So, your kitchen cabinets are dingy looking, and they could use a refinish. Sounds great, although if you are doing the work yourself you will need to be careful not to make the same mistakes that countless homeowners just like you have been guilty of committing. Cabinet wood refinishing is not to be taken lightly and that means putting in the right amount of time and effort to ensure that the work is done right.
There is no cutting corners when finishing or painting cabinets. After all, your kitchen cabinets take up the most space on your kitchen walls. They are tasked with storing all of your important cooking and baking tools from pots and pans to plates and utensils. You’re not going to stack of all that stuff on your countertops, you want to have functional cabinetry that looks terrific.
If your cabinets are lacking that visual pizzazz you want to refinish them and if you are planning to do the work yourself, be sure you are fully prepared to do a good job. There’s nothing worse than a DIY refinishing project performed badly. At the end of the day, the work is shoddy, and you may end up spending a whole lot more to hire someone to fix your mistakes. So, unless you are absolutely sure you have the skills and patience needed for this kind of home improvement project, don’t do it.
With that said, here are the most common mistakes to avoid when refinishing your kitchen cabinets:
Underestimating the Time Needed
You’re not going to polish this off over the course of a weekend. Anyone who thinks they can will end up with some horrendous looking cabinets. Plain and simple. A cabinet refinishing job done right relies on multiple steps done properly and without rushing. Expect to spend, at least, five days refinishing or repainting your cabinets. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
Failing to Clean the Cabinets
We’re talking more than just wiping down the exteriors with a damp cloth. There are likely years of grease build up on some part of your cabinetry, you need to remove it entirely before you set out to refinish or repaint any of it. A greasy cabinet will prevent your paint or finish from thoroughly bonding with the wood, resulting in a sloppy aesthetic.
Failing to Remove the Doors and Drawers
This is one of those mistakes that so many people make and there is just no excuse for it other than sheer laziness. You’re not going to finish the job any faster by keeping the doors and drawers in place, it will only make the job look bad. So, take down all the doors, take out all the drawers, remove all the hardware, and work from there.
Forgetting to Inspect the Condition of The Cabinets
Maybe you didn’t forget, and you simply ignored this step. Bad idea. Unless your cabinets are fully functional in the way they open and close and free of damage to the facades, boxes, or drawers, then there is no reason to repaint or refinish them. Don’t waste your time restoring the look of something that you will just need to repair or possibly replace shortly after you complete the work.
