Kitchen Cabinet Painting – How To Create a Wood Grain Look For Cupboard Doors

Kitchen cabinet painting - when it comes to painting kitchen cabinet ideas I have written quite a bit about it on this site. This time I would like to give you a new painting idea. It’s using Zar stain to create a wood grain look on any surface even if it has been previously painted before.
Graining is nothing new. It’s basically a form of faux painting. It’s fairly easy to do also. The secret is to prepare the surface as you would any other time and go over it using a white enamel under body primer (holds gloss) first.

Next, you brush on a coat of Zar stain and using a rag or a wood graining tool you create a simulated wood grain finish look. Then let the Zar stain dry for 24 hours and apply a clear coat finish of varnish the next day.

Step-by-Step Kitchen Cabinet Door Painting:

1. You can get Zar in various wood stain colors. All you need is their wood graining tool or you can use a clean T-shirt type of rag to produce the wood grain look. Don't forget some white primer that holds gloss.

2. You first prepare the surface to be grained by washing and/or sanding the surface smooth and priming it white.

3. After the primer dries for an hour or two you can brush the Zar stain onto the cupboard door and do your graining. Practicing on something first is recommended.


5. Let your Zar grain design dry overnight and put a clear coat of varnish over the grained look to seal it up the next day. Zar should have both stain and varnish products available for you as well as their graining tools.

6. You could do the cupboard doors in the grained look and the cupboards themselves in white or some other enamel finish color if you want for some contrast. That is probably the most popular look for this type of Kitchen cabinet painting.