What to expect from a cabinet refinishing service, and when to replace cabinets

When it comes time to refinish your old, wood cabinets, you’ll want to hire the best cabinet refinishing service available. However, it can be hard to discern the good from the bad.

The professionals at Spectra Painting Contractors want to help homeowners find the best painting services for their homes. In this post, we’ll talk about what you should expect from a cabinet refinishing service, when you should think about replacing your cabinets, and other tips to help you with the process.

What is a Cabinet Refinishing Service?

If you get the urge to give your wood cabinets a more modern look, a cabinet refinishing project could do the trick.

Cabinet refinishing is sometimes confused with cabinet refacing or cabinet resurfacing. A cabinet refinishing service involves changing the wood finish or color of your existing wood cabinets. A cabinet refacing or a cabinet resurfacing service means that parts of the existing wood cabinet get replaced. Refacing/resurfacing could mean adding new doors, hardware, and drawer fronts. These are important terms to get right when you inquire about cabinet refinishing services so you can accurately communicate what you want.

Homeowners can often achieve a new look to match their style and current decor trends simply by refinishing their existing wood cabinets. Plus, it is among the cheapest methods to update cabinets and avoid the hassle of replacing all or parts of the cabinets.

Cabinet Refinishing Services are ideal for cabinets that are in good condition and otherwise functional. After all, you will want to spend your time and money revamping cabinets that will still be functional at the end of the project.

Note that you cannot refinish cabinets if they are made of laminate or termofoil because those materials cannot get sanded and refinished.

Professional Cabinet Painting: Here’s what to expect

While it may sound easy enough to refinish your wood cabinets yourself, there are some tricks to the project best left to professional cabinet painters.

Here’s what to expect from a cabinet refinishing project:

1. Begin with a deep, deep clean

The first step of a cabinet refinishing project is cleaning the cabinets and hardware. To clean and dry the cabinets thoroughly, remove the cabinets from the walls and soak the hardware in soapy water. The project can get needlessly more complicated in the end if the cabinet doors aren’t labeled or numbered before they get disassembled.

2. Strip the old surface off

Once the cabinets are clean and dry, the old finish or paint can get stripped off. This process and the type of stripping agent will depend entirely on what type of finish is already on the cabinets. Again, this process should be done by a professional familiar with the chemicals and safety protocols for using them.

3. Sand and prime the bare surface

Now that the old finish is off, any small holes or scratches can get repaired. Then, all of the cabinet surfaces should get lightly sanded down.

4. Apply the new wood finish or paint

Whew! Almost there. The cabinets are ready for their new look. Be sure the new finish or paint gets applied in temperatures that are not too hot nor too cold since extreme temperatures can affect how well fresh paint or finish dries.

5. Hang those beautiful cabinets back up

Once the finish or paint is dry they can go back into your home. This is the part of the project when you usually find out if the cabinet doors were labeled well since the cabinets will be reassembled piece by piece.

Should you replace your cabinets?

So all this may sound like a lot of work, but refinishing your wood cabinets is much more affordable than replacing them. However, not even the best wood stain in the world can salvage very old, worn-out cabinets.

If your wood cabinets are broken beyond a few bent hinges and wonky drawer pulls, it may be time to invest in new cabinets. Wood cabinets with water damage, fire damage, or extensive rot will likely need to get replaced.

Typically, high-quality cabinets can last as long as 50 years. Cabinets that are near water sources, stoves, or other appliances age faster.

What to look for in a Cabinet Refinishing Professional

Now that you have a good understanding of the terms and the general process of cabinet refinishing, you’re ready to start scoping out your local cabinet refinishing services.

Here are some things to ask before you hire a cabinet refinishing professional:

• Ask to see photos of previous cabinet refinishing projects they have done.
• In particular, ask to see pictures of projects that involve similar cabinets to the ones you have since cabinet refinishing methods can vary based on the type of wood.
• Ask to talk to a couple of their previous clients to understand how their cabinet refinishing projects went.

That may sound like quite a few questions to ask a cabinet guy or gal, but remember that redoing or replacing bad cabinet work will cost you a lot more than a few minutes on the phone.

In the end, you can usually achieve an entirely new look with a good cabinet refinishing professional, though it will take some time and planning to get the job done right.