Shaun Guthrie Posted August 27, 2016 Report Share Posted August 27, 2016 Good Afternoon, We recently purchased a new house which was build in the early 90's and with the Oak was the style as it's EVERYWHERE. Besides being super excited to finally get my shop back up and running, the first renovation project will probably re-finishing the kitchen cabinets and getting rid of the ugly oak styling. Has anyone else taken on such a project? First is it work it or should I just rip it out and replace? I've heard from a few non-woodworkers just some light sanding and then in this case they used Benjamin More Cabinet Paint. Would rather look for a more semi-professional opinion from you folks Attached is a picture so you see what I'm up against. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted August 28, 2016 Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 Shaun, I don't know your skill level, or available equipment. If I were to tackle the same task as a small hobby shop owner, my best bet would be to refinish or paint the carcasses, and replace the doors and drawer fronts. That's about as far a stretch as I can imaginge my current skill set and tooling would take me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted August 28, 2016 Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 Depends.. when your done,what would change? I grew up in the oak cabinet craze and can hardly stand it. That being said, I have honey oak cabinets in my house. Refinishing isn't an option for me. Dyes and stain may hide it but it's still red oak under there and I know it. Painting would be fine. I'll build some some day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted August 28, 2016 Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 I would absolutely PAINT those bad boys WHITE or GRAY. I'm tempted to do the same thing in my kitchen but I decided it's not worth the effort until I remodel the entire kitchen at the same time...at which point I'll just replace the cabinets. Get rid of every last trace of red oak. It's like purging yourself of a horrible bacterial infection. Just pour antibiotics on it...from Sherwin Williams. LOL 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted August 28, 2016 Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 I had similar cabinets in my bathrooms and painted them out white. The one piece of advice is give is to make sure you use a good primer or it won't stick, since you won't be able to sand everything. I used the shellac based primer from zinnser (sprayed) followed by a semi gloss top coat and it seemed to work well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun Guthrie Posted August 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 Thanks for the tips thus far. We want them painted, probably a white of some sort. I'll let the wife decide. Since posting I've been doing some researching as well and the primer is absolutely key. Been seeing some people also use a wood grain filler to help fill the grain. Anyone have experience with that? Seems like this project (and how many cabinets) will take a ton of work I guess that's why they call it sweat equity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan G Posted August 28, 2016 Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 Shaun- I attached some pics of our front room in our house that we bought a few years ago. Upon entry into the house a proper first reaction was to begin retching uncontrollably. I just dont know what people are thinking sometimes. Imagine an entire house looking like this? It was unreal. I dont even have the heart to show you what the kitchen looked like. There was so much stained wood, poor wall color choices and gross flooring (who chooses to install blue cork?). We knew we would not switch out the flooring right away so I took up the task of painting out the woodwork and repainting the walls. I sanded all of the wood with 150 grit and then applied a coat ( 2 in some areas) of Zinsser Cover Stain with either a brush or short nap roller . While this is an oil based primer and does stink up the house, it worked great. I then lightly sanded the primer, wiped it down and put on 2 coats of Benjamin Moore Regal Semi Gloss. It turned out great and has held up well, even with 2 kids beating on it everyday. I will tell you this......it is a lot of work but the results are worth it. That kitchen you have looks big and I see a lot of oak. The cover stain primer has some filling ability and maybe after 2 coats you could mute some of the grain. Have you thought of making or buying new doors for the cabinets in the wood and/or style you like and painting out the remaining items? Paint makes all the difference....a new wall color and some white cabinets and that kitchen will take on a whole new look.... Lastly, I did try the Zinsser BIN shellac based primer first and I found it difficult to work with. The shellac tacked up so fast it was hard to get a smooth coat with out runs on a vertical surface. Probably operator error. Good Luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun Guthrie Posted August 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 13 minutes ago, Alan G said: Shaun- I sanded all of the wood with 150 grit and then applied a coat ( 2 in some areas) of Zinsser Cover Stain with either a brush or short nap roller . While this is an oil based primer and does stink up the house, it worked great. I then lightly sanded the primer, wiped it down and put on 2 coats of Benjamin Moore Regal Semi Gloss. It turned out great and has held up well, even with 2 kids beating on it everyday. I will tell you this......it is a lot of work but the results are worth it. That kitchen you have looks big and I see a lot of oak. The cover stain primer has some filling ability and maybe after 2 coats you could mute some of the grain. Have you thought of making or buying new doors for the cabinets in the wood and/or style you like and painting out the remaining items? Paint makes all the difference....a new wall color and some white cabinets and that kitchen will take on a whole new look.... Thanks for the tips and some of what you've posted really resonates with us. It's unbelievable just how much wood is in the house. I'm okay with putting in the work, however need to balance that with actually making client projects as well. So that will be something to figure out. Once we actually get into the house we will evaluate if we want to just get new doors or not. Could be a good learning experience however I really do want to be in the cabinet making business We will strip off the baseboard and casing as it's all small and we'd want larger stock so that will be nice firewood for the backyard. Thanks again for sharing, it gives me hope! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted August 28, 2016 Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 Im no a big fan of oak but your kitchen looks nice. I would not paint if you are going to want new cabinets down the road aneyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun Guthrie Posted August 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 6 hours ago, mat60 said: Im no a big fan of oak but your kitchen looks nice. I would not paint if you are going to want new cabinets down the road aneyway. If I paint them, we'd not be replacing them. They are decent quality cabinets, they just need an update 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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