Hi all,

We live in a 12 year old house with Merillat 'spring oak' cabinets.
They are in fine condision except fo the finish. In some parts the
finish is worn off and the wood has begun to discolor from water and
in other parts there is just the usual wear and tear.

Because the basic box of the cabinets are fine, I was wondering what a
reface involves. Obviously new doors, but what about the faces and
frames?

I'm no stranger to wood so I'd consider doing it myself. Can anyone
point me to a good resource?

Or...

If we decide to paint, what (specifically) paint should be used and
what techniques to paint the cabinet parts that are mounted to the
house to avoid overspray?

Thanks all!

I just refinished all the cabinets in my house. I sanded the really bad
cabinets down to bare wood and the others I used 220 . I hired a refinisher
to apply the stain and spray the lacquer finish coat. The refinisher was
able to match the stain perfectly and you can't tell what was sanded to bare
wood and what was only scuff sanded with 220.

The lesson I learned was to keep water away from the cabinets and to install
knobs on the doors and drawers. The refinisher told me after he was done
that resurfacing veneer can begin to peel over time.
Ron


"Mr. Bill" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,

We live in a 12 year old house with Merillat 'spring oak' cabinets.
They are in fine condision except fo the finish. In some parts the
finish is worn off and the wood has begun to discolor from water and
in other parts there is just the usual wear and tear.

Because the basic box of the cabinets are fine, I was wondering what a
reface involves. Obviously new doors, but what about the faces and
frames?

I'm no stranger to wood so I'd consider doing it myself. Can anyone
point me to a good resource?

Or...

If we decide to paint, what (specifically) paint should be used and
what techniques to paint the cabinet parts that are mounted to the
house to avoid overspray?

Thanks all!

"Ron" wrote in message .com...
I just refinished all the cabinets in my house. I sanded the really bad
cabinets down to bare wood and the others I used 220 . I hired a refinisher
to apply the stain and spray the lacquer finish coat. The refinisher was
able to match the stain perfectly and you can't tell what was sanded to bare
wood and what was only scuff sanded with 220.

The lesson I learned was to keep water away from the cabinets and to install
knobs on the doors and drawers. The refinisher told me after he was done
that resurfacing veneer can begin to peel over time.
Ron


"Mr. Bill" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,

We live in a 12 year old house with Merillat 'spring oak' cabinets.
They are in fine condision except fo the finish. In some parts the
finish is worn off and the wood has begun to discolor from water and
in other parts there is just the usual wear and tear.

Because the basic box of the cabinets are fine, I was wondering what a
reface involves. Obviously new doors, but what about the faces and
frames?

I'm no stranger to wood so I'd consider doing it myself. Can anyone
point me to a good resource?

Or...

If we decide to paint, what (specifically) paint should be used and
what techniques to paint the cabinet parts that are mounted to the
house to avoid overspray?

Thanks all!

I painted my kitchen cabinets with kitchen, bath and vanity paint. I
cleaned and primed them first. I LOVE them. My mother recently
hired someone to do the same with hers. Gorgeous. Wood is lovely.
Over time, I found I grew tired of it. Painting gives such a fresh
new look. I would _not_ reface. It's over rated, you pay more for
what you're NOT getting, and the few that I've seen I have not been at
all impressed with. Good luck with whatever your choice.

"Ron" wrote in message .com...
I just refinished all the cabinets in my house. I sanded the really bad
cabinets down to bare wood and the others I used 220 . I hired a refinisher
to apply the stain and spray the lacquer finish coat. The refinisher was
able to match the stain perfectly and you can't tell what was sanded to bare
wood and what was only scuff sanded with 220.

The lesson I learned was to keep water away from the cabinets and to install
knobs on the doors and drawers. The refinisher told me after he was done
that resurfacing veneer can begin to peel over time.
Ron


"Mr. Bill" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,

We live in a 12 year old house with Merillat 'spring oak' cabinets.
They are in fine condision except fo the finish. In some parts the
finish is worn off and the wood has begun to discolor from water and
in other parts there is just the usual wear and tear.

Because the basic box of the cabinets are fine, I was wondering what a
reface involves. Obviously new doors, but what about the faces and
frames?

I'm no stranger to wood so I'd consider doing it myself. Can anyone
point me to a good resource?

Or...

If we decide to paint, what (specifically) paint should be used and
what techniques to paint the cabinet parts that are mounted to the
house to avoid overspray?

Thanks all!

Sorry, I missed your last paragraph. I used a small roller to do my
cabinets. To avoid paint getting on the walls I just used painter's
tape. The paint I used did not recommend spraying. I wouldn't
recommend it either unless you plan on covering every surface of your
kitchen. The hardest part of painting cabinets is cleaning and
priming --- really.

clipped
Or...

If we decide to paint, what (specifically) paint should be used and
what techniques to paint the cabinet parts that are mounted to the
house to avoid overspray?

Thanks all!


I painted my kitchen cabinets with kitchen, bath and vanity paint. I
cleaned and primed them first. I LOVE them. My mother recently
hired someone to do the same with hers. Gorgeous. Wood is lovely.
Over time, I found I grew tired of it. Painting gives such a fresh
new look. I would _not_ reface. It's over rated, you pay more for
what you're NOT getting, and the few that I've seen I have not been at
all impressed with. Good luck with whatever your choice.

We recently refaced our cabs and got new doors,drawers, counters and
sink. Other appliances as the old ones expire ) They were
built-in-place wood cabinets; good "bones" but dark ugly exteriors. We
used the old hardware on the new stuff, and looks great, as the design
and lines are almost identical. It cost a bundle, but we have great
cabinets. If we had torn them out and bought new, I doubt we would have
the same overall quality for anything close to the same price. We
contracted with a national co., but the workman was top-notch. Could
not ask for better.

I've painted cabs, which is difficult to do with professional results.
I have stripped cabinets, solid (mostly) dark oak; the new finish was a
thin stain to cool down the yellowish tinge of oak. Gorgeous. What you
do depends largely on taste, but the results are lasting. My "fairly
good" painting over oak cabs would look like fairly good paint over oak.

We had old, ugly painted metal tile behind cooktop. I did not want to
paint it, and it was installed to stay forever. We covered it with
laminate (contact cement, as with cab. facings), then put up patterned
pressed glass with the smoothe side out. Even has a seam, which is hard
to find. Held in place with silicone caulk. Sealed up so's moisture
doesn't get behind it - easy to clean (no d--- grout!), less than $100,
and very versatile. Can put anything behind it we like - patterned
laminate, wall paper, etc., and type of glass adds versatility. Sand
blasted colored glass is another cool looking option.