Cabinet Stripping And Restaining

Wipe cabinets with deglosser.

Cabinet stripping and restaining.

Unless you re replacing the hardware cleaning it will help give your cabinets a fresher look. And the sanding and stripping are just not fun for me. It s one of my favorite things to do. Follow the instructions on the stripping agent to remove that first layer of tacky finish.

If you want to take your cabinets to a lighter tone for example staining oak cabinets gray or giving them a stylish bleached look there is unfortunately no quick and easy option. Wait 10 minutes and then scrape off the softened lacquer with a putty knife starting at the top and. Lightly scuff the clean dried existing finish with a synthetic sanding pad or 220 grit sandpaper. Use a bristle attachment on a vacuum to remove all of the dust.

Clean the existing finish with minwax wood cabinet cleaner to remove dirt and grime. To achieve those effects you ll need to commit to a full scale campaign of stripping sanding and refinishing from scratch. Allow cabinets to dry in dust free environment. Using painter s tape i prefer frogtape tape off wall and floor surfaces where you do not want stain.

Denatured alcohol mixed with water 50 50 mix on a fine grit sanding sponge will remove all oils grime and take the edge off the old finish to help you prepare the cabinets. I mean who likes doing that. Clean the cabinet hardware. This is the same process for prepping cabinets to paint.

Apply gel stripper with a paintbrush to one or two cabinet door sets at a time any more and the gel will dry out. If the cabinets have a waxy or thick finish then house beautiful recommends apply a stripping agent such as turpentine over the surfaces. Let the gel sit for 10 minutes or so until you see that the surface has bubbled and softened. This can reveal divots and deep scratches which will need to be filled with a wood filler.

You will need to clean off and remove years worth of residue oils and grime in order to fully prepare the cabinet surface for stain. Paint a light coat of stripper onto the face of one cabinet one drawer and one door at a time. Okay so let s talk about how to restain wood without stripping. Drape drop cloths to prevent drips from staining your floors.

Soak the hardware in a soapy water solution for 30 minutes scrub lightly with a soft brush rinse let dry and apply polish. I just want to get the fun part painting making beautiful etc.