# Any Advise for Tired Cabinets?



## triple D (Feb 5, 2008)

(This is the wife here...  I'm sick of my cabinets, but my husband says no to any big spending so I'm wondering if anyone can give me some ideas for them... The house was built in 1989, and the cabinets are original if that helps.  Can I paint them or stain them or what...? I don't think it's _real_ wood. Here is what they look like:  It's not letting me upload the "good" picture of them, (it's too big or something) so here's a not so good one, but hopefully you can tell what I'm dealing with). 
Thank you for any help!


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## travelover (Feb 5, 2008)

You might try staining the worn areas then clean them up with a furniture polish.


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## TheFentonGuy (Feb 5, 2008)

Ours in our 1955 cape are painted white.  I was thinking of getting them back to natural wood.  Wish we could swap!


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## guyod (Feb 5, 2008)

I'm with you i can't stand those builders grade oak cabinets.. They look so cheap. The only thing i used on them is a sledge hammer. 

If i had to i would try a darker stain and if that doesnt look right then white paint. 

A good idea would be to convert a set of doors into glass doors Then use the old door to test on.


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## triple D (Feb 7, 2008)

Thanks to all for your input! I like the idea of trying a darker stain, I'm just afraid of messing it up and ending up worse off than I started  I'll put a picture on of whatever I end up doing...


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## guyod (Feb 8, 2008)

Thats why i suggested a test area or door created by the glass doors.  just a thought


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## travelover (Feb 8, 2008)

triple D said:


> Thanks to all for your input! I like the idea of trying a darker stain, I'm just afraid of messing it up and ending up worse off than I started  I'll put a picture on of whatever I end up doing...



It is not clear from the photo, but I assume your concern is the worn areas. I have fixed cabinets similar to this by finding a stain close to the original color and just staining the worn areas. Then cover it with something to protect the new stain.


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## ToolGuy (Feb 9, 2008)

They are real wood, or at least the doors are. 

You can't stain over varnish. A better way to go would be as follows:

Any areas where the varnish has worn through, sand with 120 grit sandpaper to get it clean. Then stain those spots with... (looks like Golden Oak or Honey Maple) whatever closely matches. Then touch up the varnish with Minwax fast drying semigloss or satin varnish. You may have to touch up the varnish a second time to get the shine right. Or you could lightly sand the entire surfaces and give it a whole new fresh coat of varnish. If you don't clean and sand the surfaces first, the varnish will flake off later, so don't skip that step.

If you want them darker, you could use a tinted varnish, also known as stain/varnish in one. Minwax is a good brand for this.


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## triple D (Feb 9, 2008)

Is the stain/varnish a better option in your opinion, than staining and varnishing in two different steps? Also, if I do the stain/varnish in one and find it to need more shine, would I then use just varnish or do I do another coat of the stain/varnish?   ~ Thanks


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## SW_Kitchen & Bath Inc. (Feb 10, 2008)

That is right, you cant stain over varnish...not sure exactly what your goal is but you could do allot following Tool Guy's advice on the face frames & skins, and just replace the doors with new ones w/new hardware of course, also look at replacing whatever trim you have in the way of moulding.

However...it isnt all that unlikely that you will discover that the pains of refacing your old cabinets along with the time and energy involved as well as the expense is about equal to just replacing them altogether, which of course would allow you the option of customizing your look and optimizing your storage space as well.

Good Luck.


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## Hack (Feb 11, 2008)

I think the above ideas are on the right track.  We're in about the same place with our kitchen cabinets, and we're not ready to remodel the kitchen yet, so we're considering paint.  That should get us an extra couple of years out of them before we can't stand them again...

Good Luck!


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## AU_Prospector (Feb 11, 2008)

We painted everything.  The top cabinets we painted an off white like a creamy marshmallow and the lower cabinets we painted a rich rosewood color.  All hardware was removed and spraypainted flat black.  This lasted for 9 years until we sold the home with only an occassional touch up here and there. 

1) everything must be as clean as possible.  Any oil or grit and the semi gloss latex paint wasnt going to stick.  We used murphy's oil soap for this. 

2) all doors and drawers were removed for easier access.  Inside, we painted everything a flat ceiling type of white latex paint.  Outside took 3 coats with a fine hair top quality brush. 

Our cabinets were an early 70's dark walnut stained, but made of real wood and UGLY!!.  It was painfull and a lot of work, but worth it.  No way we would have made back the money spent on new cabinets even after 9 years.  Not one prospective home buyer commented on the painted cabinets.  No central A/C and single pane windows got plenty of comments, but not those marshmallow and rosewood painted cabinets!!!


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## triple D (Feb 11, 2008)

Thank you for all your input...I'm "not allowed"  to replace doors or anything of that magnitude. We're planning to sell in about 2 years and my hubby's thinking is they've been good enough for us so they're good enough for the next owners! (I just hear, "Cheap, cheap...) I guess I'll go the sand and stain route and see how they turn out...I can handle the hard work.


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## ToolGuy (Feb 12, 2008)

Be sure and let us know how it works out. And of course, we're open to any and all further questions you may have. 

As for the stain/varnish, you could do that. Just be careful of any drips or such, as they will show up more so than with regular varnish. Use a natural bristle brush and apply just a thin coat at a time. 

If it's not shiny enough but the color is right, you can use regular varnish of the desired sheen for the final coat. Of course, if you want it a little darker, you can could use the stain/varnish for further coats as well. It's all optional.

Be sure to sand and clean off the dust between coats, to remove the grit and dust particles that always seem to find their way to the wet varnish.


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## guyod (Feb 12, 2008)

Instead of a brush you might want to try a lambskin applicator. its pricy but will not leave any brush marks


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## jack3140 (Feb 17, 2008)

they are wood alright  you can tell by the grain  if you want a real nice job strip them to bare wood and restain  i think they would come out very nice


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## TylerDurden1984 (Apr 4, 2008)

I'm remodeling my kitchen and I'm covering it the cabinets in hammered copper panels.  I'm also using plain copper for the countertops.  I think it will look great I'm getting them from this website.
stormcopperstore.com/hammered-copper-sheet.html There are several different styles I'm using the NY for my cabinets and backsplash for my stove.  They just glue on with silicone so it's pretty easy to do...


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## trythis (Apr 6, 2008)

There is a product called "cabinet magic" that I found at Home Depot and it is a great cabinet cleaner/polisher.  You won't believe what the rag will look like when you are done.  I would suggest adding some hardware/drawer pulls.


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## ayeshaa (May 2, 2008)

I came across an article on Ezine, seems similar to the problem you have quited ..skim through it, it might be of some help ..good luck
here is the article >> http://ezinearticles.com/?Updating-Your-Tired-Kitchen-Cabinets&id=310118

kitchencountertopspot.com


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