Expert: Eileen Cronk - 7/18/2007

Question
Hi Eileen, My wife wants to paint over our 27 year old kitchen cabinets. I believe there is a walnut finish on the cabinets now. We degreased the cabinets and were ready to start sanding.We went to a hardware store and found a can of Deglosser to eliminate the sanding of the cabinets. The can of Deglosser makes it sound like I don't have to sand at all. Just clean, apply the Deglosser and then prime the wood. My neighbor says that the Deglosser will help eliminate some sanding, but that I will still have to sand somewhat. The cabinets are not real high gloss now , but do have a shine to them. My question is, do I have to sand the cabinets if I use the Deglosser.
Bob


Answer
Hi Bob
Nice to hear from you.
The beauty of these products is it delivers us from sanding, and the darn mess.
While I am not familiar with this particular product, I assume it is specifically to eliminate sanding.
You can also use TSP powder.
Simply mix according to directions, and use medium steel wool as a scrubber dipped in the TSP solution.
Give the cabinets a good scrub.
Just that one step and you are ready to paint.
It cleans degreases and deglosses in one step.
I would go this route personally as It appears by your letter you must clean then degloss...which is two steps if you use the Deglosser product.
And the TSP requires no sanding either, but make sure you use the steel wool as a scrubber.
Good luck and thanks for a great question
Regards
Eileen
PS..TSP runs around $2.99 for a box large enough to do several kitchens.