If you are thinking about remodeling your kitchen or giving it a fresh look, it may be wiser to refinish your cabinets instead of getting new ones.
Here are few tricks to consider.
If you have painted cabinets, use a chemical stripper to take of the paint. If they are stained or varnished, wipe them clean with a chemical refinisher.
Take the doors off of the cabinets, lay them flat and remove the handles and hardware.
Inspect the cabinets for damage. If there are only stains around the handles, just clean them. For this use a synthetic steel wool pad to not get caught on the wood grain and hurt your fingers. First dip the pad in paint thinner or turpentine and scrub the stains first and then lightly scrub the whole surface.
Once you have removed all stains and cleaned the surface, wipe the surface with Minwax to give it an oil-based, clear finish.
If you need to redo more than just a few stains, use a chemical refinisher which dissolves and removes part of the old varnish. For a good quality refinisher ask an expert at the paint store.
When you are working with the refinisher, make sure you work in small areas and always scrub the finish with a wool pad. It will remove the finish and even out the color of wood and stain. In the process rinse the pad in refinisher from time to time because it will get clogged with dirt.
By now the cabinet’s surface should be smooth and even. If it isn’t wipe it again with long, overlapping strokes with clean refinisher. Most of the color will stay and the wood will get smooth.
Always make sure you wear protective clothing and have the area well ventilated when you are refinishing. Also follow the safety precautions on the product labels.
If you follow our advice with these steps you will definitely enjoy your newly refinished kitchen cabinets for many years to come.
ATC for another idea of housing
Would you like to support ATC for more sustainable consumption patterns? Take part of the 1 reservation = 1 tree planted program, book here and share:
Did you like this article? Register now and for free to be informed of new and up-to-date news articles.
