The Best Products for Using Gel Stain On Furniture
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Gel Stain!! One of my most favorite products! Gel Stain can save you SO much time when you are working on a piece of furniture! Gel stain adds a natural wood look to any furniture piece!
The best thing about gel stain is that you DO NOT have to completely sand your piece of furniture before you apply your stain. You can easily apply Gel Stain with a foam Brush. Always go with the grain with applying gel stain. 🙂 My favorite Gel Stain General Finishes Gel stain is the perfect gel stain if you are wanting a flawless finish! It is a rich dark java brown. True to it’s name!
I also recommend sealing your gel stain project with General Finishes Satin Top Coat. It will give your project almost a wet glossy look when dry! You can apply 2-3 coats and lightly sand with 220 grit sand paper in-between each coat. 🙂
Pictures Of Completed Java Gel Stain Projects
Dresser top painted in GF java Gel Stain and Sealed with GF top coat
Dresser top wood grained with java Gel Stain and sealed with GF top coat
How To Use Java Gel Stain On Furniture
Applying Java Gel Stain can sound tricky because it’s consistency is not as watery as a regular stain. It is more like hair gel consistency. 🙂 I have found that foam brushes are the best way to add java gel stain. They do not leave brush marks like a brush.
After you have applied your java gel stain it is always good to seal your stain! It will look beautiful unsealed but, you want to protect that gel stain finish for the long haul. You can use General Finishes Satin Top Coat or General Finishes high performance top coat.
PRO TIPS for Applying Java Gel Stain To Furniture
Wear gloves!! Stain is indeed stain and if you get java gel stain on your fingers it will be there for a while! (trust me! Ha!) And most of all have fun and courage! You can do this!!
If you have used Gel Stain before leave a comment below, I’d love to see your projects!
Hi Kristen! If it’s just dust I use a little water and a damp rag. If there’s tough spot you can not get clean I would try a small amount of vinegar and water on that spot and scrub until the stain was removed. Hope that helps!
I have a china hutch a friend painted cream and antiques 6 years ago…it matched my old kitchen but new house has light taupe walls and white trim so the hutch looks “dirty”. I painted the insides white yesterday and am wondering if I could put gel stain over the outside to darken the piece? I wanted to painted it white but think that might be too much white!
Hi Cathy!! I would do a test spot in a kind of hidden location of the white paint to see how you would like it against your walls. Light taupe walls can look great against white and a dark Java gel stain. I personally would probably paint the hutch white. It will pop more in the room. I think Java gel staining the hutch might make the room look too dark. But totally your call!! You’re the designer in your home! Go with your gut! 🙂
Gel stain WILL stick over the previously painted surface! 🙂 You can do a very light sanding of 220 grit sandpaper to help with adhesion. Then go for the gel stain! 🙂
Hi, I am just staining my kitchen cabinets (my bathroom and my island worked really well) however, the kitchen cabinets I’m having a tough time with especially near the raised panels. I have been searching Pinterest for tips – I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. The stain is sometimes spotty and heavier at the ends. I tried a tiny brush to help lift up some of the stain in the corners and edges but it’s making a mess.!
Hi Wendy! Are you using gel stain? Did you clean your cabinets beforehand? Sometimes TSP can create a chemical reaction with the gel and you can end up with darker colored spots. I’ve also seen this with too much mineral spirits being used beforehand. To remedy this you can sand just those spots that are giving your trouble and retain.
Also are you using a foam brush to apply the stain?
Hi, I really feel like I was using too much gel. I think that the kitchen being such a big job I was rushing. I started with the backs of the cabinet doors so it’s not as critical there. ( I was panicking) I am now probably using too little and will do more coats but it’s very even and beautiful. Thank you so much for your reply and also the original video! Such a nice finish with gel stain!
Hi, I am starting a piece, an oak buffet. I am going to be painting the top of piece with an antique walnut. Do I have to prime before I do the gel stain? The rest of the piece is going to be antique white.
No priming with gel stain required! I love antique walnut it turns out super pretty! And the antique white as a base will look so pretty on your buffet!!
I have a white painted bench I’m looking to stain. Do your comments above mean that I would not have to sand down before staining with gel stain? I’m going for a dark walnut color. Never used gel stain before! Thanks
Hi Lauren! Yes with gel stain you do not have to sand! It is the best thing ever!! General Finishes has an Antique Walnut Gel stain. That might be just what you are looking for! I’ll attach a link for it here so you can view it!
I stumbled across your page on Pinterest while looking for some gel stain inspiration. I love how the hutch turned out at the top of this post! What color did you use? I’ve been working on a waterfall dresser that I sanded down to have a clean slate only to discover it’s poplar wood. It did not look too pretty when I tried slapping on some Minwax oil based stain. I thought I’d try and go the gel stain route but didn’t want to do a dark shade. Any advice would be appreciated!
Hi Megan! Love your name! (ha!) On the top of this post I used Antique Walnut Gel Stain by General Finishes! YES GEL STAIN will save the day for sure on the wood of your dresser!! IT Looks AMAZING! You may need to only add 2 coats if you do not want it to look super dark. I would avoid the color Java as it is very dark. But the Antique Walnut is a beautiful rich brown but not dark dark. Hope that helps! Also the link I provided show several different shades of General Finishes gel stains!
I would like to use gel stain on a laminate table top-should I sand the table first? Will the gel stain adhere to the laminate? It’s turned a sickly orange color😯
Hi Karen! I would personally do a light sand first! 220 grit works well over a laminate surface! 🙂 Then apply the gel stain. Let the gel stain dry over night. Then apply more coats. This will also help with adhesion! 🙂 Hope that helps. Have a great day!
Let’s Paint Furniture! I’m here to help you paint your furniture beautiful! 🙂 I am also a Wife, mommy to 5 kiddos, and owner of Phoenix-Refinishings, LLC in NE Arkansas.
What do you use to clean gel stained furniture?
Hi Kristen! If it’s just dust I use a little water and a damp rag. If there’s tough spot you can not get clean I would try a small amount of vinegar and water on that spot and scrub until the stain was removed. Hope that helps!
I have a china hutch a friend painted cream and antiques 6 years ago…it matched my old kitchen but new house has light taupe walls and white trim so the hutch looks “dirty”. I painted the insides white yesterday and am wondering if I could put gel stain over the outside to darken the piece? I wanted to painted it white but think that might be too much white!
Hi Cathy!! I would do a test spot in a kind of hidden location of the white paint to see how you would like it against your walls. Light taupe walls can look great against white and a dark Java gel stain. I personally would probably paint the hutch white. It will pop more in the room. I think Java gel staining the hutch might make the room look too dark. But totally your call!! You’re the designer in your home! Go with your gut! 🙂
However a weathered gray gel stain might look really pretty!
Gel stain WILL stick over the previously painted surface! 🙂 You can do a very light sanding of 220 grit sandpaper to help with adhesion. Then go for the gel stain! 🙂
Hi, I am just staining my kitchen cabinets (my bathroom and my island worked really well) however, the kitchen cabinets I’m having a tough time with especially near the raised panels. I have been searching Pinterest for tips – I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. The stain is sometimes spotty and heavier at the ends. I tried a tiny brush to help lift up some of the stain in the corners and edges but it’s making a mess.!
Hi Wendy! Are you using gel stain? Did you clean your cabinets beforehand? Sometimes TSP can create a chemical reaction with the gel and you can end up with darker colored spots. I’ve also seen this with too much mineral spirits being used beforehand. To remedy this you can sand just those spots that are giving your trouble and retain.
Also are you using a foam brush to apply the stain?
Hi, I really feel like I was using too much gel. I think that the kitchen being such a big job I was rushing. I started with the backs of the cabinet doors so it’s not as critical there. ( I was panicking) I am now probably using too little and will do more coats but it’s very even and beautiful. Thank you so much for your reply and also the original video! Such a nice finish with gel stain!
Oh yay Wendy!! Glad to hear you are loving your beautiful gel stained cabinets!! Sounds like you got it all figured out! 🙂
Hi, I am starting a piece, an oak buffet. I am going to be painting the top of piece with an antique walnut. Do I have to prime before I do the gel stain? The rest of the piece is going to be antique white.
Hi Chrissy!
No priming with gel stain required! I love antique walnut it turns out super pretty! And the antique white as a base will look so pretty on your buffet!!
I have a white painted bench I’m looking to stain. Do your comments above mean that I would not have to sand down before staining with gel stain? I’m going for a dark walnut color. Never used gel stain before! Thanks
Hi Lauren! Yes with gel stain you do not have to sand! It is the best thing ever!! General Finishes has an Antique Walnut Gel stain. That might be just what you are looking for! I’ll attach a link for it here so you can view it!
Hope that helps!! Let me know how it goes!
I stumbled across your page on Pinterest while looking for some gel stain inspiration. I love how the hutch turned out at the top of this post! What color did you use? I’ve been working on a waterfall dresser that I sanded down to have a clean slate only to discover it’s poplar wood. It did not look too pretty when I tried slapping on some Minwax oil based stain. I thought I’d try and go the gel stain route but didn’t want to do a dark shade. Any advice would be appreciated!
Hi Megan! Love your name! (ha!) On the top of this post I used Antique Walnut Gel Stain by General Finishes! YES GEL STAIN will save the day for sure on the wood of your dresser!! IT Looks AMAZING! You may need to only add 2 coats if you do not want it to look super dark. I would avoid the color Java as it is very dark. But the Antique Walnut is a beautiful rich brown but not dark dark. Hope that helps! Also the link I provided show several different shades of General Finishes gel stains!
I would like to use gel stain on a laminate table top-should I sand the table first? Will the gel stain adhere to the laminate? It’s turned a sickly orange color😯
Hi Karen! I would personally do a light sand first! 220 grit works well over a laminate surface! 🙂 Then apply the gel stain. Let the gel stain dry over night. Then apply more coats. This will also help with adhesion! 🙂 Hope that helps. Have a great day!
I haven’t used gel paint for my DIY projects but seeing the end results make me wanna try it. Thanks for the idea megan.
Hi Landon!
Oh you so have to try gel stain on your wood projects! I think you’ll love the results!!