27 June 2007

Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets

I have started refinishing my kitchen cabinets and after much research and confidence, I finally have the process down to a T. I am actually enjoying the process and seems to be the perfect project when you can only spend an hour or two at a time. Currently I have old, dark stained Oak cabinets with a shiny, waxy gloss finish. I am painting these cabinets "Abby White." Here's what I have learned.

1. Clean cabinets with TSP cleaner.
2. Strip Cabinets...I am using a Citrus Paint Stripper.
3. Carefully scrape off stripper residue with a putty knife or similar item. Wipe clean.
4. Steel wool and Lacquer thinner the entire surface ...this gets rid of any dark spots the stripper left behind and overall cleans the surface perfectly. I would not leave out this process.
5. Sand cabinets smooth, wipe clean. Clean nooks out with toothpicks or whatever works to get out any leftover steel wool and stripper in the corners.
6. Apply a sealer/primer. Let dry overnight.
7 Sand smooth again. Wipe clean.
8. Apply first coat of paint. Let dry overnight.
9. Apply second coat. Let dry overnight. Apply third coat if needed.
10. Buy new hardware, and rehang.

I skipped the paint stripper process , but continued with all other steps on the thin wood cabinet facing that is mounted to the kitchen walls, and on the backs of the cabinets. I will see overtime if it made a difference, but I assumed the facing would get the most traffic and should be done completely for best results.

1 comment:

ron said...

sounds like a lot of work! i would of probably just sanded them, then put on a coat of primer, and then painted them. mostly because i'm lazy.

i bet it'll feel good to get all that work done. you should post before and after pictures