Refinishing your kitchen cabinets is one of the best ways to give your kitchen a big style upgrade without spending a lot of money. With a little effort, you can transform your kitchen without a full renovation.
For a DIY cabinet refinish you may have to invest some time, but you’ll be thrilled with the result. Follow these steps to refinish your cabinets:
Clean The Cabinets
Always clean the cabinets before you start the refinishing process. Even if they look relatively clean, there could be grease or debris on them. The primer won’t adhere to the cabinets if they are dirty or greasy.
Use a heavy kitchen degreaser and a scrub pad to clean all the cabinets. Get into the grooves and ridges as well. Then wipe them off with a clean rag soaked in water. This step may seem tedious, but it’s essential.
Protect Counters And Floors
Once your cabinets have been thoroughly cleaned, cover the floors and counters so that you don’t scratch them or get paint on them while refinishing the cabinets. Use rosin paper to cover the counters, and drop cloths to protect the floor. It’s a good idea to use painter’s tape or masking tape to secure the covers so they don’t slide.
Remove Doors and Hardware
Next, remove all the doors and hardware from the cabinets. That means removing all the nobs, pulls, and hinges. Keep everything in marked sandwich bags or small jars so you can easily put them back on later.
Sand the Surfaces
Once everything is removed, you need to sand the cabinet surfaces to scuff them up. Scuffing them with sandpaper will give the primer something to adhere to. Just make sure you don’t scratch the surfaces. After you have scuffed them, vacuum the surfaces and use a tack cloth to wipe them. That will remove any dust or grit from the sandpaper.
Mask Off The Edges
Use painter’s tape or masking tape to seal off the edges of the cabinets and anything you don’t want to get paint on. This step can be time consuming, but it will make a big difference in the finished look of the cabinets.
Prime the Cabinets
Using primer and a fine angle brush, “cut in” where your kitchen cabinets meet the ceiling, wall, or floor. After cutting in the edges using your brush use a 4″ mini roller with a foam sleeve to minimize the brush marks. Let the first coat dry completely, and then do another one.
Wood Surface Repairs
After primer but before painting, you should take some time to fix any wood defects you might find. Use wood filler to fill in any small nail holes, cracks, chips, or other defects in the wood. Sand the wood filler down to create a smooth surface after it has dried.
Apply the Paint
Once any defects in the wood cabinets have been fixed and the wood filler is dry, it’s time to paint. Use the same method that you used to apply the primer. Cut in around the edges of the cabinets, then switch to a small roller and apply the paint. Wait until the first coat is completely dry, then apply a second coat.
Remove All The Tape
It’s a good idea to wait a full 24 hours after you paint to remove the tape around the edges of the cabinets and remove the cover from the counters. Pick up the drop cloths too. Then, you can put back the hinges and hardware and enjoy your new kitchen look.
Not A DIY Fan? Let Frankenstein Refinishing Help You Today!
If the DIY cabinet refinishing process is too much for you, or you want to transform your kitchen fast, let our team at Frankenstein Refinishing help. We’ll refinish your cabinets and give your kitchen a modern style upgrade without any hassle today! Contact us on our website or call us at tel:(508) 544 -9800.
