How to Refinish Kitchen Cabinets Like a Pro

Refurbishing kitchen cabinet is the best way to add value to the appearance of your home. Setting up and modernizing kitchen cabinets can bring out an excellent change to your kitchen. There are several ways to adopt when refurbishing kitchen cabinet. For the best results, follow these tips.

Assemble Your Stock

You should project well in advance and plan your project in a way that all required material and other tools are assembled. If you live near a home improvement storehouse, accessing stock can be even easier.  

The following are basic supplies you will require to refinish kitchen cabinets.

Hand operated tools which include screwdrivers, a hammer, sand blocks, scrapers, rags, and sponges.
• Painter’s adhesive tape – to distinguish between areas to be painted and those to be avoided.
• Availability of newspapers, drop cloths and other related materials that help in protecting the nearby surfaces.
• Quality brushes or paint sprayer that is ideal for the type of finish you intend to have. Buy brushes with good strokes for a better finish from reputable vendors.

Preparing the Surface

1. Remove all the cabinet components prior to commencing your work. It will give you an easy time to clean inside an empty cabinet.
2. Detach all shelves and doors from the cabinet.
• Most shelves are easy to remove supports except the more complex ones which you will need a screwdriver. Carefully remove screws to avoid damaging their threads.
• Place and place the cabinet doors in an organized framework on the floor for easy identification.
3. Give your cabinets a vigorous clean to remove traces of grease that could distort the final finish.
• The recommended cleaning product for a perfect job is TPS because it has a strong concentration that can easily clean and remove weighty grease deposits.
• Using the sandpaper, evenly sand out any rough surfaces to ensure that they are smooth and even. This step is a determining factor for a prime finish.
• Then, clean the wood with a tack cloth to remove any dust particles and allow it to dry. If using an oil-based product, you can use a piece of cloth that is dipped into mineral spirits or thinner to ensure that it dries off faster.

4. In case you are not replacing the hardware (hinges, knobs, handles etc.), cleaning them will be essential as it will add value to your cabinet’s look. Immerse the hardware in warm soapy water solution for 30 minutes before lightly scouring them with a soft brush. Rinse well with clean water, and allow them to dry before applying your polish.  

5. In order to reinstate the glory of the hardware, it is important to strip off the paint that might have unnecessarily before.

• Place the hardware in a Crockpot and pour water on top. Add 2 tablespoons of the liquid soap and then subject it to medium heat for a minimum of 8 hours. Thereafter, cautiously remove the hardware and brush off the paint.
• For quick results, use methylene chloride solution which has the capability of removing the paint faster. This should be spread directly to the hardware in an aerated environment while putting on safety gear. Allow 10 minutes before scrapping the gel with a plastic putty knife.
• Clean the hardware with a firm toothbrush to prevent the paint from hardening again.
• Using a beeswax, polish the surface to protect it and repeat the process every 6 months.

6. Using wood putty, fill indentations, fragments, and scratches and then sandpaper the putty after it dries. Using a tack cloth, clean the wooden surface to remove dust particles and allow drying.

Priming and Painting

1. When using paint as a finisher, you will have to prime the cabinets first.  Primers are paint products made to allow new paint to bond well with the surface. Prime closes the pores in the wood covering stains and knots whose color could interfere with the final coat of the paint.

2. Apply the paint and transform your cabinets as follows.
• When you can, use a sprayer for the best finish as it produces a smooth, glossy and uniform appearance.
• Apply new paint or vanish using a quality brush while considering the time limit and specified directions.
• In case you are re-vanishing your cabinets, you should use a marine vanish which is more water resistant.

Having followed the above steps, you can be assured of a quality job on refinishing kitchen cabinets like a pro.

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