refinish kitchen cabinet

[Fred]

I have an existing kitchen cabinet that I wanted to refinish. It has an existing wood stain and some sort of semi gloss finish that is just too tough to remove to bare wood. I'm using a palm sander and its taken forever. At this rate its faster to make new doors and drawer faces than try to strip it down to bare wood. Could the existing finish and stain be removed faster with chemical strippers? I don't think I could remove all the dark stain embedded deep in the pores without taken my belt sander to it so Plan B is to paint instead of refinish with a lighter stain.

If I go with plan B, paint that is, what is a good primer and tough paint for kitchen cabinets? In either case, I like to invest in a good HVLP setup for this and future projects - any suggestions?

[Stephen M]

Maybe, but that will remove the topcoat. It will not remove the stain which is absorbed into the wood and pores. You could go from light to darker, but the reverse doesn't work too well.

Yup. Paint is a more realistic approach.

Any top-quality oil-based enamel. Latex is a no-no.

[Tom H]

Don't refinish, . . . . . . . . laminate. They make kits that you can use to laminate real wood over the old cabinet case. Then, purchase new doors to match the laminate. The outcome is a new looking kitchen at a fraction of the cost of new cabinets..

[Leon]

It is likely that if you sand deep enough to get the stain out of the pores that you will sand through the outer veneer.

If you choose to paint, prime then sand then paint, maybe a second primer coat. Use the same brand primer as the paint you use. I highly recommend Sherwin-Williams Alkyd Oil based paint. Get their best for ease of application and durability.

[Prometheus]

Plan B will work the best if you wipe the cabinets with TSP before priming. Beyond that, head to a Sherwin Williams or other paint store (not home center) and ask what they suggest- a guy in a real paint place is bound to know a bit about the product, and they'll get you pointed in the right direction.

[nospambob]

[Leon]

Yeah. And if you are on flat wide panels you can used a 1" diameter closed cell roller and get sprayed on results with oil based paints.

[nospambob]

[Leon]

My buddy and I have probably painted 10 homes in the last few years. Until we found the "CLOSED" cell foam rollers the paint brush was the only way to go with oil based. Pad brushes tended to put down way too much oil paint but work great on latex paints.

Seriously the small 4 or 5" long White closed cell rollers give a sprayed look. The open cell foam rollers suck with oil paints. The closed cell rollers have a very smooth texture/surface by comparison.

[Fred]

Good tip Leon, thanks! So I don't need to buy a HVLP sprayer?

[Leon]

Keep in mind that these type rollers are good on flat surfaces. Use premium brand paint brush for irregular surfaces and tight spots as nospambob indicated. And again get a premium brand and quality oil paint.

[nospambob]