In this video, This Old House host Kevin O’Connor helps a homeowner refinish his kitchen cabinets.

Project details

Skill

Cost

Estimated Time

Steps for refinishing kitchen cabinets

  • Make a sketch of the kitchen cabinets, then identify each door and drawer with a number.
  • Place a small strip of masking tape onto each door and drawer, then mark the strips with the corresponding number shown on the sketch.
  • Use a cordless drill to unscrew all the doors from the cabinets.
  • Unscrew and remove the door hinges.
  • Remove all the drawers from the cabinets.
  • Use a putty knife to scrape any rubber bumpers from the back side of the doors.
  • Unpeel the tape from one of the doors and then scrub its surface with a scouring pad dampened with deglosser. (If any doors or face frames have a coating of greasy, oily residue, wash them clean with hot, soapy water prior to deglossing.)
  • Wipe down the door with a cotton rag soaked in clean water.
  • Dry the door with a clean, dry cotton rag, then flip the door over.
  • Repeat the previous two steps to degloss the back surface of the door.
  • Cover appliances and counters with plastic-lined canvas drop cloths.
  • Use the scouring pad and deglosser to scrub the surfaces of the face frames on the upper and lower cabinets.
  • Wash the face frames clean with a water-soaked rag, then wipe the frames dry.
  • Wait one hour before proceeding.
  • Remove all the drawer faces, then degloss and wash each one.
  • Protect the wall around the cabinets and all other adjacent surfaces with masking tape.
  • Use a 2-inch-wide synthetic-bristle paintbrush to apply the first bond coat to all the cabinet doors, drawers, and face frames.
  • Allow the first bond coat to dry for 2 hours.
  • Flip over the doors and apply a bond coat to their back surfaces. Wait another two hours.
  • Repeat the previous three steps to apply a second bond coat to both sides of each door and to the drawer faces and face frames.
  • Brush on the protective top coat of polyurethane to all surfaces of the doors, drawers, and face frames. Allow the top coat to dry for 12 hours.
  • Screw the hinges back onto the doors, then mount the doors to the cabinets.
  • Install the door pulls.
  • Reattach the drawer faces and slide the drawers back into the cabinets.

Tools

Tools & Materials

  • Cordless drill/driver
  • Screwdriver
  • Putty knife
  • synthetic-bristle paintbrush - 2-inch