Sprucing Up Kitchen Cabinets
Our kitchen cabinets are the run-of-the-mill sort, and the general wear over the decades has taken its toll. We’d like to rejuvenate them up without doing a full refinishing. They’re not worth stripping and etc, but we like them fine. Can anyone advise on the best way to do a sprucing up of these things?…
Our kitchen cabinets are the run-of-the-mill sort, and the general wear over the decades has taken its toll. We’d like to rejuvenate them up without doing a full refinishing. They’re not worth stripping and etc, but we like them fine. Can anyone advise on the best way to do a sprucing up of these things?
Thanks!
I painted and added new hardware to cabinets like these and the difference was incredible. I did not strip, just primed and painted, but it took three coats.
If I had it to do over, I would have at least sanded the varnish first. Seriously, you can totally DIY, and if you skip the interiors this is a very manageable job.
I painted and added new hardware to cabinets like these and the difference was incredible. I did not strip, just primed and painted, but it took three coats. If I had it to do over, I would have at least sanded the varnish first. Seriously, you can totally DIY, and if you skip the interiors this is a very manageable job.
Thanks for the suggestions. I think I’ll try one with Restore-A-Finish and see how it looks, and then decide if I go with that or give them a nice paint job instead.
Appreciate it.
Whether you refinish the wood or paint is a matter of taste. I concur with Bob Marvin that Howards Restore-A-Finish is a great product although you can’t use it on poly (you’d need to strip the cabs first). Personally, I’d paint them with a high quality paint like Fine Paints of Europe, applied with a brush not rollers.
I think some white paint would help.
Howards’ Restore a Finish, in an appropriate color is a product I like to improve the finish relatively easily.
I did a diy post awhile back on our rental unit cabinets. After 3.5 years, we just moved into that apartment ourselves yesterday and I was impressed with how well the cabinets held up!
http://reclaimedhome.com/2007/10/02/diy-repainting-cabinets/
That may be lacquer on them, so I am not sure you can simply sand and recoat. If it were poly, that would be ok.
There may be a primer that can go over the lacquer, maybe a waterbase primer – but I would not use any off the shelf primer. A real finishing supply like Abbot Paints may have some (they will know what to use). Lacquer seems to work ok with certain water base products, not oil.
If that is poly, you can cut the surface to 150, and prime with a wax free shellac if you wish to clearcoat or an oil primer if you wish to paint. If you paint them, do not use latex paint; you need a ceramic paint on cabinets. This is harder and can be rubbed out for a nice finish.
steve
http://www.thetinkerswagon.com
Simply changing the hardware can make a big difference…