The cabinets are the largest single feature of any kitchen and as the focal point of your design, it is very important that you pay close attention to all of the fine details when it comes to refinishing them. Not only do you have to select the right color to fit, but you also need to select the best type of finish. Once you have those two things done, you are pretty much ready to get started on your refinishing project.

In this article, we are going to discuss the seven steps it takes to successfully rejuvenate your old kitchen cabinets. This is the much cheaper alternative to just ripping them out and starting over with brand new cabinets.

8 Steps to Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets

#1 Organize all your stuff – You want to be sure that you have all of the materials, supplies, and tools together that you are going to be using for the refinishing project. Below is a list of this that you should have ready:

• Hand Tools – scraper, screwdriver, hammer, sanding block, and sponge
• Painters Tape – for covering up things that you do not want to paint
• Drop Cloth – Canvas drop cloths are preferred
• Chemical Paint Stripper – This might be necessary to strip away old varnish or paint from previous projects
• Painting equipment – Pick up several sturdy, professional quality paintbrushes or paint sprayer

#2 Cleanout Cabinets – Be sure to completely empty out all of the stuff out of all of the cabinets before you are ready to get started

#3 Remove Doors and Hardware – It is easier to get at all of the surfaces if you remove the doors and hardware. Be sure to clean any old paint and debris from all of the hardware. There are a number of ways to remove old paint and stuff from hardware in order to return it to a like-new condition.

#4 Strip Away Old Paint – To restore all of the wood surfaces to original condition you can use a chemical stripper on the doors and cabinet surfaces.

#5 Filling in Dents, Cracks and Whole – If there are any serious imperfections in the doors or other surfaces you can you a filler and sand it smooth as it dries.

#6 Prime All Surfaces – It is important that all surfaces to be painted should be covered with a good primer coat. The primer coat seals in any imperfections and gives the paint a good surface to adhere itself too.

#7 Paint – The final step is to apply the final paint color to all of the primed surfaces

#8 Clean Up – The final step is to clean up and of the mess and remove any tape you used to keep surfaces from being painted. Inspect the job to ensure that everything looks good.

Now that you have completed the refinishing job of all of the cabinets in the kitchen you are ready to move on to the remainder of the remodeling job you have planned for the whole kitchen.