Expert: Eileen Cronk - 11/3/2008

Question
Hi!
In the U.S. now, but born in Alberta!

My 1975 built home has beautiful dark woodwork but someone
decided to reface the solid wood kitchen cabinets with
plastic looking laminate that is a horrid putrid yellowish
green and then paint over the base with first blue paint
and then over all with white paint which is gummy and peels
off in sheets from the laminate.  I have removed the
laminate facing from the wood cabinets leaving glue
residue.  How do I remove the glue and refinish in a
mahogany or cherry?  How do I strip the base of the white
and blue paint without getting poisoned by fumes? HELP!

Answer
Hi Indira
Nice to hear from you.
Stripping paint from kitchen cabinets is a tough job but it certainly can be done if you are up for it.
To strip this paint off you will need an MC stripper.
Its strong stuff but works great.
You will have to remove everything you can and do the job outdoors to avoid the fumes or else wear a respirator...not fun.
The cabinet cases of course cannot be removed but you can use this stripper indoors with lots of ventilation.
That means windows open and fans blowing the fumes out.
You could also think about getting a more friendly stripper to use on the indoor work. But look at the hardware and see what they offer in strippers. They carry different products than here in Canada as you know.
The glue should be contact cement.
It can be removed with lacquer thinner (and a lot of work).
Hope this helps
Kind Regards
Eileen