of with painters tape. That shouldn't happen.

Might try Zinnser, as NSXNEXT mentioned.