• Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact
  • Let’s Organize These Posts:

    • Art Attack
    • Backyard
    • Barn
    • Basement
    • Bathroom
    • Beach
    • Bedrooms
    • Being Thrifty
    • Business-y
    • Buying and Renting and Selling
    • Casual Celebrations
    • Closets
    • Curb Appeal
    • Dainty Details
    • Deck
    • Decor
    • Dining Room
    • DIY
    • Dog-Related
    • Entryway
    • Flooring
    • For the Kids
    • Garage
    • Gardening
    • Helping The Economy
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects
    • Holiday-Related Projects
    • Home Safety
    • Kitchen
    • Lighting
    • Living Room
    • Merry Travels
    • Office Space
    • Organized
    • Other Pads
    • Outdoor Living
    • Scooter Fun
    • Stairwell
    • Sunroom
    • Supporting Sponsors
    • The Art Room
    • Tools
    • Uncategorizable
    • Wedding
    • Windows
    • Work-pads
  • Search

  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

    You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (577)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (83)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)
  • Search

  • Pages

    • blog
    • Merrypad Features
    • Privacy Policy
    • about emily
    • before + after
      • before + after, our current home
      • before + after, our first house
    • contact me
    • choose a badge and share the merrypad.com love
  • Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact

Gelly Touch-Ups

December 17, 2012

Sometimes, or what Pete might profess to be a disproportionately large amount of the time, I ignore the easier repairs in favor of more exciting projects. Case in point: we still had some very, very oak-y spots on the kitchen cabinets. These spots were once obstructed by the previous countertop backsplash and overhang support and didn’t see an ounce of gel stain when I had refinished the kitchen in entirety a few months ago.

I had already had quite my fix of staining cabinets, and my fingernail beds had finally returned to a normal fleshy color from being perpetually stained for two months, but these errs couldn’t be ignored:

I'll need to stain this part of the cabinet that was hidden behind the backsplash.

There was once a brace for the cantilevering countertop.

I had a great experience using the General Finishes gel stain to transform our kitchen from oak-y to espresso brown, and I was confident that the leftover stain that I had would  do the trick at patching up these unstained areas evenly.

I started by hand sanding the problem areas. There was a noticeable ridge of stain where the new finish met the old, and by eliminating it by sanding until I could no longer feel any stain ledge, I guaranteed myself a fresh, smooth surface to re-stain.

Sanding the stained cabinet smooth.

This is as good as a time as any to note that if you do take sandpaper to your gel stained cabinets, the stain will come right off, and easily too; this was no power sanding effort, but in addition to showing how easily the stain can come off, this post should help you see how easy it is to spot-correct scratches or dents that happen over time.

I stained these trouble spots in the same way that I had the original cabinets (as seen in update #1, in update #2, and in the grand reveal). After one coat, there was noticeable improvement, and after two more there was no sign of the oak.

First coat of stain went on the cabinets.

Three thin coats of stain later (applied with a rag over three days to allow the spots to dry completely between coats), and the only evidence that proved that these spots had been patched was the slight distinction in finishes – you can see it in the above picture even – the stain itself is matte, and the surrounding finished cabinets still glistened of satin polyacrylic.

The larger of the two problem areas was something we had considered back when the countertops were installed; at that time, our installers had suggested that we leave that small piece of countertop loosened so that it could be removed when the time was right.

The countertop wasn't installed in this part intentionally, so that we could stain that small area to the right of the image.

Removing the small section of countertop eliminated the need for us to stain uber-carefully up against our new white acrylic countertops, which made the job way easier and less horrifying.

Beginning to stain cabinet that had been hidden behind baseboard.

With a light coat of poly applied to the top of the new stain, you’d never know this was a patched job.

Repaired cabinet stain.

The only remembrance of the old countertop is two small screw holes from the supporting brace, and while they’re slightly visible here (in a good way, since it helps you to see where the cabinet had been previously unstained) they really sit at about knee-height, and we never notice them on a day-to-day basis.

Repaired cabinet with gel stain touch-ups.

Looking for the Gel Stain that I used to stain the kitchen cabinets? I could not find it in stores, and my best resource was General Finishes via Amazon. Learn more about the product and purchase it for yourself right here. 

Share

DIY  / Kitchen

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. I've been a freelancer writer for 10+ years and you can find my work on popular home and garden sites, like HGTV.com. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note.

2 Comments


Cait @ Hernando Hosue
December 17, 2012 at 11:23 am
Reply

Your cabinets look great! I have a hard time telling you touched up some spots, even knowing where they were.

I totally ignore easier repairs in favor of more exciting projects, too! Last night instead of putting a second coat on the laundry room or the hall bath closet I ripped out our pantry. I discovered that our counters used to be a horrifying shade of “light urple” (Celebrity Jeopardy anyone?) and that there are three layers of wallpaper (plus two layers of paint, one of which is my fault) in our kitchen. Sigh.



Rita
May 24, 2020 at 8:50 pm
Reply

Did you wipe excess stain off or did you use like a paint? I just got my java gel stain in and your cabinet color is exactly what I’m going for.



Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • Instagram

    merrypad

    Merrypad by Emily Fazio
    Instagram post 17902304861708711 Instagram post 17902304861708711
    Highly recco mining those #herkimerdiamonds ✌️ Highly recco mining those #herkimerdiamonds ✌️
    Pt. 2: Well before Halloween, the last of the garl Pt. 2: Well before Halloween, the last of the garlic went into the home garden: 10 rows [L>R] 6 whole Nootka Rose as an experiment, 3x8 Mennonite-grown cloves from Aman’s, and 6x8 (and, I think, total 112? notes are cryptic) “normal.”
#gardennotes #growinggarlic #garden2023 #whatisnormal #merrypadathome
    Out of sight but [documented so it’s] not out of Out of sight but [documented so it’s] not out of mind! #garden2024 kicks off with my favorite biennial: elephant garlic! 15 cloves planted from small, to medium, to enormous. #gardennotes
    Annual garlic notes for #garden2023, pt. 1: this i Annual garlic notes for #garden2023, pt. 1: this is getting ooc, and I love it. 👩‍🌾🧑‍🌾

🧄 65% of the planting is in a new plot in the country. 🧄 Seeing if NR grows bigger with more sunlight. 🧄 Big @chasefarms cloves from 2021 were really productive in our home garden; can’t wait to see how they can show up next year in the new space. 🧄

Hand-turned a small bed, but big thanks to my sister, who rolled into town just in time to help me double its size (and did not complain once).
    One straggler from #garlic2021 debuted with 7 stal One straggler from #garlic2021 debuted with 7 stalks and 7 scapes, and I can’t wait to see this mammoth looks like when it’s pulled next month. #garlic2022 

Also, fierce springtime performance by parsley, chamomile, and self-seeded cilantro.
    Annual garlic notes #garden2022 ~315 cloves total Annual garlic notes #garden2022
~315 cloves total
50 in new, unfenced garden
Still need thick mulch on everything
Did a terrible job tracking varieties when I harvested, so it’s all a mix of hardneck now 😒
Added some big cloves from @chasefarms and look forward to adding some @fruition_seeds in #garden2023 when @porterfarmscsa delivers.
    Load More... follow emily: @merrypad



  • Like Us On Facebook

    Facebook Pagelike Widget



  • Popular Posts

    • How to fix an IKEA drawer. The Easy Fix For Broken IKEA Drawers 66.7k views
    • DIY sideboard rehab. 7 Steps for Restoring an Old Midcentury Sideboard Buffet 56.6k views
    • How to design and make a barn quilt. How to Make Your Own Barn Quilt 49.9k views
    • How to hang art on brick surfaces using specialty clips. The Easy Way to Hang Art on Brick or Stone 39.9k views
    • DIY driveway removal. The Driveway Rocks 35k views
    • Our DIY flagstone patio. Building a Flagstone Patio in One Day 32.7k views
    • Tips for dying pasta different colors, and a Halloween Recipe for the kids. How to Dye Pasta Different Colors (Halloween Recipe) 32.5k views
    • Goodbye, gold fireplace covering. Less Is More: How to Remove a Fireplace Surround 29.5k views
    • Fix an ikea dresser drawer. Life Support For An IKEA Dresser 29.4k views
    • After: Custom wooden garden fence. Designing a Durable Wooden Fence For Our Beautiful Backyard Garden 22.9k views



  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (577)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (83)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)





  • a little bit of everything, friends, DIY, and inspiration

    • Dadand.com < My husband and his BFF
    • DIY Network
    • HGTV
  • Some Legal

    Merrypad incorporates the occasional affiliate link to Amazon.com and Minted; we link to many other websites and products, but if it is in context of a paid sponsorship, it is always noted as such. Please review the privacy policy and contact me if you have any additional questions.

    Theme customized by Pete Fazio Creative, the guy from dadand.com.


© Copyright Merrypad