Can I Refinish My Kitchen Cabinets Myself

If you consider yourself to be someone who can take on an advanced home project like refinishing kitchen cabinets then the first thing you need to be aware of is how much time you ll be committing.

Can i refinish my kitchen cabinets myself.

Scuff all the exposed surfaces with a medium grit sandpaper then wipe down all surfaces with a tack cloth. Begin by thoroughly washing grease and wax off the cabinets with tsp and water. If you don t want to change the set up of your cabinets refinishing them can give a dated color or stain a fresh new look without costing you a fortune or putting you and your family through a full scale reno. You don t have to stop there.

If you plan to use paint to refinish your cabinets they will need to be primed first. I would highly recommend that you have a professional company come in and figure out the paint color plus do the work. Wear gloves and clean the sides and faces of the cabinets with a cleaner formulated to remove grease and oils. Given the high cost it is tempting to try to reface your own cabinets.

It will be well worth the investment. Allow time to dry thoroughly. Primers are paint products formulated allow new paint to bond with the old paint below it. The primer seals the wood covering any blemishes stains knots or anything else whose color might leech into the final paint coat.

In addition to the painting tools listed below you ll need basic hand tools plus a drill a handsaw a hot melt glue gun and a vacuum cleaner with a hose and upholstery brush attachment. Remove all the hardware from the cabinets and drawers. We sometimes opt for refinishing cabinets rather than replacing them since we are home flippers. Now experiment with a tinted polyurethane varnish such.

Ballard says you should refinish the cabinets already in your kitchen if the current design is functional. Or you can paint the cabinets with latex paint or even milk paint. Veneering is a tricky exacting process not a job to take on lightly. I recommend paint and a paint gun for most of it.

Next lightly sand and wipe off the dust with a tack cloth. You ll spend a lot of time cleaning sanding and spackling before you can even think about putting on paint for the kitchen cabinet refinishing project. You can use either a spray can from the store or paint and a paint gun. Be very careful when you are spraying not to let any bugs or leaves or dust get into the paint as it is settling.