- 1). Protect the area around the cabinet. Because this is a messy job, place a plastic drop cloth underneath and around the cabinet.
- 2). See how far the damage goes. Use a small wood chisel and carefully chip away some of the burned wood. This will help you see just how deep the damage goes. If it is more than 1/4 of an inch deep, you most likely will not be able to repair the damage.
- 3). Sand down the entire cabinet. If the damage is slight, use a piece of rough grade sandpaper first, and then switch to a medium grade and finally a fine grade of sandpaper. Keep in mind that the entire surface of the cabinet will now have to match. Since this is a big job, a hand sander will make the project go faster. Start the sander running off of the wood and then gently lower it onto to the surface. If you start the sander on the wood, it may gouge out the surface too deeply. By starting it in the air you can control it better when you put it in on the wood. Repeat the same process -- one pass with heavy, one pass with medium, one pass with fine grade sandpaper discs.
- 4). Remove any excess dust from the cabinet. Use a tack cloth or a shop vac and thoroughly remove all the dust. Pay special attention to detail areas where small particles of dust can collect. These will ruin your new finish.
- 5). Stain the wood. Start with one coat of wood stain and cover the whole cabinet. Work with the grain of the wood. Let this dry for four hours, sand the cabinet lightly with fine sandpaper and apply as many more coats as necessary until the cabinet matches the others or is the desired color.
- 6). Protect the wood. Once the stain is dry, sand it lightly again using a fine grade of sandpaper. Apply one coat of clear polyurethane. Let this dry, sand it again and apply at least one more coat of polyurethane.