I've used GF water based stains and top coats for a few years now and love them. But starting to lean toward trying the oil based products. Looking forward to seeing how this works.
Hi, I recently used GF antique walnut gel stain on brand new oak stair treads. Which GF topcoat would you recommend? I bought the gel topcoat but not sure if it is the right one to use for steps.
We're not finding General in our area, Seekonk, MA. We've tried Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, Walmart. We don't do Amazon, and guess we need to do a better search since we'd like to try it.
I am wanting to get rid of the orangey look of my kitchen and bathroom cabinets. They are real oak but when lacquer was applied it was very thin and in the bathroom some has actually worn off to almost the bare color. I would prefer like a dark walnut color and I am a first timer. I don't wanna hide the grain look though. What would you suggest a toner or a gel??? And what topcoat would be most durable with it being cabinets.
This is a complex question because there are at least a few ways to refinish your cabinets depending on the look you want. I would recommend starting by checking out the video that General Finishes has on their website for "Dry Brushing". I think it might be a good technique to get the look you want. university.generalfinishes.com/videos/how-gel-stain-kitchen-cabinets-using-dry-brush-technique for top coat, General Finishes High Performance is one of my favorites and what I have on my personal cabinets.
Great informative video! Glad to know you will be selling the General Finishes line. We number of exterior doors which was finished with Spar Varnish. Will be doing sanding but would like to maintain a wood look with the help of a stain. What line of stain and top coat would you recommend that would also have some UV protection.
I've used Java gel stain on half my kitchen cabinets and plan to use white gel stain on the rest of the cabinets. I used high performance water based topcoat on the Java cabinets, can I use the same topcoat on white gel stain? I'm worried they my turn yellow, is this likely? Thank you!
With a stain the color will not be pure white because the wood underneath will show through. In this case I would think that High Performance would work fine. I would recommend doing a finish test to make sure the color and look is what you are after.
Great video! Use Arm R Seal a ton, need to branch out into the water base! Particularly to spray has I have hvlp system. A suggestion from you? I have a small project, a pen case, I made out of Aspen. I am experimenting with stain, as want this case black, perhaps ebony like. Getting along fine with the stain, but the top coats have not gone to well on my test pieces. Have tried Arm R Seal my to go finish, lacquer, shellac, none gave me great results. Looking for kind of a black piano type of look. Any advice?
High Performance Gloss would be a finish to try, you could even tint the first couple of coats with ebony dye stain to get that beautiful black look. From there it is just a matter block sanding to get a perfectly flat surface and possibly buffing out the final coat.
Good info on General Finishes. It would be nice if I could contact the company direct for information but so far I haven't found a way to do that. There doesn't seem to be a phone number or even e-mail contact information that I could locate on their website.
Hi, General Finishes does not sell direct to end users, rather they sell through certified suppliers/distributors like us here at Infinity Tools. You are more than welcome to give us a call here 877-872-2487 and we would be happy to help. You can also email us at customerservice@infinitytools.com
If a pure white is what you are trying to achieve I would recommend using a paint or something other than stain. Have a look at the General Finishes website, they have some really good information specifically about white finishes.
@@InfinityTools thank you for getting back to me and the good advise! I was wondering if I could use a primer underneath the white gel stain to make it pure white? Just a thought.
I'm currently finishing a live edges kitchen table. There are however some lines /grooves going straight across the table which I've been told are sticker marks from the kiln. How can I fix this ? Do I have to sand whole table down to depth of groove or can I fill will epoxy or filler and then stain . Thank you in advance
Sticker stain is caused by moisture trapped by the Sticker allowing mildew to grow during the drying process. In many cases the staining will remain even after sanding. I am not aware of a good way to remove the staining, maybe others will be able to help.
Depending on the application, priming is typically not necessary with general finishes milk paint. General Finishes has some very good application instructions that will help you with your specific project and can be found here for Milk Paint. generalfinishes.com/wood-finishes-retail/water-based-milk-paints-chalk-style-paints-glazes-pearl-effects/milk-paint
General Finishes Gel Stain is Oil based. It sounds like you are working on a fairly specific Faux finish project, I would have to recommend taking a look at the information General Finishes has on their website. They have an extensive tutorial library on different applications and techniques. Definitely worth taking a look.
You do not need to top coat General Finishes Milk paint, and it is not recommended to topcoat over white or very light colors as the clear coat can cause a yellowing color shift. I personally have top coated GF Seagull Gray milk paint with GF High performance with excellent results. If you would like to increase durability or adjust the sheen you may be OK top-coating with High Performance but I would recommend making a finish test on some scrap material, you can also contact General FInished directly, they have a very helpful technical support team and may have experience with the exact combination you are considering.
We talk about many different finishes in this video as well as their intended uses. General Finishes does make some good finishes for flooring. I recommend taking a look at the General Finishes website for the best recommendation for your specific project.
Hi, you can always call our customer service line and we would be happy to help. You can also email us at customerservice@infinitytools.com There is also a wealth of information available on the General Finishes website that is well worth exploring.
It sounds like you may need to thin the paint. If you are using General Finishes Milk Paint there are some excellent instructions and tips on their website for both thinning as well as applying the paint. It is definitely worth a look.
Here is where you need to look, see the Instructions, Video, and FAQ tabs. Tons of great information. generalfinishes.com/wood-finishes-retail/water-based-milk-paints-chalk-style-paints-glazes-pearl-effects/milk-paint
