How to Stain Unfinished Cabinets to Look Like Pine

Knotty pine cabinets make your interiors look charmingly rustic, as if your home were actually located on the edge of a forest by a quiet lake. Pine is a strong wood with a tight grain and is ideal for building cabinets, though usually on the expensive side. However, if you have unfinished cabinets that you wish were made of pine, but aren't, you can still stain the cabinets to make them look like pine in hue and composition.

100-grit sandpaper
Electric sander
220-grit sandpaper
360-grit sandpaper
Tack cloth
Screwdriver
Foam brush
Golden pine stain
Lint-free cloth
Pencil
Sample of knotty pine
Precise artist's brush
Brown acrylic
3-inch nylon brush
Clear polyurethane

Instructions

- 1
  Attach a piece of 100-grit sandpaper to the bottom of an electric sander. Run the sander across the surface of the wood. Repeat with 220-grit and 360-grit sandpaper.
- 2
  Unscrew all cabinet handles and knobs with a screwdriver. Rub down the cabinets with a tack cloth, removing the dust from sanding. Dip a foam brush into a light golden pine stain.
- 3
  Cover the cabinets with a heavy coat of stain and allow it to penetrate the surface for 20 minutes, then wipe off the excess with a soft cloth. Repeat once more. Allow the cabinets to dry.
- 4
  Place a small sample of knotty pine wood next to your work area. Draw knots, typical of pine, in pencil, using your sample as a guide. Draw them randomly around the surface of your cabinets in a scattered manner with no discernible pattern.
- 5
  Dip a fine tipped artist's brush in brown acrylic paint and go over your sketched outlines. Fill them in slowly, generously dipping your brush in the brown paint. This will create the authentic texture of pine's brown knots. Allow them to dry overnight.
- 6
  Dip a 3-inch nylon brush in a coat of clear polyurethane paint. Cover the cabinets with a light coat of polyurethane to seal in all your work.

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