So, way back when I asked for topic ideas, someone mentioned refinishing cabinets. This is something we haven't done, but we have refinished some other things.
First, it is easier to paint than to stain. Staining is messy and takes lots of prep. It only works well if you can get down to the bare wood (and the wood looks good). On the other hand, painting only takes minimal prep and can be done without removing all the old finish.
So, to paint, you need to first do a light sanding. You want to get the surface matte and clean. Hand sanding works just fine, but if it is a big project, a small random orbital sander speeds everything up (and they aren't that expensive to buy). The one thing you want to avoid is sanding so much that you remove any detail that is in the original item - otherwise you can sand for a while with no issue (i.e. don't sand so much that nothing is left of course).
Once you have it sanded, you need to get it cleaned up. If you got down to old paint or bare wood, you can just wipe or vacuum the dust off. If there is still some finish left, I would recommend TSP to remove any residue that might affect adhesion.
After you have it cleaned, then you need to prime the surface. Some would skip this step, but primer is a lot cheaper than paint! So, take the time and prime. It will make the paint look better in the long run. Between coats, feel the surface. If you are noticing ridges from the brush stokes, you might want to sand a little. This of course is up to you.
Then apply your paint. We normally do two coats of primer and two coats of paint on things, but our coats are fairly thin. I would at least do one of each.
If you wanted to stain, of course you have to get down to the bare wood, which could be a lot more sanding. Then, you have to make sure the wood looks good. Then of course you pre-stain if it is a soft wood like pine, stain, and finish. The number of coats fo stain and finish are dependent on the products you use. We went with gel stain and a poly-crylic for our trim in this course. We ended up with three coats of stain and three coats of finish to get the end product we wanted.
Any questions?
3 comments:
Me! Me! It was me!
Here's my remaining question: does this hold true with older cabinets? Our kitchen has cabinets from the 60s with some horrible veneer on them. I'm afraid it's not going to come off with a hand sander.
Thanks!
I think you can get enough off the surface to paint. Are we talking a wood veneer or the annoying countertop-type laminate? With the countertop stuff, there should be special primer you can buy and use (after a light sanding a cleaning) that will stick. If it is a wood veneer, you just need to get it dull and then prime and paint. Staining veneer can be difficult because you may not be able to sand down enough to get to a clean surface.
It's old, hard core veneer. Thanks for answering!
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