Refinishing Cabinets

Recently I got motivated and decided to refinish my oak cabinets. It was much more difficult then I thought it would be- but very rewarding in the end. I wanted to share the steps with you and give you some before and after photos so you can tackle it yourself if you choose.

Before

After

Step 1- Rough up your cabinets with sand paper to allow the primer to have a surface to bond to and remove cabinet doors and drawer fronts from hinges.
Step 2- Spray 2 heavy lacquer primer coats, sanding between each coat to get rid of grains in oak.

Step 3-Spray oil enamel based paint of your choosing. We used Sherwin Williams Divine White.

Step 4- Make sure that doors are dry and free of drip marks, then apply glaze of your choice with a painters rag.

You can also give your cabinets a major boost by removing the old crown and adding new, more substantial crown moulding. I purchased the above crown moulding at Lowes and added new hardware to make them really look custom. One important note is we did not paint the insides of the cabinet. Don't worry, it looks fine. I had my electrician install under cabinet lights which also turned out nice. I think the total cost for the refacing ran about $2000 for materials and labor but you should save on that if you do the majority of the work yourself. Remember, the kitchen is the heart of the home and the main area that helps sell the home if you ever decide to do so. So if you are looking for a place to invest a little bit, this is the place. Happy renovating and let me know if I can lend any advice.