Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen cabinets play an important role in your kitchen decor. Refinishing kitchen cabinets will surely face lift your kitchen. Though time-consuming, refinishing kitchen cabinets yourself is well worth the effort. Do you want to refinish your kitchen cabinets but don't know where to start from? Here are a few guidelines to help you learn, how to refinish kitchen cabinets.

Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing

Before you start with the refinishing task, check out whether your kitchen cabinets are in good shape. Once you are sure that it will last for the next 5 - 10 years, then you need few things before you start refinishing kitchen cabinets.

Things Needed

• Drop Cloth
• Sandpaper
• Paintbrush
• Household Cleaner
• Vanish or Paint

Directions for Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets

• To start with, first remove kitchenware from the cabinets and drawers. Look carefully for any signs of damage, rot and wear. Particularly check the cabinets under the dishwasher and the sink for rot.
• If you find rot in the cabinets, then replace the affected part before you start the refinishing work. You will need the help of a carpenter to replace the affected cabinet.
• Once, you have done this, disassemble the doors and drawers of the cabinet. Label the cabinet openings and doors. Put the same label at the back side of the door and the corresponding cabinet opening.
• Mask the kitchen countertop and floor with the drop cloth.
• Take the hangers and hinges off the cabinet door.
• Dust the cabinets, drawers and the cabinet doors. Then, clean them with a household cleaner solution and rinse off the cleaner with cool water.
• Use wood glue or wood putty to fill the holes, if there are any.
• Take sandpaper and rub it over the surface of the door and cabinets to remove the gloss and irregularities. Vacuum off the dust, so that you can easily apply the paint.
• Now, apply paint or varnish using your paintbrush. Lay down the cabinet doors and paint the doors from top to bottom, then paint the drawers and at last the frame.
• Before applying the second coat of paint, wait for the first coat to dry.
• During the time that the paint dries, clean the handles and hinges with a drop cloth and household cleaner solution. You can also replace the handles with new ones. Also, new hinges are a better option.
• After you are done with all these, replace the cabinet doors and drawers carefully, ensuring that they are leveled with the frame.

Once you are done with the task of refinishing kitchen cabinets, it's time to put all the kitchen appliances back in the cabinets. Read more on replacement of kitchen cabinet doors.

Tips for Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets

There are several important things to keep in mind while refinishing kitchen cabinets. DIY (do it yourself) techniques for refinishing kitchen cabinets is a great way to save money and come up with some brilliant kitchen cabinets refinishing ideas. Here are some tips that will help you simplify your task. More on do it yourself - kitchen cabinet refacing.

• Choose a well-ventilated work area to refinish kitchen cabinets. Be sure to wear a mask and hand gloves, to protect your body from the chemicals.
• Decide which paint or varnish you are going to use to paint the kitchen cabinet. Paints and varnish are available in different finishes, eggshell, satin, semi gloss, and high gloss.
• Marine varnish works well for kitchen as they are more water repellent.
• If you are a novice wood finisher, use wipe-on varnish which comes in satin finish.
• Latex paint leaves brush strokes. Therefore it is advisable to use paint additives like Flotrol as it will help to lighten the brush strokes.
• Oil-based paints do not leave brush strokes like latex do, and can be painted over latex paint. But, latex paint cannot be painted over oil paint.

The aforementioned steps must have answered all your questions on how to refinish kitchen cabinets. Refinishing kitchen cabinets is an inexpensive and great idea to give your kitchen a novel look. The kitchen cabinet refinishing cost depends upon the size of the cabinets, the materials and the paint used for the refinishing task. The total cost would be almost 1/3 of the kitchen cabinet replacement cost. More on ideas for painting kitchen cabinets.

Your kitchen will get a fresh look with refinished kitchen cabinets. You will feel great working in your kitchen which will be refurbished with a new look, thanks to your cabinets! After refinishing kitchen cabinets, they look clean and hygienic, leaving a good impression on visitors.