Whether or not to apply a sealing top coat to your cabinets is a matter of personal preference. The laminate must be in good condition for best results. We’ve got three young kids so we’re always looking for ways to work efficiently. Emmy-award nominated screenwriter Brynne Chandler is a single mother of three who divides her time between professional research and varied cooking, fitness and home & gardening enterprises. Refinishing veneer cabinets is no different from refinishing solid wood ones. Refinishing Wood Like A Pro Refinishing wood may seem simple; just buy the stain and apply -- but take it from the furniture makeover experts of Hometalk, much can be done to enhance the staining process. Choose a high-quality paint. The cabinet walls are mostly a plastic oak veneer over plywood. Don’t accidentally get carried away and fill in the screw holes, which is a common mistake among first-time refinishers. Now experiment with a tinted polyurethane varnish … However, if the wood underneath your upper cabinets is really thin, you may struggle to sand and paint them without cracking the wood. Be very careful when you remove the hinges, because even good-quality veneer can crack, chip or peel if you treat it roughly. Trim excess veneer flush to front edge of the cabinet. A running enthusiast who regularly participates in San Francisco's Bay to Breakers run, Chandler works as an independent caterer, preparing healthy, nutritious meals for Phoenix area residents. Usually made of wood veneers—which are simply thin slices of real wood laid over cheaper or less attractive wood—antique radio cabinets are a graceful, whimsical and nostalgic addition to any room. Next, lightly sand and wipe off the dust with a tack cloth. Apply a bit of primer to the wood filler so it takes the stain or paint smoothly. Veneer rails and stiles. Next, self-adhesive, peel-and-stick, lightweight, easy to use veneer sheets are cut and pressed onto cabinet stiles and riles. Since veneer is real wood, it is stained in much the same manner as a solid piece of wood… More than once we’ve pulled out the… It is the ability to sand the surface that determines whether you can remove the existing finish. Water-based polyurethane generally is applied with a brush. Before you can refinish veneer cabinets, you must strip off the old finish. Step 4 It’s best to refinish the cabinet frames at the same time you do the doors and drawers. © 2021 Discovery or its subsidiaries and affiliates. Sanding is delicate work when you’re dealing with veneers, so don’t use a hand sander. Attach the drawer fronts to the boxes and then install the drawer pulls. Veneer allows a craftsman to finish a woodworking project with a beautiful exotic wood that might not otherwise be affordable or attainable. Some veneers are so thin that, by sanding the surface, you actually wind up sanding through the veneer at the same time. Several years ago, Roger refinished the two kitchen drawers and the under sink cabinet … Semi-paste or paste strippers are good for veneer because they are gentle on the wood and easy to control, especially with vertical cabinet frames. You’ll find the process is similar to refinishing solid wood cabinets. Our Roadtrek has oak cabinet doors and some oak interior trim. If you do, it will be impossible to stain – well – … Water damaged wood veneer cabinets can usually be repaired without the services of a professional refinisher. Use an 80-grit instead of 120- or 180-grit sandpaper to create a texture in the veneer. Brush with the grain of the wood in short, slow strokes, avoiding drips and bubbles. … Choosing whether to stain or paint veneers depends on the condition of the veneers once they have been stripped. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Attach the doors to the cabinets. Laminate cabinets require a special bonding primer. Place the hinges, door handles, drawer pulls and screws in a bowl or plastic zipper bag so you don’t misplace them. Wood cabinets are ideal for painting, but any surface that can be scuffed with sandpaper can be painted. Fortunately, the preparation is easy and just requires a little sanding and a couple of coats of primer. It is possible to refinish some wood veneer furniture. Veneers can be either painted or stained just as solid wood can. All chemical strippers are caustic, so wear protective gear. https://homeguides.sfgate.com › refinishing-veneer-kitchen-cabinets-36806.html Short of committing to a more costly replacement of outdated kitchen storage, repainting laminate cabinets is an affordable way to turn the eyesore into eye-catching, modern cabinetry. Use a piece of scrap wood to create a jig and use it to create the holes in the cabinet for the hinges. The rails and stiles of a face frame cabinet are the front surfaces of your cabinets, typically 1½” wide with wood grain running … Refacing cabinets with self-stick veneer is a budget-friendly way of giving your kitchen a fresh new look. Small blisters in veneer can usually be flattened with heat. If you notice that your cabinets have veneer stickers on them to make them look like real wood, do not remove them. Generally, water damage, when caught early, will only damage the surface of the veneer. How to Sand & Refinish Cabinets Before Painting Walls, How to Make Cabinets Look Rustic With Paint, How to Refinish Rosewood Furniture With Sanding, University of Arkansas at Monticello: Veneer and Plywood, Utah State University Cooperative Extension: Getting Ready, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension: Removing an Old Finish From Wood, Durability of Thermofoil vs. Wood Cabinets. First, make sure you sand the wood … Starting at the top of the cabinets, use your brush to apply a light layer of gloss to the wood. Then repair any minor … A very light sanding with 120-grit to 180-grit sandpaper will open the grain on the veneer so it takes the stain or paint better. Water-based polyurethane is easy to apply, environmentally friendly and takes well to repeated cleaning. Apply the stripper to a small section of the wood and let it sit according to the manufacturer’s recommended time frame. https://www.hgtv.com › videos › kitchen-cabinet-refacing-with-veneer-61848 Do not attempt to refinish wood veneers … Applying a couple of coats of paint over a veneer finish can give an item a fresh, new look. The lower kitchen cabinets on our 20-year old Roadtrek had some water spots and discoloration. A glue repair works best if you have a piece of veneer that’s an exactfit and matches up with the existing grain. 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