You can try a light sanding and then using one of the polyurethane and stain in one products which will darken the cabinets.
Can you restain cabinets darker.
Strip the cabinets optional.
Restaining kitchen cabinets once you have raw wood apply a bit of the stain you like on an unseen edge to make sure it is the right light shade.
Pick the dark color that goes with your kitchen.
Mix a can of tinted polyurethane thoroughly.
For example neutralize a light warm.
If you want to take the cabinets back to the original wood apply a clear varnish or polyurethane finish or stain previously painted cabinets you will have to strip all the paint off the cabinets using strong chemicals followed by sanding.
Staining wood cabinets gives you a complete color change solution but only if your goal is a darker stain.
You may be able to avoid that if the finish is sound.
Stain can take some time to cure and look darker after it is applied.
For an even darker look use the fine sandpaper and sand over the kitchen cabinet doors and frame.
Gray wood tones with a very slight hint of warmth are stunning.
Wood stain is the usual choice for adding darker tones to wood and it works by absorbing into the pores of bare wood.
First remove the drawer faces and cabinet doors.
Let the stain dry.
The dark finish of this kitchen s wood cabinets serves as an elegant backdrop to the room s boldly patterned red and gold tile backsplash.
Wipe away the dust and apply a second coat of stain following the same instructions in step 2.
However the basic area preparation required is similar to the prep needed for application of tinted varnishes.
If you ve decided to darken your cabinets lets go over the steps i suggest you follow.
Explore your options for restaining kitchen cabinets and get all the info you ll need to give your kitchen a stylish facelift.
If you want to tone down your cabinets because they are too red or warm look for ash colored stains or even test the gray colors.
I have seen people stain them in place but don t do it.
If you want to add additional definition to your cabinets a trick is to glaze corners and lines in an almost black stain and wipe off excess stain.
The color of the original stain and the tinted polyurethane combine creating a darker slightly different shade.
It takes like 5 minutes to unscrew the old doors.
Smooth the stain on in soft strokes starting at the top and moving along with the grain of the wood.