Mindful Tips When You Are Refacing Kitchen Cabinets

Oct 29
12:35

2009

Peter West

Peter West

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Refacing kitchen cabinets does not have to be a lengthy or arduous task—if you take care to be careful and thorough. In fact, refacing kitchen doors and doing a kitchen cabinet reface is a project that you and a few friends can probably complete over the course of a couple of days!

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At first glance refinishing kitchen cabinets looks pretty easy: clean,Mindful Tips When You Are Refacing Kitchen Cabinets Articles strip off the old finish and fix new surfacing onto the cabinets.  Easy right?  It can be.  Here are a few hints to keep in mind as you work on your project.

1.  It is easier to work on refacing kitchen cabinets if you take the cabinets off of the walls. Trying to stand up on a step stool or balance on your counter can make the job a lot harder and more painful for you.  When you take the cabinets down and work on them while they are on your floor or in your garage you have ultimate maneuverability and will have an easier time with every step of this process.

2.  Label all of the cabinet doors as you take them off of the cabinet and take care that you do not resurface the part of the cabinet that has the label.  This way, after you have finished refacing cabinet doors, you will not have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out which door goes with which cabinet.  The reattaching process will be smooth and straightforward.

3.  Clean your cabinets thoroughly before and after you have stripped off the current cabinet surface. Over time dust, mildew and even grease can build up on and in your cabinets.  It happens so gradually that you will not even notice that it is happening until you take the cabinets down for your kitchen cabinet reface project.  Use a strong chemical cleanser to cut through the grime (take care to protect your skin, eyes and lungs).  Follow the directions on your chemical cleanser exactly.  Heck, you might decide that you don't need to reface your kitchen cabinets at all once they have been completely cleaned!

4.  After you have stripped off the current facing, go over your cabinets thoroughly. Any dings, nicks, scratches or holes will be magnified if you do not take the time to fix them or cover them up.  Use wood glue or other refinishers to fill in the holes and cracks and to cover or fix any scrapes, nicks or scratches.  Let the fixant dry completely before you begin to apply the cabinets' new surface.  If you do not do this your refacing kitchen cabinet project will turn out cabinets that look pretty much the same as they did before you started the project in the first place.

Refacing kitchen cabinets does not have to be arduous or tricky.  If you take your time to be thorough and careful you should be able to get quite a few years out of your current kitchen cabinet reface efforts — even when you are only refacing cabinet doors!