Tim wrote:



All of the posters' suggestions have been helpful. The cabinets are wood
and have a light stain on them. They are slightly "glossy" but I don't
know how to tell whether that is polyurethane or shellac.

I have to watch it, as I'm English, so terminology problems abound...
Assuming your shellac is the same stuff I'm thinking of (used in French
Polish), then meths will dissolve it, whereas it won't touch polyurethane.

Put some on a white rag and rub an inconspicuous bit of the cupboard - if
cloth goes brown, it's probably shellac - or you haven't cleaned your
kitchen in 30 years ;-)

Basically,
they have scratches on the surface that don't go beneath the outer
coating but they make the cabinets look pretty beat up. I figure that
with some sort of new finish and new door handles that they would look
alright.

Thanks again.

Hmm - sounds like they'd be a good candidate for rejuvenation - considering
the rubbish that's sold these day - real wood cabinets cost a bomb, at
least over here. A light sand and re-varnish might be enough to spruce them
up. If you feel like more work, strip and re-finish - as you say, fitting
new knobs will help - that's becoming popular here with various fancy and
traditional style knobs and handles being sold for exactly that purpose.
Painting is definitely a quick fix that will look alright - and doesn't
stop you stripping and doing something else later.

Good luck

Tim (in the UK)