Can I refinish kitchen cabinets myself?

[Scott Simpson]

I got an estimate and it was extremely expensive. Don't you just apply stripper and then relaquer? That doesn't sound that hard. Can I do it myself?

[Malcolm Hoar]

It's *very* labor intensive.

Yes, you can do it yourself. It's a little more involved than you suggest but it's not a complicated job -- just very time consuming.

You'll need to remove the old finish and prepare the surface with some combination of stripping and sanding.

You may want to apply sanding sealer and/or a stain.

Then you'll apply several coats of a new finish. Polyurethane with a foam brush is a pretty good method for a DIY job. Laquers are typically sprayed but that takes some equipment and practice -- probably best left for the pro's.

The process I used on my cabinets:

1. Sand down to bare wood (I tried stripper but it wasn't any faster or easier).

1. Apply 4 coats of gloss oil-based poly with a foam brush, lightly sanding with 400 grit between coats.

2. Degloss the final coat with 0000 steel wool and a little wax.

You might want to carry out a test run on an inconspicuous area, like the inside of a cabinet door, just to ensure the final effect meets with your approval. Also, you *will* make some (hopefully non-fatal) minor errors and develop your technique.

[EXT]

Yes, you may do it yourself, but we cannot tell if you can do it yourself.