Painting, Refacing, & Refinishing Cabinets
Painting your cabinets! Brand new cabinet within reach!
You want to give your kitchen a facelift, but you’re concerned about how much money you should spend on new cabinets. Well, have you considered giving your kitchen a facelift by refinishing or refacing your cabinets? Paint is one of the least expensive and easiest ways to improve a home. Color wheels and color families make it stress free for the average consumer. Most people take the task on themselves; however, some hire contractors to complete the job. The results may be stunningly dramatic or clean and simple, depending on the atmosphere desired. It can add spark to an old kitchen in no time with surprising results. And you will still have money in the bank to buy groceries because it is a lot less expensive than buying new cabinets.
When you refinish a cabinet, all you’re doing is applying a new surface to all the old exposed surfaces. It’s amazing the new look you can give old cabinets merely by refacing them.
You can bring those old cabinets up to date at a fraction of the costs of new ones simply by applying the appropriate wood veneer and installing new doors. This is a technique you’ll especially want to use when you have partial-overlay doors where you can still see some of the face frame. The most common kind of veneer used is a self-stick veneer, but be careful! Even though you won’t be messing with pots of adhesive, the materials used to stick the veneer to the old cabinet facing are very strong. Be sure that you have measured and cut properly before you apply it, as once you’ve stuck it on your cabinets, it’s there permanently! After you’ve applied the veneer, you can hang the new doors, and you have a beautiful new look for your whole kitchen.
If you have old-fashioned solid wood cabinets, you can strip away the old paint and restore the original beauty of them by refinishing your cabinets. This isn’t something you’ll want to undertake lightly, as you’ll be working with harsh chemical solvents to get rid of the layers of varnish and paint from the old look. But, after you’ve stripped away the old paint or varnish, you’ll be ready to clean and prep the old wood surface. A good sanding is always in order before you apply the wood stain of your choice. After that, a light coat of varnish will give you a whole new look to your kitchen that you’re sure to love. To refinish the look of antique cabinets first remove all hardware from the doors using a screwdriver.Take the hinges off the doors and carefully place the doors on a dropcloth or tarp. Place the hardware in a bucket with warm soapy water. Soak the hardware for about an hour and then scrub it with a soft bristle brush. Rinse and dry thoroughly. Wash the cabinet doors. Fill a bucket with warm soapy water and scrub the doors with a rag or dish towel. Use dish washing liquid soap with bleach for the best cleaning power. Scrub off excess grease and grime with a soft bristle brush. Dry the cabinet doors with a clean, dry cloth. Sand damaged areas.Gently rub away any scratches on the wood with fine-grit sandpaper. Brush off excess dust with a dry cloth. Rub in wood oil with citrus elements using a dry cloth. Wipe off the cabinet surface while the doors are unattached. Use warm soapy water as you did with the cabinet doors. Scrub with a dish towel or rag. Dry thoroughly to prevent streaking. Reattach hardware to the doors and rehang them securely. If you are going to paint the cabinets, skip to the next step. Paint the cabinets if necessary. If your cabinets were painted previously, scrape off any chipped paint using a scraper. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and paint the cabinet doors before reattaching the hardware. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly and reattach hardware using a drill.
