Re-furbishing Kitchen Cabinets

[newbad]

We have a long list of home improvement type projects, one of them being the kitchen cabinets. Our cabinets are from the late 70's. They are structurally in good shape. However the stain is just ugly, and dirty (mainly w/ grease marks from hands). I was thinking of possibly removing the doors, sanding everything down and re-staining in a darker color.

Realistically how much work is this and is this do-able. The doors would be easy, since they come off and all. But sanding the actual cabinets... seems like a huge task. I would want to do it all in a day or two cause I need to be able to use the kitchen still. Is this realistic? How much money would this cost? We were also thinking of replacing the counter top? Possibly placing something new over the old and putting in a new sink? Does this sound like a bad idea? Or should we take out the old and buy a new one? Can someone w/ no experience do this? (I do have access to my dad and FIL for assistance and they have experience, but they also want to do it THEIR way and I want to make sure it is the right way, YK).

I want to produce the least amount of waste, and do it the most economically sound way.

[greenlace]

as far as the cabinets go are they solid wood or a type of pressed/particle wood? if they are solid i would go for it. if you don't have a good electric sander, rent one from your nearest hardware store. it's pretty cheap to do the cabinets, just a lot of work. make sure you sand them WELL, because when refinishing wood it's all about the prep, not the paint. my dh is a journeyman painter so i've done many projects with him. another important part is to sand lightly between coats of paint. VERY IMPORTANT. i cannot stress this step enough. it is the difference between a professional looking paint job and one that looks like you spray-painted it. (and spray paint can look great, IF you sand between coats!) also make sure they dry between coats or again it will look like a bad nail polish job. your total cost for the sanding rental, sand paper, paint should be no more than $100. less if you find paint on sale and/or are thrifty.

another tip when painting cabinets: start at the top and paint down in one long stroke. if you don't have enough paint on your brush to make it to the bootom, using a light touch, get more paint and use the flat part of the brush (not the bristle part), finish the stroke.

i wouldn't reccomend putting new countertop over old. bad idea. in the long run it would be more ceonomical to tear out the old. if you don't have experience with countertops you could run into all sorts of problems like warping, welting, rot etc. check out a book from your library or search the net. do some reasearch. replacing countertops can be pretty staightforward. again it's all about the prep work. tear out will be the hardest and most time-consuming part. depnding on the material you choose, it could be fairly cheap to put in new countertops. buthcher block and tile are the cheapest in my area. tile is harder to install and maintain. stainless steel is reasonable too.

i hope i helped and didn't overwhelm you! doing it yourself is a great way to save money and be ecological!

[newbad]

How would I know if it was pressed particle wood? I think the insides are???? Not for sure about the outsides. They seem pretty solid.

When you sand inbetween, do you do it on a different setting, don't press down as hard?

If they are the pressed particle wood, can I possibly still sand them down and then paint them a "color" instead of re-staining?? Possibly as a short-term fix (2-3 years).

Thank you!

[MomToKandE]

You can definitely paint the cabinets. Even if the cabinet doors are real wood there may be laminates and such used for trim pieces so I'm not sure about staining.

Look for prefab countertops at your local home improvement store. Depending on the shape/size of your kitchen you may be able to get prefab countertops pretty cheap.

Putting in a new sink should be easy enough if you're handy. If you're willing to put in the work you can do a nice kitchen facelift without spending a lot of $$.

[newbad]

I would still need to sand everything to paint, right?? I think I might just paint, because I'm unsure of the actual material, and I would hate to get into it and then everything look like crap. LOL

We have access to a relative that it a electrician and apprenticed for 2 years in plumbing first. So I would use that resource for the sink and all. We have a gift card for $500, and I was hoping to use that.

I'm going to look into the pre-fab counters. Would a tile backsplash by hard??

[greenlace]

Originally Posted by newbad

How would I know if it was pressed particle wood? I think the insides are???? Not for sure about the outsides. They seem pretty solid.

When you sand inbetween, do you do it on a different setting, don't press down as hard?

If they are the pressed particle wood, can I possibly still sand them down and then paint them a "color" instead of re-staining?? Possibly as a short-term fix (2-3 years).

Thank you!

if they are pressed wood your only option would be to paint them.you can't exactly stain pressed wood! my friends just painted their pressed wood cabinets a beautiful red color...they look great!

sand them normally and use a medium even pressure for the initial sanding, and a light, even pressure for the in-between sandings.

if you paint them well your cabinets will hold up for much longer then 2-3 years. 10 years or more if you take good care of them and use the right paint. (oil based enamel looks best and holds up the longest on cabinets....it will withstand grimy oily hands, soapy water washes and even light touchups if they get dinged or scratched badly). i would not reccomend latex paint for cabinets.....you might as well not paint them at all. evr scrubbed a cabinet door and had paint on your sponge? rest assured it was latex paint.

sinks are easy and actually kind of fun to install. make sure that you buy the proper caulking for the joints or they will quickly wear away and you will find a very leaky sink. follow all directions for the caulking so it "sets up" properly.

[mightymoo]

Originally Posted by newbad

I would still need to sand everything to paint, right?? I think I might just paint, because I'm unsure of the actual material, and I would hate to get into it and then everything look like crap. LOL

We have access to a relative that it a electrician and apprenticed for 2 years in plumbing first. So I would use that resource for the sink and all. We have a gift card for $500, and I was hoping to use that.

I'm going to look into the pre-fab counters. Would a tile backsplash by hard??

If you are painting, you probably don't need to sand quite so much, but you want to sand to create a rough surface for the paint to stick to for sure.

Tile backsplashes are pretty easy, we installed one in our old home when prepping for sale. Especially if you are only doing like one tile high and don't have a lot of spots you'll need to cut (we didn't)

[greenlace]

Originally Posted by newbad

I would still need to sand everything to paint, right?? I think I might just paint, because I'm unsure of the actual material, and I would hate to get into it and then everything look like crap. LOL

We have access to a relative that it a electrician and apprenticed for 2 years in plumbing first. So I would use that resource for the sink and all. We have a gift card for $500, and I was hoping to use that.

I'm going to look into the pre-fab counters. Would a tile backsplash by hard??

no it shouldn't be too hard.....tile is pretty easy as long as you're meticulous about keeping the cement OFF the tile!!! you might need to rent a tile saw from the hardware store. renting tools is pretty cheap...$20 per day or so. you can even rent them by the hour which is cheaper if you only need to cut a little bit of tile etc etc


have fun!!! i'm excited for you and your kitchen!

[Leta]

You can tell if your cabinets are particle board by gouging them. Pick an inconspicuous place- not a shelf or the bottom of a drawer, but the actual cabinet, and take a metal nail file with a pointed tip to it. Pick, stab, gouge an area no bigger than the size of a dime. If it is easy to do, and small chunks that resemble sawdust come off, then you have particle board. :

OTOH, if it's fairly hard to do, and you get splinters of wood, you have solid wood cabinets.

Either way, you can fill in your gouge with wood putty, sand and paint over it. However, as a word of warning, painting particle board, in my experience, has been WAY more trouble than it's worth. I wouldn't bother unless the cabinets are solid wood.

As for countertops, DO NOT attempt to install new over old. Whoever suggested this to you should have a price on their head paid for by the Carhart Mafia. Even if you need to hire it done, have the old countertops removed. If you really can't afford new countertops, get some contac paper, some clear coat rubber cement, and take your time covering your ugly old counters. I did this in apartments with good results.

Butcher block is inexpensive, attractive, and highly functional. If you get it, budget and plan for having it resanded every couple of years or so. Do not waste your money on granite countertops. If you can afford the look of stone, and want the durability and usefullness, investigate quartz or quartz composite counters. They are a fraction of the price of granite, and, even as a builder's daughter, I can't tell the difference.

Good Luck!

[newbad]

WOOT! I'm getting all excited about this now. Thanks for all of the helpful hints. I'm thinking that I'll actually be able to do this. I'm getting all kinds of good advice. I'm adding this stuff to my list.

Now we don't have handles on the cabinet doors. Would putting handles on the drawers/cabinets prevent some of the grime or do you think they will go un-used? We have never actually had cabinets w/ them...

Our neighbors have a whole garage full of tools that they don't use, I bet they will have what I need. LOL

[greenlace]

definitely get handles/knobs/hardware!!!

if you have them they will be used. they are really an inexpensive way to really snaz up your cabinets. again it is the difference between professional and unprofessional looking cabinets.

[MomToKandE]

Originally Posted by newbad

I would still need to sand everything to paint, right?? I think I might just paint, because I'm unsure of the actual material, and I would hate to get into it and then everything look like crap. LOL
...

I'm going to look into the pre-fab counters. Would a tile backsplash by hard??

Yeah, you'll still have to sand but the pp was right that you won't have to sand as much. You just need to rough up the finish so the paint will stick.

A tile backsplash won't be too hard. There may be easier options though. The Lowe's ad we got today had some formed plastic panels that looked like pressed tin. I'm thinking about something like that to snaz up our kitchen.

[teacup]

Originally Posted by Leta

...As for countertops, DO NOT attempt to install new over old. Whoever suggested this to you should have a price on their head paid for by the Carhart Mafia...

Ha! "Carhart Mafia" cracks me up. I think I know some card-carrying members.

I helped paint some cabinets recently and I think the most time consuming part was taking everything off: hinges on the door and the cabinet portions, as well as the hardware. And someone probably said this (I skimmed some above), but make sure you number or label all your doors as you take them off.

I'm envious that you are doing this. I've wanted to for ages and haven't had the guts. I'm not afraid of painting or of color, but I tend to start with gusto and peter out quickly.

[annethcz]

Painting will take awhile, so be prepared.

Our kitchen is from the 60's. At some point in the past, a previous owner painted the cabinets and replaced the countertops. Last summer I repainted, and it was a huge PITA. You need to remove the doors, and it can be a struggle to get them hung back up correctly. Also plan on at least 3 coats for good coverage. Believe me, you want to do it right the first time. Also remember that if you're planning to paint both the front and back sides of the doors, you'll need to plan for extra drying time- you can't paint both sides at the same time

All of this said, I hate the way my cabinets turned out. It looked good to start with, but even with high quality paint, and doing a pretty good job of it, the paint is already chipping a year later. So I think I'm going to bite the bullet and sand them down this summer. I'd much prefer the look of wood to painted cabinets. I'm planning to borrow a vibrating sander to take the paint off. It will be almost impossible for me to get the paint off of the decorative trim pieces, so I'm going to replace those.

Good luck making the decision!

[HappiLeigh]

Hmmm, I don't know about the staining, but I know painting is do-able! I took all mine down a few years ago and cleaned them really well, then lightly sanded (not very labor-intensively, just roughed them up a little bit), then painted them white, rehung them with new shiny hardware, and they looked great!