Kitchen Renovations 101: Finishing Your Kitchen Cabinets
By Cheri WatkinsRefacingCabinet.com Columnist
As with most kitchen or home renovations involving wood, you may want to start by sanding. If you have chosen to build your own kitchen cabinets using new wood, you can start by using Garnet sandpaper with 120 grit or finer. Always sand with the wood grain. For softwoods, such as pine, birch, fir and maple, use a pre-stain wood conditioner.
Thinking of staining kitchen cabinets? A simple, clear, penetrating oil finish works well for the following woods:
- Cherry
- Maple
- Poplar
- Walnut
For White Oak, pastel and pickeled finishes work best, as white pigments from the finish will aggregate in the pores.
Choosing Paint for Your Kitchen Cabinets
The major concern when painting kitchen cabinets should be achieving a hard finish that resists scratches and chips.
To achieve this outcome, "Ask the Builder" columnist Tim Carter suggests the following types of paints:
- Epoxy modified alkyd paint found in aerosol spray cans works best.
- Oil-based paints produce a high-gloss finish, rapid drying and hardness within 48 hours.
- Water-based paints are sufficiently hard and produce a flat finish.
Staining Kitchen Cabinets: Here's How
Basic wood-staining technique is:
- Brush on
- Allow to set for 5 to 10 minutes
- Brush off with a clean, dry rag.
With so many options to choose from, the biggest challenge will be finding the right stain. Usually, a semi-transparent, oil-based stain, top-coated with acrylic varnish or polyurethane will work well.
Whatever finish you choose, allow to dry thoroughly before moving to the next phase of this do-it-yourself kitchen renovation. You're almost done, so pat yourself on the back--just remember to move your work gloves first!
Next
In Part 5 of our Kitchen Renovations 101 How to Build Your Own Kitchen Cabinets series, Refacingcabinet.com covers the basics of Assembling Your Custom Built Kitchen Cabinets.
To see the full list of articles in this series visit our How to Build Your Own Kitchen Cabinets series page.
About The Author
Cheri Renee began her professional writing career at Greenspun Media Group's Showbiz Weekly magazine (now LVM). Several years later, she discovered an interest in interior design and home improvement, while on assignment for GMG's H&D magazine. Cheri has consulted as an English language arts editor for McGraw-Hill Education, and a biomedical research copyeditor for faculty at UNLV, and Sunrise Children's Heart Center. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from Augusta State University and an M.S.T. in Adolescent English Education from Fordham University.
