Kitchen Renovation on a Budget
Refinishing veneer cabinets with paint
The first thing I have to say about this is. DO NOT BE SCARED to tackle this project, although it may require a lot of hours of work. It is totally do-able, and not much different than refinishing cabinets that are solid wood. When we were house shopping there was zero homes on the market in our price range with a modern/white kitchen vibes I wanted, so there was really no choice but to tackle this project ourselves.
REMOVE DOORS/ DRAWERS/HARDWARE
The first step is removing all the cabinet doors, and drawers. If you have a nice clean area to allocate them and set up as your work zone that will make things a lot easier. Make sure to store your existing pulls/knobs and screws in a Ziploc so that they stay safe and not lost during the process. If you plan to replace the hardware, make sure to sort that out before you apply paint, because this may lead to adding additional holes or wood filing existing holes to accommodate your new hardware.
SANDING/ CLEANING
Its important to sand, but not too much! If you sand too deep and expose the chipboard under the veneer, you will get swelling when the wood gets wet. Next you wash with TSP. Allow the cupboards to dry completely. Follow these same steps for the attached cupboards and sides.
PAINTING
We chose to spray the doors, and roll the rest of the cabinet sides and fronts that couldn’t be removed. We went with a paint that also has a primer so we went right to it with the paint color. We did three coats.
SEALING
We used a roller for the seal. Be really careful when choosing your seal. Some have a yellow cast and look really shiny. We found a great one, that is actually for floors. It does an amazing job as a cabinet sealer.
HARDWARE
Once your seal is completely dry, add your hardware and enjoy your new kitchen!
Was it a lot of work? YES. Was it so worth it? YES.
A refreshed kitchen can not only help increase the value of your home, but it makes it so much more desirable to buyers. Do it!! Paint those cabinets.