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Writer's picturejennagibson

80's cabinet doors, no more


Familiar sight?

Not only are these cabinet doors terrible to look at, ours also had water damage near the sink and dishwasher. The sink was also full of dirty dishes, which was also most definitely related to the cabinet doors.



A week later! (even the dishes are gone!)

This is phase 1 of my "DIY" kitchen update and it's EASY


 

Step 1: Take the wooden strips off


The wooden strips are glued with a tongue-and-grove-type hold. I used a flat edge painters knife to chip off any glue from the face of the cabinet.


The wooden strips popped off pretty easily!


Step 2: Turn the wooden strip around and glue it back on (smooth edge facing forward, raised edge facing inward)


Line it up and glue it back on!


Clamp it!

Clamp it (make sure the front seam lines up)

Step 3: Spoke shave those ridges off


I bought this spoke shave tool from Amazon for like $20... it looked like it would work and it did! (get a stone sharpener too for the blade if you don't already have one)



Shave the back and front to a smooth and level surface

Step 4: Rough sanding, wood filler, more sanding



Sand! (I used a 60 grit to pull off some volume)

Use wood filler: seeking seamlessness


Sand, fill, sand, fill, sand, fill...

Step 5: BIN primer


This is a great shellac primer. $29 (CAN) - I have 23 surfaces (drawer front and doors) and I used 2 cans

Primed and ready for paint!

Step 6: Paint, sand, paint, sand


I achieved a smooth surface by painting with a high-quality latex paint, using a high-quality roller for semi-gloss paints, and sanding in between coats with a 320 grit sandpaper.



This turned out so well!

We ordered some rail-style hardware, which should look terrific!

 

A couple of notes:


1. We live a micro-life in a small apartment. I was able to complete this whole re-surfacing on my tiny deck with the most disruptive power tool being an electric sander. Aside from the dust, this is totally do-able and very achievable in a small space


2. Where you can, mount the cabinets upside-down. We couldn't do this for our drawers and for 2 door-fronts so we spent extra time sanding and filling because the seam is potentially at eye-level.



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