Refinishing Cabinet Doors: Giving Your Kitchen a New Look on a Budget

Do your kitchen cabinets need a facelift? Many DIYers opt to resurface rather than replace their kitchen cabinets. To determine if this is your best option, ask yourself the following questions. First, are the cabinet boxes and doors made of real wood? If the doors and boxes are MDF or particle board then they cannot be resurfaced with success. Cabinets and doors that are not real wood cannot be either painted or stained. Do I like the door style I currently have or is it dated? If you do not like the door style or if, as in the case of custom cabinets with routed patterns in them, the design makes them extremely dated, you will need to replace the doors.

If you have inspected your current cabinets and determined they meet the qualifications for resurfacing you will then need to decide whether you will resurface by staining or painting them. If the cabinets are currently stained, the easiest resurface would be to paint them. If they are stained and you decide to re-stain them you will need to remove not only the polyurethane but the stain on them before applying a new stain. This will probably involve a stripping process to remove all the old polyurethane and stain to get back to the natural wood. While time consuming, this can be done. Remove all hardware prior to resurfacing. If you are replacing the hardware, be sure the new hardware will fit the “foot print” of the old.

To begin the process of resurfacing your cabinets, begin by cleaning them thoroughly. A cleansing agent called ATP (Adenosine Tri-phosphate), available in your paint department at most big box stores, is the best way to remove all the grime, grease, and age. It is absolutely essential to wear gloves when using this product. It is extremely harsh on the hands. Also, rinse completely to remove any ATP left on the door that might affect the remaining process.

Various products are available to break down the polyurethane and remove it. Always wear gloves as the acetones can be extremely harsh on the hands. It may also be wise to wear a mask as the fumes from the chemicals can be hard on the lungs. Apply the stripping agent liberally and wait the recommended time for the agent to work. After the recommended time, use a small putty knife to remove the softened polyurethane. Steel wool is also very helpful to loosen stubborn areas and get into crevices. After you have taken off the coat of polyurethane, put on a cost of stripper for stain to remove as much of the stain as possible. Again a clean piece of steel wool will help in the process of removing both the stain and polyurethane. Caution: Be careful not to mar the wood when using the putty knife and steel wool. Use small grain sandpaper to sand away the remaining stain to get to the wood. To prevent damage to the wood, you should always sand in the direction of the grain.

After all stain is removed from the door and the door is cleansed thoroughly, allow the door to dry completely, usually waiting until the next day to apply the new finish. Apply the stain to the wood using an old, lint free cloth and follow the direction of the wood grain. Wipe away any excess stain. Allow the stained doors to sit for 24 hours to ensure they are dry. Inspect them for light and dark areas. Touch up those areas and allow them to dry. To ensure consistency, the same person should do all the staining for the cabinets.

After the doors have dried thoroughly, do a final inspection of the stain to ensure consistency. When satisfied, apply the polyurethane in long stokes with a brush. Do not allow brush strokes to show in the finish. Allow the finish to cure in a dry area for at least two days before applying another coat. The second coat may not be necessary if you are happy with the first, but the second coat serves as extra protection and may add an extra level of gloss to the shine.

The process of painting cabinets is not as complicated. It is advisable to remove the polyurethane as detailed above. Clean thoroughly and allow the doors to dry completely. Apply a coat of Kilz or Bullet or other primer to allow the paint to adhere to a stained surface. You might need an extra coat if the stain continues to bleed through the primer. Allow the primer to dry at least two days after the last application. Apply the paint to the doors with a brush, making sure brush marks do not show. Always use a good quality brush to guard against bristles finding their way into the finish. Air brushing the doors, if feasible, gives a better finish. If you are glazing the doors, allow the paint to dry at least two days before applying a glaze. As a word of warning, glazes do not show well on doors with very little “hang up” or detailed areas.

In conclusion, a word of caution is in order. You will never get the identical finish on cabinets at home that you see in the kitchen displays. Why? Those finishes are done with a clear coat baked on to the surface in huge ovens. If you expect your finish to come out exactly like those in the big box stores you will be disappointed. However, while time consuming and requiring monumental patience, an acceptable job can be accomplished by resurfacing your present kitchen cabinets.