Laminate Gel Stain

My bedroom suite was currently white and wood laminate.
Laminate gel stain. Before you stain the floor inspect it for any chips cracks or dents. But formica i wouldn t recommend sanding or stripping down as it is a man made product. Gel stains as all wood stains were formulated to go over raw wood which has an open surface and can absorb some of the stain. You can very carefully strip and lightly sand a veneer product as that is very thin sheets of real wood.
Customers have reported the successful use of gel products over laminate surfaces. Yes i said bedroom suite. Gel stain will not require you to sand the product to a raw wood finish. In addition to this non permeable surface factor general finishes gel stain is an oil based product and it is more difficult to obtain proper drying characteristics over a dense manufactured surface such as laminate.
Though how to paint and stain laminate was not one i considered. Gel stains occasionally work on laminate as this type of stain doesn t need to penetrate the material as deeply as traditional stain but gel stain manufacturers typically advise against it. Laminate is very smooth and shiny so you must sand or the paint and the gel stain won t stick. With the oak cabinets the grain was very evident post staining.
I decided to stain the drawers and paint the body to match the dresser in my room. If it looks like a gloopy mess that. Lightly sand the laminate with 150 grit sandpaper. It s easy to get the look of a dark rich stain on a painted piece of furniture as long as you know how to use gel stain as a faux finish.
Repair any dents cracks or chips in the laminate flooring. You can buy laminate floor patching material from most home improvement stores. To preserve the look of the wood grain on laminated furniture try using a tinted polyurethane stain. Formica and laminate are not real wood products which is why we just put a gel stain over the top of this laminate and let it dry that way.
The gel stain is thick like pudding not a liquid. Depending on the extent of the damage fill minor damage with laminate floor patching material or replace excessively damaged planks. Yes it was perfect for a 12 year old girl s bedroom. You could choose to use minwax polyshades to stain laminate or a similar brand.
I love two tone mcm furniture. While gel stain does go on thick and sit on the surface of the wood i found that you can still see and feel the natural wood grain beneath unlike paint. This gel stain over stain or paint technique allows you to re cover almost any painted surface even laminate and metal without stripping or sanding off the original surface. See below forgive the oil stained garage.
It was the furniture kept in my childhood bedroom since i was 12.