How to Reface Kitchen Cabinets

Have you ever looked at those old, out of style cabinets in your kitchen or bath and thought it would be nice to just tear them completely out and replace them with some nice new custom cabinets?  If you have, I also bet that not long after having this thought that the next thought you had was something to do with how doing such would cost a small fortune.  There is an option that will make those cabinets look brand new at a fraction of the cost of replacement.  Cabinet refacing cost is an option that involves simply applying a new finish to the existing cabinets.  You could hire a professional painter to complete this project and still save quite a bit of money over completely replacing your cabinets.  However, this is a project that can be accomplished easily by even the most novice do it yourself homeowner and doing it yourself is where you can really save thousands of dollars over the cost of cabinet replacement.

First off, I have found that the easiest way to approach a cabinet refacing is to first remove the doors.  The cabinet doors are much easier to refinish when they are laid horizontally on a flat surface.  After you remove the doors, remove the hinges and cabinet pulls.  If you are going to reuse the cabinet hardware, clean it all thoroughly with dish washing liquid and a toothbrush.

After removing all the door hardware (hinges and cabinet pulls), the real fun can now begin.  All surfaces must be cleaned thoroughly using a good industrial strength cleaner which will remove any greasy residue that may have accumulated on the surfaces.

Once the surface is completely clean, you are ready to begin preparing the surface for the new finish.  If your intent is to apply a new coat of stain to the cabinets, then you will need to remove the present finish from the wood.  Today, there are many environmentally safe paint and stain removers that also have a much more pleasant odor than those of earlier years, but still do a great job of removing even the toughest finishes.  If you are going this route than the general instruction would be to apply the paint and stain remover per directions on the container followed by a good sanding prior to refinishing.

If you are applying a painted finish to the your cabinets, you do not need to completely remove the present surface.  After cleaning, lightly sand the surface in order to dull the old finish which provides a good surface for the adherence of the new paint.

Now that the cabinets are lightly sanded, be sure to remove all the dust from the sanding.  Then apply two coats of a high quality primer allowing at least 24 hours between each coat and also doing a light sanding between coats.

Once the second coat of primer is dry, it is now time to start to see the results of your labor.  Again, apply two coats of a high quality finish paint designed specifically for cabinets and trim, following the same procedures you used for the primer.

Once the final finish coat has dried for the required twenty four hours, you can reattach the old hardware if you desire, or if you purchased new hinges, drawer pulls, and cabinet pulls in order to provide a more up to date look, attach the new hardware.  After the hardware is on, hang the newly resurfaced doors and your cabinet refacing is complete.