# kitchen cabinet refinishing



## bay area contractor (Sep 19, 2009)

Oak cabinets are currently stained limed oak. There are wear marks where the stain and finish are worn away. Customer would like to finish the cabinets to a Cherry color. How would you do this?


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## dvp (Jun 21, 2010)

I have had great success with theese by replacing the doors, stripping the face frames,and sanding, staining, and then using poly shades with color in it on the frames to match the newly finished doors. ive never had much success stripping the doors and getting them to accept a darker stain color, and if you sand the veneer at all you can easily burn right through it.
everytime I"ve striped a house full of cabinet doors ive regretted it, because it was a struggle to make the stain look right and by the time I was done I had so many man hrs in it it would have been more cost effective for me to just get new doors/drawer fronts anyways. Someone here may know a better way, though. I don't usually take these any more, as they can be a big headache, and when I do, I charge alot. Hope this helps


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

Strip or sand to bare wood and start fresh.


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## Retired (Jul 27, 2010)

If the cabinets are of the factory finish type and worn through in places what the other guys suggest is good advice.

Sometimes if you can get to the right person some cabinet manufacturers if they are large can send you what is usually a one coat toner especially a limed oak type. You may be able to fudge in those worn areas sort of hiding them and follow up with a lacquer toner in a color that is OK with the customer. I tried to stick mostly with Mohawk. They have warehouses in both NY and SoCal. 

If you do decide to send the doors and drawer fronts out for stripping a couple of things come to mind. Mark every door and drawer front to go back into it's original place. Be careful about who you might choose as a strip shop. Some of them are still using hot lye to remove old finishes. It works great but is really hard on oak in general and the finishes on the hardware and any adhesives used in the original construction.


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## carljackson47 (Aug 16, 2010)

I am just sanding the door and staining to make it ready for the final coating. You might have to remove the door to make it easier for you to do that.


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## saveonpainting (Mar 17, 2010)

Yess agreed make sure to mark every piece!

doesent sound particularly challenging seing that your going to a darker finish.

take sure of the wear and tear first ( if u need to fill anything) Scuff up the cabinets with varying sandpapers rough to smooth.. to allow the ne stain to adhere

Save on Painting Co. Vancouver Painting Company


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## GES (Aug 9, 2011)

Go with Rust-Oleum's Cabinet Transformations. Great product, great price, great results. Can buy at Home Depot.


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## paintguy86 (Aug 6, 2011)

Prime and paint.


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