Expert: Greg Scholl - 4/5/2009

Question
QUESTION: How can I brighten-up my existing whitewashed cabinets? The cabinets themselves are in good condition.I don't want to refinish or repaint the cabinets so is there any kind of solution,polish or stain that could refreshen the look?

ANSWER: Hi Rachel, If they're really dull and worn then the chances are that there's not enough finish in good condition to revive...you can clean them with mineral spirits, and then try to polish them with a polishing compound like 3M's Finesse It II, but it's hard to know from here if that's gonna help. How old are they?

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QUESTION: They still appear to have enough finish on them to try to refurbish, but they do appear dull. There is a product on the market called restorzit(spelling?)that I read about. Are you familiar with this product and if so do you think it might work?

Answer
Hi Rachel, I would recommend you stay away from that product. I have fielded a number of questions regarding "restorzit", all of them negative. It's basically a thin acrylic urethane solution or similar, that will put a "spit polish" on a surface, but in order to even have a chance of being the least bit durable, one has to degrease and thoroughly clean the surface before smearing this "miracle" product on it. And if you do all that prep properly, you're more than halfway to doing the job right. Application is also difficult to do well on something like a kitchen full of cabinets. All the people I have been contacted by, wanted to remove the stuff.....and the recommended product for that is  a "floor stripper", according to their tech phone line person. You can imagine how good that would be for the underlying finish. They make Wood flooring products like this, an instant "reviver", they are a coating technology, basically, an Acrylic urethane, that's used after a thorough cleaning... and someone has decided they can bottle it in small quantities,and sell it as a miracle...the polishing compound will work if the finish is in pretty good shape, but it's a lot more difficult than smearing on a miracle...I realize that! I called Q*C, a large national tv. retailer, to ask about this product one day, even tried to go on air with them....they wouldn't let me, and they deflected my questions to a prepared "statement"..... Hope that helps- Greg