Cabinet doors need refinishing?

[gator67]

The cabinet doors under the sink are losing their finish... probably from water dripping on them. We notice a similar effect in the bathroom area. I revarnished one of our drawers, but the "clear" varnish wasn't quite clear and now the drawer has a yellow cast, which makes my wife unhappy.

Has anyone had their cabinet doors refinished, or refinished them so they still look like the rest of the woodwork? We have the light maple wood.

[Lorna]

Your "Clear" varnish will have a yellow cast to it. That's varnish's characteristic. Oil-based polyurethane will also have a yellow cast. Water-based polyurethane will stay clear without the yellow cast.

[takepride]

I'd also guess your wood is also Ash, not Maple (different grain). I was told they used Minwax colors. Mark Harrah could tell you.

Also, waterbased finish is not only clearer, but harder. Oil based continues to yellow and becomes gummy, especially in heat.

[Retiredfields]

My cabinets are maple and have a lacquer finish. Touching up "dry" spots is easily done with spray or liquid lacquer. Dry areas on edges can easily be repaired using liquid lacquer and a cotton cloth. Dip the cloth with a finger, and give it one swipe across the area. I have refinished cabinet doors by removing them and using a spray can, or sometimes touching them up in place, with a spray.


I use Deft semi-gloss. Available at HD or Lowes. It does a great job and looks exactly like the original finish.

[dveasey]

When doing this refinishing, do all of the immediate surrounding doors as well. You do not want any varying appearance among them. Taking them off hinges & removing to outdoors will give you better light to see the peeling.

Remove all hardware completely before working. You want to have uninterrupted room to treat the stiles & rails without working around trim.

I use either a super fine steel wool [0000] or final-sanding cloth made especially for the job. You want to remove the loose film reminants & not remove the entire clearcoat back down to the bare wood.
Touch-up any color blemishes first; fill any scratches as needed. If custom blend stains, keep the recipe for future touchup matching.

I use a cloth with minimal amount of finish; Choosing to do several coats with ample drying time between coats. Make strokes parallel with the finish wood grain. Lightly final-sand the next-to-last coat just before applying the final coat.
Razor blade will cleanup any glass or mirror surfaces.