Original to the house unstained and clear coated oak cabinets re-finished to darker stain, color matched to other stains and furniture. Finished doors and drawers off-site. Scope included installing new hardware and both sides of pieces refinished. To remove all old varnish and achieve a uniform stain I ended up using a 15 step process:
brush 1st coat of stripper
scrape with flat carbide blade
brush 2nd coat of stripper
scrub with wire brush
bath of lacquer thinner
scrub with 3M pad
pat dry with rag
sand with 120 with the grain
sand with 220 with orbital on flat surfaces, block on edges
vacuum
apply stain and wipe dry
spray seal coat
sand with 220
vacuum and tack cloth
spray final coat varnish
Before
During
After
