Expert: Eileen Cronk - 6/29/2010

Question
I've read your posts on refinishing kitchen cabinets and am ready to try as cannot afford to have ours done professionally or replaced. My kitchen has a solid window wall facing east, so cabinets get 1/2 day of full sun. As a result some are faded, some have bubbled finish, and some have unaffected original finish. I was told the cabinets are solid, good wood  - not sure type but is on dark side, perhaps cherry? Kitchen was renovated ~ 25 years ago, well before we purchased the house. Questions - how do I know if I've sanded off all the factory finish, before I start staining? Any recommendations for a dark cherry (no red) color? Any suggestions for how to cover the sunbleached areas to match the other? Finally - what are your recommendations for UV protectant sealer so this won't happen again? I also would like to use the original brass handles and need to know best way to clean and seal them? Many thanks!

Answer
Hi Barbara
Nice to hear from you.
A lot of questions here and I'll try not to miss any.
Question 1..Barbara I never recommend sanding a finish off. In fact its the wrong approach.
And you just cannot apply a proper stain after sanding.
The finish must be removed with a chemical stripper. Then stain and a finish.
If in fact your cabinets are solid cherry they will refinish beautifully.
I will include the entire info for stripping your cabinets. Its a big job depending of course on how many cabinets, but if you are willing to do the work you will save a pile of money.
Question 2..Personally, if I stripped cherry cabinets and did not want a red tone I would apply a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of Minwax Special walnut and Minwax Golden Oak.
Question 3..the sunbleached areas..I cannot comment a lot on this until the cabinets are stripped. I venture to guess these areas could take the stain as well as the other areas.
But you don't know until after the stripping and staining.
Question 4..They do make sealers with uv protection. Coming from Canada, this is never a problem here but just a trip to your hardware will get you the uv finish you need.
Question 5..If the handles are brass, soak them in a thick mixture of table salt and vinegar.
Its amazing how this works. Then a polish with Brasso to shine them back up.
You can also spray paint them black for instance. This works well too.
Here are the stripping instructions

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STRIPPING
The first thing you must do is assemble the material to do the job.
The stripper is the most important item.  
I am hoping you can get "CIRCA 1850" brand paint and varnish remover in your area.
Here is a link
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1694&familyN...

MATERIAL LIST For the stripping stage.
1 gallon stripper
3 boxes of Bull Dog steel wool in medium grade.
One 3 inch oil based paint brush.
Rubber gloves (like you do dishes with), and a pair of cotton gloves inside the rubber ones.
People react differently to stripper. A lot of people feel heat through the rubber gloves, but I feel cold. Have no idea why.
An empty large coffee can. (for the stripper)
A couple of old tooth brushes.
Lots of old rags (I like t-shirts or cotton but for this first stage whatever you have)
Lots of newspaper to protect the garage floor
LOTS OF VENTILATION..A MUST
That's all you need to get started.
HERES WHAT YOU DO...
Work in sections.
Brush on the stripper with the brush. Stripper will quit working if it dries, so keep it wet till the finish softens.
Then take a rag and wipe this mess off.
Then another coat of stripper, rag off again, then while the wood is still wet, take the steel wool and rub with the grain till the wood is nice and clean.
Depending on the material you are removing, another coat of stripper is often needed but you will know this as you progress into the job.
Use the toothbrush in crevices.
Thats all there is to it ...move to another section and continue.
No other prep is necessary...and DO NOT SAND

Please let me know if anything is not 100% clear.
Regards
Eileen