Refinish Kitchen Cabinets? Have you done this?

14 years ago

I've only thought about refacing or replacing kitchen cabinets - refinishing really never came to mind, but finding a website for a company that does it in the area where I plan on moving just sparked new interest.

This is the process they explain on the website

START-TO-FINISH SHOP PROCEDURES

MONDAY PICK-UP/STRIPPING

Pick up doors, drawers, and molding to be stripped.

Hardwares, hinges, etc. are removed.

We strip the old finish off the cabinetry, doors, and drawers.

A valuable piece of equipment is the stripping table. It has an air-driven pneumatic pump, with continuously re-circulates the stripper through chemical-resistant tubing and out the center of the brush. After the stripper flows off the piece, it drains to the lower end and into the container to be picked up by the pump again.

The piece is then wiped off and left to dry.

TUESDAY Â REPAIR

The cabinetry is now inspected for loose joints, broken pieces, loose veneer, etc.

If necessary repairs are made at this time.

TUESDAY Â SANDING

Cabinets go through a two-step sanding procedure.

Coarse Sanding

Finished Sanding

The finish must be clean and smooth to the touch.

TUESDAY Â CHOOSING STAIN/COLOR

Basic Wood Colors:

Walnut

Mahogany

Oak

Pine

And More

True colors such as green and white or any color you choose are also available.

After the stain/color has been selected, the cabinets are stained and excess removed.

WEDNESDAY Â STAINING

We have a Kremlin MVX spray system. This air mix system uses a specially designed air cap to provide a smooth and even finish every time.

WEDNESDAY Â FINISHING

We first spray a coat of sand and sealer.

Then we spray three coats of a pre-catalyzed lacquer, hand sanding between each coat.

As soon as it dries, it is inspected for any defects.

WEDNESDAY Â HARDWARE

The existing hardware can be cleaned and polished.

New hinges, knobs and/or handles can also be installed upon request.

Refinishing your cabinets is a time-consuming, complicated, and labor-intensive process.

THURSDAY Â MASKING

We will mask the walls, ceiling, floors, counter tops and appliances.

We will seal off kitchen with polyethylene.

FRIDAY Â SAND AND STAIN

The first thing we do on Friday is to hand sand all base cabinets.

Before we start the staining process we remove all dust.

SATURDAY Â FINISHING

After sanding and cleaning we stain all the base cabinets.

SUNDAY Â LAST STEP

We return on Sunday with the finished doors, drawers and molding.

We install all the finished doors, drawers and moldings.

Now your new and beautiful kitchen is complete and ready for many more years of enjoyment.

*********************************

Has anyone opted to go this route, vs replacing or refacing? Where you happy with the results and your decision to go this route? Did you have any issues doing it this way? What was the cost, vs other options?

The cabinets in the house are painted white - did anyone have white cabinets and then go natural wood color?

If you have before and after pictures, would love to see them.

THANKS!!!

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Comments (6)

fran1523
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It sounds like a great idea if you want to go back to natural wood. You will probably save a ton of money and help save the planet by redoing the existing cabinets. Good luck.
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User
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It sounds like quite an expensive choice that would only be suitable for absolute top quality cabinets, similar to the quality you'd find in fine furniture. It would be a waste of money for most people as they could have put that towards better quality cabinets in a more functional layout.
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I've worked with all kinds of wood, and maple is tricky stuff to work with. It will tend to blotch or not take stain well at all. I found a beautiful little table at auction, completely ignored by everyone because it was covered in gobs of army green paint. But upon close inspection I could see it had details in the turned stem. Once stripped, it even had paw feet! Sweet little antique, my father told me it was hard rock maple. There's a reason it has that name, it is hard as a rock! For $22 I was really happy but when I went to put stain on it did not absorb well at all and looked hideous. I ended up taking sanding it back off and just leaving it nekkid with a protective top coat. ;) I have a Heywood Wakefield BR set that it's good shape structurally but finish has seen better days on top. When I researched refinishing it, I learned (from a guy who specialized in HW restoration) that maple was often covered in what appears to be 'solid' color because of the way it reacts to stains. I'm describing that 40/50's look of seeing little to no wood grain. Leaving my table bare worked well for me, I actually prefer it that way. Probably won't suit your needs, though. I'd google 'staining maple' for more info. Here's one article that offers some good suggestions: Staining and Blending Difficult Woods He has pictures, too ;) I'm personally not in favor of putting stain over any type of poly or varnish. Stain was made to absorb into wood. Applying it on top of varnish or poly means it's sitting on that surface. Just can't see successful long term results, but that's just my humble .02.
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It's hard to advise, but here's my take, also in a hot market. Try to figure out who might be your target buyer. Move-in ready is key for many buyers, especially for younger, dual income couples but also young families. Not to stereotype, but of lot of these buyers have no imagination and are used to what they see on the home buying shows. So, they are turned off by "dated" and, sorry to say that, impressed by relatively obvious improvements. It is actually quite easy to update without breaking the bank. If you google Houzz and appealing to young buyers, or staging for sale, several articles will pop up. Also definitely go to www.apartmenttherapy.com and www.kitchn.com and search for kitchen updates/remodels. For starters, see below. There are more updates in that series. I also have to say that gel stain is probably way easier and faster to work with than paint. So, I'd suggest to gel stain the cabinets, get a wood counter, new sink, new light fixtures, IKEA grundtal shelves. I'd also get rid of the little kitchen cart, and declutter as much as possible. Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen update
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Chiming in w/my very first post here. :) I'm also in the process of updating my dining room. Our oak wood dining set is 26 years old. I considered refinishing it - and would've stained the top and painted bottom black, but the chairs are pretty beat up and I figured after 26 years, it would be okay to buy a new set. :) Love your hutch w/the table set and your fabric is lovely! Can't wait to see your curtains. My drapery fabric is due to arrive today and I am so excited to then be able to choose a paint color. I am finally done prepping my walls after taking 2 weeks to remove floor to ceiling wallpaper from my dining room, foyer and hallway. (ugh!) Once my drapes are done, I plan to convert a low dresser (an old family piece) into a server for my dining room. Love this site and all of the tips and inspiration here. Thanks for the pics! patti
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akrogirl
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I haven't done it, but a good friend went this route last year. Their cabinets used to have a pickled finish and are now a beautiful, rich, medium brown stain. The cabinets were good quality to begin with and they look like new.

I don't know how much it cost, but the whole process was pretty quick and relatively painless.
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hgluckman
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We are planning on going this route. The complication we have is that we also need some new cabinets made to match. We're pretty early in the bid-collection process. The first contractor we were working with wanted way too much for this - I think he wanted to sell us new cabinets. I don't think that this should be too expensive for us, but I'm waiting for the estimates.
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eldemila
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for all the replies, appreciate you all taking the time to answer.

I think this could be a good option if you have solid wood cabinets. I guess cost depends on where one lives and how many people are doing this type of work. I would think this may be the cheapest between refinishing, refacing or replacing. I'm going to email the place I mentioned above and send pictures and ask for a guesstimate.

AKRO, can you find out why your friend chose this route and possibly the cost difference from other options?

hgluckman-I may be in the same situation of needing extra cabinets, but not sure yet. Would love to hear of your progress if you get the chance. What color cabinets do you have and what color are you thinking of changing to. The cabinets in the house are white and I'm thinking of a darker wood with a lighter brown-tone granite.

One of the things I'm going to ask the cabinet person has to do with the hinges. The cabinets have the old hinges that show on the outside, I think they are overlay, or something similar. I want to know if it's possible to change them to inside hinges, ones that don't show.

Hoping others who have gone this route will post some before/after pictures - would love to see what others have done!

Thanks all!
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hgluckman
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Here's a link to the posting I made a week and a half ago about our refinishing project.
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Refinish Kitchen Cabinets? Have you done this?

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