The question of how to strip and refinish kitchen cabinets has been raised several times in many home improvement forums in which I am an active participant. What I have realized is that there is no best answer to this question. So as you read below, keep in mind that there are many other ways to do this.
stripping kitchen cabinets
Stripping is a big hurdle for anyone looking to refinish kitchen cabinets. It’s a painful and very time consuming process, especially if you want to get to the bare wood of the cabinets. The starting point is to remove the old paint from the frames and sides of the cabinet.
You can strip using a product called Park’s Furniture Refinisher. Simply rub the wood with restorer-soaked steel wool until you get the color you want, then wipe clean. You can also remove it by sanding with coarse-grit sandpaper. You just have to be careful, as cabinets made years ago tend to have lead paint. That is why it is recommended that you do this outside or have some personal protection such as coveralls, goggles, rubber chemical gloves, hat, and cartridge respirator.
One thing to note here is that no matter how hard you try to remove, it can be difficult to remove all of the varnish. In this case, you can use sanding methods. Try not to start sanding until all the paint is gone. Use an orbital sander to make sure all the paint is removed.
Finishing Kitchen Cabinets
Since the question is how to remove and restore kitchen cabinets, let’s now briefly look at the refinishing part. Once you’ve finished stripping and sanding them down to the bare wood, you may need to first fill some of the holes that meet with wood putty.
Once this is done, you are ready to finish the cabinets. You have a variety of options that you can use to redress your cabinets. For example, you can restore them with polyurethane or a coat of minwax or even a cherry stain.
The reality is that all of this is tedious work. For one thing, if you choose to take the cabinets apart for disassembly and restoration, you may run into problems trying to put them back together due to moving houses.