When you’re renovating a kitchen or bathroom, a professional cabinet refinishing project will save you money, provide a healthy return on your investment, and give you a completely new, updated look and feel.

The Case for Renovating

Renovating a kitchen or bathroom is one of the most rewarding renovation projects a homeowner can do. Statistics show U.S. homeowners spend more than $400 billion each year on renovations and repairs, according to the 2019 Remodeling Impact Report produced by the National Association of Realtors® Research Group.

Kitchens, in particular, delivered a 52% return on investment, making this the most lucrative renovation project to undertake. Updating the storage is a big component in most kitchen remodels, and this often means either installing new cabinetry or rejuvenating the existing spaces.

Reasons to Consider a Refinishing Project

Cabinet refinishing is an ideal solution for homeowners who are renovating their kitchens or bathrooms on a budget. If you have cabinets that are in good condition but your color palette has changed, or it’s time to update your home and get rid of that ‘80s feel, there’s no need to replace entire cabinets. A thorough refinishing process can make all the difference to the appearance of the cabinets. Here’s what the process includes.

Stage 1: Prep Work

Before we begin the cabinet refinishing process, it’s essential to prepare the surfaces properly. After dismantling the cabinets, we’ll bring them back to our workshop to get started. This excludes the doors, which are sprayed in your home.

No matter how good your housecleaning, most cabinets manage to build up some discoloration and dust residue. A careful chemical wash removes this, along with any bacteria hiding in the cracks, so you’ll know we’re starting with fresh, clean cabinet exteriors.

The cleaning process is followed by sanding down the surface until it’s completely smooth, after which we clean it off with a micro-fiber cloth to remove any remaining particles. After that, we scuff-sand to prepare it for the primer coat.

Stage 2: A Clean Surface Coat

Once the surfaces have been completely stripped and cleaned of all substances, it’s time to apply the one coat of BIN Synthetic Shellac Advanced Primer. A successful cabinet refinishing project depends on the quality of the workmanship, and this base coat needs to be perfectly applied for optimum effect.

After the coating is dry, the cabinets are lightly sanded once more to level the grain and smooth any uneven areas. They then get another cleaning to remove any stray dust particles and ensure an even, unblemished surface. This is followed by the application of two coats of lacquer, which gives the final product its perfect finish.

Stage 3: On-Site Prep

When the steps in stages 1 and 2 are complete, your newly-finished cabinets are wrapped in durable foam for protection and delivered free of charge to your home or business. The installation team covers the entire room with paper and plastic to protect every surface from overspray, and then coats the cabinet framework or “bones” with bonding primer.

Once this has dried, the frames are sanded lightly to smooth the surfaces, cleaned with micro-fiber to remove debris, and coated with two layers of lacquer to match the cabinets. The doors are also sprayed in your home and then reinstalled.

Stage 4: Reinstallation

The final step in your cabinet refinishing project is the reinstallation of the cabinets themselves. This includes:

• reattaching the cabinet bodies to the newly-resurfaced framework,
• installing the doors, hinges, and other “cabinet jewelry” features
• adding new, updated handles and other hardware you choose.

Our team then removes the plastic and preparation materials and cleans the room thoroughly to remove all traces of chemicals, paint and lacquer residue, and installation debris.

This simple, four-stage process delivers a completely new look for your kitchen or bathroom at a fraction of the cost of cabinet replacement.

The Last Word

Updating your kitchen or bathroom cabinetry doesn’t need to be one of the most expensive components of your renovation project. With a little imagination and a professional refinishing team, you can turn your existing storage cabinets into a design feature that looks like they came straight out of HGTV.

For more information about our cabinet refinishing process, or to get an official estimate for your home renovation project, please contact us at (847) 791-4551.