Another Layer Gell Stain and Mud

April has worked really hard to find the ultimate method for staining our cabinets.  She's used paint brushes, staining pads, and rags.  Ultimately, the best way to apply gell stain is with a sock.  Yep, that's right, a cotton gymn sock.

We've spent weeks finding just the right process to stain our cabinets which I think are maple.  They are still excellent cabinets and the cost of replacing them is unbelievable.  The best price I found for Raised Roman Arch tongue-in-groove maple (aka honey oak) on framed inset cabinets is about $175 for a single 12x14x30.  We have 20 doors for the above-counter cabinets and over 40 doors/drawers for our under-counter.  It would be a minumum of $10,500 for unfinished DIY cabinets for exactly the same ones we have now, unfinished too.  

How in the world do people afford to get new cabinets?

Here is a final look at the back-side of the main Pantry Door that April has stained.  Doesn't it look great?

Today, I sanded the first layer of joint compound from the walls and applied a 2nd layer with the 4" taping knife.  I wore a short-sleeved shirt while I sanded the first layer of dry mud.  Later in the evening, I learned a very valuable lesson when I showered off the dust.  Wear a long sleve shirt when sanding the dried plaster because it reacts with water when you wash it off.  I'm glad I was smart enough to wear a respirator when I was sanding.

Here is the kitchen with the next layer of mud.

Actually, if you look on the left you will see I haven't quite finished the 2nd layer of joint compound.  I've got a 6" knife and a 10" knife.  I'm supposed to sand, do a layer of mud with the 6" knife, sand again, then do a final layer of mud with the 10" knife; however, things are looking good enough to jump to the 10" knife next.  Any thoughts or recommendations?

I plan on taking some time off from work next week to finish up the painting and get the kitchen put back together and make it usable again.  We still need to replace the ovens, refrigerator, and dishwasher but we've already burned through our tax returns so we'll have to save up a bit before we can replace the apliances with stainless steel ones.

I have one last question I could use some advice on.  Notice the yellow paint on the wall that's behind where the cabinets used to be?

That paint is so slick, nothing sticks to it.  I'm going to raise the height of the cabinets 3".  I think I'll need to strip off the bottom 3" of the yellow paint so the primer will stick to it.  Is there a better way to do this?

Perhaps some special primer?

Oh-well.