I want to stain my kitchen cabinets,I was told I can't because they have a finish on them. any suggestions?
Answers:
Sorry to say, but I'm pretty sure that if you want even half-way decent results, it's just going to take some elbow grese in the form of sanding them.
Another option all together would be to paint it. You could get a special primer for the finish you have and then you would be able to paint over it. If it helps, there are some paint colors that could closely match the stain color.
Other answers:
You might want to paint and glaze the cabinets to get the finish look.
You might want to paint and glaze the cabinets to get the finish look.
you will need to strip them first
You might consider applying a good primer and painting them a color you like.
There is a paint on stripper that acts like sanding, but I've never used it. Depending on how thick of a finish is on them, sanding them a little to rough them up really isn't all that hard of a job. I just stained my melamine cabinets silver.
try sanding first. use an extra fine grit to keep it smooth. after you can stain.
Paint isn't a good idea. It may start to peel in time. Best thing you can do is to sand off the old finish.
if the doors are flat and simple you can take them down to a local custom woodworker and for a few dollars have them run through a large sander... another option is purchasing new doors and sanding or overlaying laminate skin ontop of the face frames... can get the laminate at home depot or lowes and invest in a laminate trimmer to get all the edges nice ....